I am constantly amazed at the number of businesses I encounter who have worked Skype into both their internal and external communications activity. Introducing any communications system into a business requires customization to incorporate the various tools into the business processes of the individual enterprise. Skype has recently upgraded its administrative tools for the Skype Control Panel; there is a Business category in the Skype Extras Gallery. Facetime recently announced a partnership with Skype to provide "end-to-end security, management and control of Skype to ensure its safe and productive use within organizations".

But how does it all come together? Skype recently held its first Showcase for Business and featured as a case study the integration of Skype into the operations of Lewis & Hickey architects. This video demonstrates that it's not simply about voice communications but rather the overall communications platform incorporating voice, chat, file transfer and video into their business processes. Sounds like they are also becoming viral salespersons for Skype as their clients are starting to adopt Skype.

We are looking for ways to get first hand experience with Skype for Business and hope to soon be able to report on its effectiveness through participating in an implementation.

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