Microsoft is making big strides in the productivity department as they assert their position as global leaders in productivity. This guided new developments in product development and acquisitions. The Office 365 for business is one such product that seeks to get Microsoft on the forefront of enterprise business, and Microsoft Lync is one of the communication tools inside of Office 365.
But this will be short-lived. This is because Microsoft on Tuesday announced Skype for Business and this is going to replace Lync as many businesses have come to know it. Skype had been since acquisition been a proposition for the personal user, never really sold as a business product. But Microsoft seeks to change this by first introducing Skype for Business that can replace Lync for new users then from net year all existing users of Lync will have an upgrade to migrate them to Skype for business.
In the messaging that came with this announcement, Microsoft states that they are blending the familiar experience of Skype with the enterprise security, compliance and control consistent with Lync. This is quite a strategic move as Skype is already used by more than 300 million people and integrating this to the Office for business product will have users already familiar with the experience, while at the same time get users on board faster than they have been doing with Lync.
Design that goes on forward will be more like what is in Skype with all the icons present, call monitor on Skype stays and this allows the user to keep the active call on a small screen when user is multi-tasking. Transferring a call will take one touch down from three and Skype for business will also leverage the Skype user directory to call your contacts withing Skype.
