Skype masterstroke to put Google's rise on hold

Microsoft finally announced what many in reseller-land had been awaiting: the replacement of the Lync brand with Skype for Business. Lync is the multi-purpose communications tool for cloud productivity suite Office 365 and a standalone enterprise telephony system in its own right (formerly called Microsoft Office Communicator).

The new version of Lync will combine the enterprise power of the existing product with the consumer-tested features of the original VoIP success story. Why is rebranding Lync as Skype such a good move?

Skype is an easy-to-use, ubiquitous, low-cost, big-productivity tool. It’s used by nearly every SME in the world, and at last count (in 2013) it had 50 million concurrent users. In other words, the main communications tool for Microsoft’s cloud vision has just gone from obscurity to front-page recognition.

How many grandparents would be familiar with the Lync brand?

The rebrand also turns Microsoft’s tiny corporate directory of federated Office 365 users into a global telephone book many times larger than Telstra. If you have Office 365 you will be able to call more than 50 million people – for free.

The net result is not great for Google. Skype is a big sales hook for Microsoft’s cloud product in a fiercely competitive market. Imagine a pitch to an SME between Google and Microsoft resellers. The latter has very easy reference points – “Office 365 is just Microsoft Office on the internet connected to a business version of Skype. You can call anyone on Skype for free.”

The Googler? “Google Apps is kind of like Microsoft Office but it has all these other cool features including a Skype-like interface called Google Hangouts, which is really fun for video calling people instead of holding a phone conference.”

Doesn’t quite have the same, er, ring to it.

There were scant details in the announcement, which threw up some pretty interesting questions, not the least is what will Skype for Business look like?

Skype has a very plain interface that hasn’t really changed much in many years. Lync is a power tool that can adds to the standard voice, chat, video conferencing the ability to hold phone conferences with non-Lync users, user directory that is actually usable, and webinar-like screen-sharing (presenters broadcasting to scores or hundreds of people).

The big question is whether you can make calls on Skype for Business using Skype credit. Office 365 users in Australia need to use Lync Server (an on-premise or hosted installation) to connect Lync to a SIP line and make calls to non-Lync users over the phone network.

Skype’s Skype Out service which lets you make calls to the phone network under a subscription or by buying credit is effectively the same as a SIP telco. Will Microsoft do this for Skype for Business?

The challenge for Microsoft is ensuring quality of service for its enterprise grade customers. I’m sure Microsoft doesn’t want to get into the game of supplying bandwidth with its software but how else will it make sure that your calls don’t drop out? Businesses won’t have the tolerance for Skype’s consumer-grade failings.

The first stage of integrating the Skype network with the Lync tool is over. Microsoft will no doubt watch and see how well it works before releasing Skype for Business Server (Lync Server’s replacement) as a cloud-only product. Imagine a soft PBX built straight into Skype, and the potential integrations within the Internet Explorer browser.

The other interesting question is money. How much will Skype for Business cost? It won’t be free, that’s for sure. How much will calls to landlines and mobiles cost?

I don’t think many will mourn the loss of Lync. It struggled against the firepower of the Office brand. Skype is a great antidote.

(And personally, I could never type “Lync” without turning it into “Lynch”. Or is that just me?)