Microsoft's Lync flip welcomed by Aussie resellers

Australian Lync partners have welcomed the news Microsoft is moving the flagship communications platform under the Skype banner next year.

Biagio LaRosa, managing director of Generation-E, said the move to rebrand Lync as 'Skype for Business' wasn't a surprise. “While it’s news to the marketplace, it’s not necessarily news to us."

He said that Skype’s familiarity with the general population had not gone unnoticed in the business world.

“If you look at the way the marketplace views Lync today, those not au fait with the technology will often describe it as Skype for business. It’s a descriptor I’ve heard customers use many times.”

LaRosa claims that Generation-E is the largest Lync integrator in Asia Pacific, having completed more than 200,000 Lync voice seats, from major government departments to enterprises.

Nathan Belling, general manager of Brisbane-based Insync Technology, said he'd been expecting the change for some time – and using the Skype name would make sense.

“It’s going to help us outside of the traditional IT teams. HR’s been interviewing people on Skype for years now. When you’re talking to an HR manager who’s got no technology behind them at all, they can relate to the common branding.”

Belling did sound one note of caution. “The complexities around advanced call routing is just not evident in the consumer products. That’s probably the only negative I see: there may be a perception is it’s an easy thing to do."

Also applauding the move was Jason McClintock, chief executive of Microsoft Gold partner Jasco Consulting. He said the company had been waiting for the change for a “long time”.

McClintock expected the upcoming technical enhancements in the first version of Skype for Business would help accelerate sales, due to closer integration with the Skype consumer product.