Skype expands business features

Stan Beer
Tuesday, 30 January 2007 18:20

IT Industry - Strategy

Internet telephony provider Skype has had a somewhat dubious relationship with potential business users, some of which consider unchecked use by employees as a potential security risk. However, today Skype announced a concerted push into the business space with the unveiling of new features designed to capture corporate users.

With additional new features unveiled today, Skype claims to have made it easier for businesses to install and manage its service. Skype can be now installed on multiple computers using the Windows Installer package, which eBay-owned company says will give IT administrators greater control over how Skype communications traffic runs across their corporate networks.

An online control panel enables companies to allocate individual users with Skype credits that can be used to make cheap SkypeOut calls to traditional landline phones or mobiles and provides a consolidated view of what is being spent.

Meanwhile, Skype is working collaboratively with partners on a range of new business productivity tools, called Extras. These include the Convenos web conference and collaboration service, a package called Unyte which enables users to share the view off their PC desktop and a Skype-enabled call-centre offering from ACD.

According to Skype it has taken its Skype for Business offering one step further in response to continuous demand by businesses all over the world to use Skype to communicate with customers and colleagues.

Skype estimates that business users make up over 30% of Skype's global community, now numbering at 171 million.

In a recent survey of 250 businesses using Skype, 95% claimed to have saved money and 80% claimed that using Skype increased employee productivity, according to the VoIP provider.

One particular firm, Lewis & Hickey, a group of leading international architects that has recently installed Skype across its offices in the UK and Prague, claims that since making its first Skype call, it has saved up to 7.6 % on its standard call charges and wants to reach a cost reduction of 50% of its total telephony expenditure in the near future.

Benoit Mareschal, Director, Business Development at Lewis & Hickey, said: "We have clients and teams across the UK and abroad and like many creative businesses we need to share ideas and keep in touch with one another. This can come at a high cost. We wanted to find a way to communicate but pay less for the privilege.

"Since we started using Skype, the amount we're spending on international mobile and landline phone calls has dropped significantly. Skype creates a human bridge between technology and personable communication."

The survey also found that 62% of the businesses communicate better with customers on Skype and 76% said they work more closely with colleagues because Skype is so easy to use.

Benoit Mareschal agrees, "Now we have Skype, the ability to talk with one another has increased enormously. People used to rely on email but with Skype you can get an immediate response to a query without disturbing the whole office - especially if you are using the instant chat feature. You can see when people are online, ask your question and carry on with what you were doing."

Skype for Business has a site at www.skype.biz.