Skype for Business Online Is No More by July 2021 – What does this mean for you?

Last year Microsoft used its partner-event, Ignite, to announce the integration of Skype for Business Online into its new flagship platform for Intelligent Communications, Microsoft Teams. Now, one year later, Teams has not only evolved into one of the leading communication and collaboration platforms being used by more than 500,000 companies worldwide, but Skype for Business Online is also coming to a natural end. As of July 31, 2021, Skype for Business Online will be retired and no longer available.

Between now and then, current Skype for Business Online customers will experience no change in service, and they’ll be able to continue to add new users as needed. However, starting September 1, 2019, Microsoft will onboard all new Office 365 customers directly to Teams for chat, meetings, and calling. Please note that neither the Skype Consumer service nor the Skype for Business Server are impacted by this announcement.

Let`s have a look at what you can expect and  whether you are affected by this change:

• Current Skype for Business Online customers will experience no change in service through July 31, 2021. After that date, customers will no longer be able to access the Skype for Business Online service.
• Skype for Business Online customers and those with hybrid (online and on-premises) configurations, will have a transition period until July 31, 2021 to migrate to Microsoft Teams to maintain cloud-based access and functionality.
• There is no impact to Skype for Business Server on-premises customers or the Skype Consumer service.
• Current Skype for Business Online customers will be able to add/remove users per their contracts until the retirement of the service.
• Support for the integration of third-party party Audio Conferencing Providers (ACP) into Skype for Business Online has been extended to July 31, 2021, with limited support for remaining active tenants to allow additional time for transition.
• Enabling Dynamic 911, which uses the caller’s current location to route to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) call center operated by the local government in the U.S., which is due to be released by the end of the year.
• Contact Center integration and Compliance Recording, Five9, Genesys and NICE enabling Contact Center and ASC, NICE and Verint enabling Compliance Recording.

Microsoft Teams, the new hub for modern teamwork brings everything together modern workers need for their daily lives, including chat, video, calling, and document collaboration into one single interface. Using Teams, companies across the world are becoming more agile, shortening cycle times, improving the efficiency of key workflows, and cutting out unnecessary overhead. Teams isn’t just an upgrade for Skype for Business Online, it’s a powerful tool that opens the door to an entirely new way of doing business.

With the focus of helping customers transition from Skype for Business Online to Teams, as of September 1, 2019, no new tenants will be on-boarded to Skype for Business Online. Customers actively using Skype for Business Online will still be able to add new users to their tenant. While many organizations across the globe have successfully upgraded to Teams, the July 31, 2021 retirement date provides 24 months for remaining Skype for Business Online customers to make the transition.

We are here to help you with your upgrade! Learn how to manage your journey from Skype for Business Online to Teams, how to  encourage your employees to use Teams and the major business benefits of Teams.

At SoftwareONE we provide guidance on how to plan, deliver and operate your unique transition to Microsoft Teams. Maintain peace of mind on your journey from Skype for Business Online to Teams with our comprehensive services helping you from the initial vision to blueprinting, deployment and the management of your communications and collaborations settings.

Get in touch with our experts and learn more about our tailored Microsoft Teams Upgrade Planning and how you can create your roadmap and journey for your upgrade from Skype for Business Online to Microsoft Teams. And, even if you are starting from the scratch, we can guide you on your first steps with Microsoft Teams. Explore what a successful start with Teams looks like and take advantage of our Microsoft Teams Starter Kit.

Microsoft announced the retirement of Skype for Business Online as of July 31, 2021. All companies using Skype for Business Online must migrate to Teams by then. SoftwareONE helps organizations to pave their way to modern teamwork by supporting either their journey from Skype for Business Online to Teams or installing a new Teams environment from scratch.