Make the move from Skype to Microsoft Teams

Have you heard the news? On July 31, 2021, Microsoft will be retiring Skype for Business Online. That means it’s time to make the transition to Microsoft Teams. As a leading Microsoft partner, FSi Strategies can help you get to know what Microsoft Teams offers, how to make the most of it for your organization and map out a plan to ensure your transition goes smoothly.

Microsoft Teams is far more than just an upgrade for Skype for Business Online. It represents the next chapter in collaboration and communication. Skype for Business Online created new ways of communicating by combining instant messaging, calling and video into one application – and Microsoft Teams takes that much further. It extends the capabilities of Skype for Business to bring together chat, meetings, calling, collaboration, app integration and file storage in a single interface.

The power of Microsoft Teams lies in how it enables your organization to become more agile and efficient. It is a central hub for teamwork that allows users to share, communicate and work together from virtually anywhere because it combines productivity tools, meetings, chat and voice. This is crucial in the modern workplace, particularly with so many organizations moving to a remote-work model in response to the global pandemic. In addition, Microsoft’s ongoing platform innovation and development means Teams users gain rich performance, functionality, flexibility and security.

Before Skype for Business Online is retired, Teams will include a number of new features, including:

• Dynamic 911, which automatically uses the caller’s current location to route to a Public Safety Answering Point call center operated by the local government;
• The option to limit channel and chat retention periods to as little as one day and ensure that when data is deleted it is removed from all permanent storage locations in the Teams service;
• Interop between Teams and Skype Consumer, allowing users on the two services to communicate using both chat and calling; and,
• Contact Center integration and Compliance Recording, in partnership with Five9, Genesys and NICE, as well as ASC and Verint. Microsoft is also working with other Skype for Business Online certified partners to bring other Contact Center and Compliance Recording solutions to market for Teams.

Upgrading from Skype for Business to Teams isn’t just about the technology itself. It will also mean a change in how your teams communicate and collaborate. The amount of time you’ll need to make the transition depends on your unique situation: How adaptable is your business culture? How many users do you have? How complex is your technical environment? We can help you manage the transition and develop a strategy based on your specific requirements, and we recommend starting now to ensure you give yourself enough time to be fully ready once Skype for Business Online is retired.

No matter where you are in the transition journey – from just getting ready to make the move, in the early stages of using Microsoft Teams, or already using it together with Skype for Business Online – FSi is your strategic information technology partner. Our experts can help with IT strategy and planning, transition procedures, and training to help you make the most of the more modern collaboration and effective teamwork enabled by Microsoft Teams.

Contact us today to get started.

Learn more about Microsoft Teams here.
Learn more about FSi here.