Get Ready to Ditch Lync and Start Skyping

You know a product has reached incredible popularity when it starts being used as a verb, and in the generation of increased virtual communication there is perhaps no more popular phrase than “Skype me” when it comes to talking about video chatting.

Microsoft recently announced that its enterprise communication platform Lync will be replaced by Skype for Business next year. In an effort to combine the two communication platforms, Microsoft will be making the new system available with a server upgrade that they promise will not require a hardware upgrade as well.

What does this mean for end-users of Lync? End-users will get an updated experience that will provide them with a Skype interface for their communications while at work.

While there are certainly some features of Skype that could be seen as less than desirable for the enterprise, such as its tendency to take over everything and turn it into a Skype link, overall this is a trend that is good for users, who have growing expectations of “enterprise” applications. The current expectations are that applications at work can no longer feel like heavy, kludgy business applications that are tedious and cumbersome to use. Users have an expectation that any piece of software they use will perform like the latest application they downloaded on their smartphone, or their new favorite website.

This intolerance for an “enterprise application” user experience is one of the reasons that transitioning Lync into Skype for business makes a lot of sense. The Skype user experience is familiar to many end-users. With a user base of around 300 million, the platform has proven itself as being easy to use.

There will likely be some issues with the transition, as Microsoft will need to figure out how to provide business users with what they need and, maybe more importantly, understand what Skype consumer features are not applicable to the business. However,overall this is a smart decision that I believe will increase the stickiness of Microsoft in the unified communications strategies of many businesses.

It is likely that this transition will also start occurring for other enterprise applications that have a consumer side equivalent. Look out for applications like email to start transitioning to being more consumer friendly in look and feel, as well as function. The days of applications designed for the enterprise are swiftly coming to an end, as the consumerization of IT continues.

To find out more about the enterprise needs of collaboration and communications, read Enterprise Social Collaboration: Advanced Collaboration Culture Is People Power

Get Ready to Ditch Lync and Start Skyping