Posted by: TAZ Networks on February 5, 2021 at 5:00 pm
Skype for Business Online rides off into the sunset July 31, 2021. What is your migration plan to Microsoft Teams?
Say goodbye to Skype for Business Online, and say hello to Microsoft Teams.
Believe it or not, Microsoft announced the retirement of Skype for Business Online over 18 months ago. The retirement date of July 31, 2021 is coming up faster than you might think. If you haven’t started planning your migration to Microsoft Teams, start now.
Millions of businesses around the world love to use Skype. It’s easy, fast communication. Microsoft Teams, however, can do so much more. It ties together chat, calls, remote meetings and more into one easy-to-use package that integrates with Outlook and other Microsoft favorites. We even use it as part of our project management for at-a-glance status updates.
At the state of the pandemic, many organizations turned to Zoom for videoconferencing. Zoom’s easy-to-use interface and high capacity quickly made it a favorite. Microsoft saw the need to improve remote meeting capability for Teams, and quickly focused on improving the program. Today, many small businesses use Teams for videoconferencing.
Teams is Part of Microsoft 365
The Microsoft 365 office suite (previously known as Office 365) includes Teams as a key component. It is designed to integrate with Outlook and other Office applications. While anyone can download and use a limited version of Teams for free, it is already included in all M365 licensing. So, if your company uses licensed M365, you should have access to Microsoft Teams. In fact, Microsoft recommends using Teams as part of Microsoft 365 for access to advanced features like longer meeting times.
How to Get Started Migrating Skype for Business Online to Microsoft Teams
The first, best place to start when planning your Skype for Business Online migration to Microsoft Teams is to contact a Microsoft Partner, such as TAZ Networks. As a Silver Solution Midmarket Provider, we have the training to help small businesses get the most out of Microsoft products by helping them choose the right licensing for their business needs. We can also help develop a migration plan, as well as a licensing mitigation project if necessary.
If you need a hand moving away from Skype for Business Online, call us soon. After all, July 31 will be here before we know it.