Super-powered communications via Skype for Business

The perfect mash-up of Skype and Lync will connect hundreds of millions worldwide.

No company in the world enables easy communication like Microsoft. Whether it’s routing important business calls through Lync or a quick Skype video call to mom and dad, the company connects countless millions of people every day.

In the first half of 2015, the next version of Lync will become Skype for Business with a new client experience, new server release and updates to the service in Office 365.

For current Lync customers, joining the Skype family is great news. Skype for Business customers will continue to enjoy all the same communications capabilities and security features as Lync and more.

For example, Skype for Business will adopt the familiar Skype icons for calling, adding video and ending a call as well as the call monitor, which keeps an active call visible in a small window even when a user moves focus to another application.

“Skype for Business brings together the familiar experience and user love of Skype with the enterprise security, compliance and control from Lync to create the most loved and trusted communications platform for doing things together,” said Gurdeep Pall, corporate vice president for Skype, in a post on the Microsoft Office Blogs.

While Skype and Skype for Business clients share a common look and feel, they remain two separate clients with distinct branding and feature sets.

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“We believe that Skype for Business will again transform the way people communicate by giving organizations reach to hundreds of millions of Skype users outside the walls of their business,” Gurdeep said.

So that’s a sneak peek into Skype for Business. Be sure to read Gurdeep’s blog post to learn more.

And stay up-to-date on the latest news about Skype for Business by following Microsoft Lync on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.