Last year, several functions from Skype for Business were added to Teams. It was already clear that -for Microsoft- Teams was the successor to Skype for Business.

We knew that Microsoft would one day pull the plug on Skype For Business. Today we also know when: the curtain is closing on July 31, 2021.Companies that still use Skype for Business have exactly 2 years to migrate to Microsoft Teams or an alternative communication platform. It is important to know that:

• As of 1 September 2019, new Office 365 customers will no longer be able to choose Skype For Business Online, so they will be pushed completely in the direction of Teams.
• Microsoft is also discontinuing the online version of Skype for business. Support for on-premises environments will continue until at least 2025.

Why Microsoft Teams?

With more than 13 million daily users, it allows even the biggest competitor Slack completely behind. Teams is now in use in tens of thousands of organizations, including 91 of the Fortune 100 (the top 100 largest private and public American companies).

The big advantage? Teams bring multiple tools together in one place. On the one hand you have all the functionalities of Skype For Business (chat, call, video), but Microsoft Teams also offers many more possibilities, especially when it comes to efficient collaboration. The ease with which you can share files or links, work on files simultaneously and communicate in groups have improved considerably compared to Skype for Business, both on PC and on your smartphone or tablet.

Finally, you can easily create multiple ‘Teams’, temporarily or permanently, to follow up on certain projects or departments. This way, your mailbox will be relieved considerably and you will be able to follow the course of events better.

Of course, the seamless integration with the rest of the Microsoft Office 365 Not only do you work directly together within the application in Word, Excel, OneNote or PowerPoint, but you can also create links with Planner or specific SharePoint locations in no time at all.

Curious about what Teams can do for your business? Or need help migrating from Skype to Teams? Contact our specialistsOr have you already made the choice for Teams, and would you like to get to know the functionalities? Join our training Start 2 Teams