


Even though users may have Teams installed, that doesn’t automatically mean that the tenant has fully transitioned to Teams. Towards the end of 2019, Microsoft began scheduling and implemented automated installs of Teams for users of Skype for Business. In July 2019, Microsoft announced that Skype for Business Online would be retiring July 31, 2021. Transition to Teamsĭuring those years as Office 365 matured, Skype for Business Online and Teams became some of the many offerings included with licensing. Now as Microsoft had two products with very similar feature sets, they made the choice in September 2017 to announce that further development of the Skype for Business product would not be focused on, and that Microsoft Teams would be its successor. Neither actually came to fruition as Teams was created during an internal hackathon and was released globally in early 2017. Some at Microsoft were interested in purchasing competitor Slack at this time, but Bill Gates wanted further development of the Skype for Business platform instead of bailing on it. Just one year after this release, Microsoft released Skype for Business 2016 along with Office 2016. The Skype name was more well known than Lync and in 2014 Microsoft took advantage of this renaming Lync as Skype and then releasing Skype for Business 2015. Microsoft allowed communication between the two platforms a couple years later in 2013. In 2009, Microsoft released a follow up product as Office Communicator R2 and followed that product line with a rename of Lync 2010 in early 2011.Īround the same period of the release of Lync was Microsoft’s acquisition of a consumer instant messaging platform–Skype. Microsoft decided to enter the arena with Office Communicator 2007 back in 2007. However, back in the technology boom at the turn of the millennium, electronic mail communication didn’t fit all situations and instant messaging was finding its place in the world.
#Skype for business 2016 software#
Microsoft is no stranger to communication software (hello Exchange). Let us take a look at how we got to this point. After that, customers will no longer be able to access the Skype for Business Online service. Skype for Business Online will be fully functional through Jto allow customers time to make the transition to Microsoft Teams. Microsoft is retiring Skype for Business Online on July 31, 2021.
