THE FUTURE OF SKYPE IN BUSINESSES

Skype has been the communication method of choice for businesses all over for many years. However, in 2017 it was announced by Microsoft that they were going to transition to using Microsoft Teams. The overall goal of this transition is to eventually replace Skype for Business completely. The definitive end-date to retire Skype for Business is July 31, 2021.    

From the way they announced Microsoft Teams eventually taking over, the future of Skype for Business has been uncertain especially to our loyal customers, which have brought questions to the table like “how will this affect them.”

The first step in the future of Skype for Business is Microsoft will onboard any and all new Office 365 customers directly to Teams for chat, meetings, and calling capabilities. By doing this, it will not affect any of the current Skype for Business Online customers, they will still have the ability to use the service until the retirement date.

Okay, but why is Microsoft switching from Skype for Business to Teams?

In short, Microsoft saw an opportunity to provide organizations with a consolidated program for their teamwork. There have been various updates to the Teams platform that will replace Skype for Business and that will combine the critical business communication capabilities of Skype. Capabilities like the collaboration tools, app integrations, and file storage and sharing of Microsoft Teams.

Microsoft Teams is a modern Cloud infrastructure, and it will allow for new experiences for meetings and calling opportunities. By doing this, it will make for better use of the user’s valuable time.

What does this transition mean for existing Office 365 customers?

If you are a current Office 365 customer using Skype for Business and Teams, you’ll notice that Microsoft will be integrating new voice, video, and meeting capabilities to the Teams platform. Some of these changes may have already occurred.

How long will it take to fully upgrade my organization to Teams?

Ultimately, that will be based on your specific business needs. This is because there is no end-of-support date set by Microsoft at this time, and the future of Skype for Business is still fluid, meaning that you can choose when and how you want to migrate your organization to Teams.

Microsoft is however encouraging customers to begin using Teams independently or simultaneously with Skype for Business.

Should I do anything to prepare for the upgrade to Teams?

Definitely start out with simultaneously using Teams with Skype for Business, to get used to the Teams platform. When you’re ready to fully move to Teams, Microsoft has developed two main upgrade paths to help ease the transition.

Upgrade Basic

Designed for smaller organizations who only use Skype for Business Online for chat and meetings. This is an accelerated action plan for transitioning to Teams. With this plan, it includes core activities and resources that are designed with the intention you’ll be upgrading your entire organization at once. In a timeframe of around 30-45 days.

Upgrade Pro

Designed for larger organizations, or those with a more complex deployment of Skype for Business. This is a more prolonged upgrade plan, which offers more details for every step as well as the planning resources. The timeframe of this plan is between 120-150 days.

It is recommended when preparing to upgrade to Teams, you consider both these upgrade paths to determine which one better fits your organizational needs. Our experts can help you explore your options and decide the correct action plan.

Now, what will happen after my users upgrade to Teams?

In the beginning months, your administrators will have access to a “Teams Only” mode within your Office 365 Admin Portal. To wrap up the upgrade to Teams, you will be required to enable Teams only for each of your users.

When you do this, a number of things will happen including:

• The Skype for Business client will be disabled for use, and all calls and messages will be through Teams. However, any business meetings that were scheduled through Skype before transitioning will still operate through Skype for Business.

• Any new meetings scheduled on Outlook will be through Teams

• Any attempts to sign in to Skype for Business, a notification will be sent, saying that they’ve been upgraded to Teams.

• Users will then need to manually uninstall the Skype for Business Client for their devices

One of the most popular questions asked is if Teams are compatible with Phone System and Calling plans? And yes, it is, Microsoft has integrated a phone system and calling abilities to Teams.

If you need more help with the transition from Skype to Teams, Microsoft has developed a lot of content for helping companies switch. Including a “Skype for Business to Microsoft Teams Capabilities Roadmap.”

If you still have questions, reach out to one of our experts at ISU Corp and we can give you an in-depth introduction to the transition.

TOP TIPS ABOUT MOBILE APP DEVELOPMENT

We are constantly on our phones, whether it’s for pleasure or work purposes this generation is attached to their mobile devices. This is why businesses have begun developing apps for mobile devices.

Having a mobile app for your business makes it exponentially more accessible from anywhere. They will also increase the scalability, and global availability while preserving the base components of your enterprise connected.

Since smartphones and tablets have expanded into such a large market share so quickly, it is important that the mobile apps we develop are developed correctly. 

Although mobile apps are becoming more and more popular, websites are still useful for some purposes. Mobile apps have a focused interface, look, and feel of the app to provide their customers with so much more than websites alone.

Apps also offer many features for customization so the information can be presented to correspond with location through the use of GPS. Which allows apps to take advantage of all the features that smartphones and tablets offer.

Regardless if you are in search of an original app or want a company website for mobile devices, ISU Software Corp is here to help with your app development. We will strive to help you achieve your company’s goals. Our approach is company-centric and collaborative. We will begin discussing with you to understand your goals, business, and audience.

Our Mobile Application Services offer to:

• Android Mobile

• iOS Mobile

• Windows

Success Driven Development

Here at ISU Software Corp, we rely on the success of past developments. The end result of focusing this way is a custom-made mobile application that solves an exact problem based on what the real business needs are.

With our business analysts, we will work with you to define and prioritize the software features. ISU Corp utilizes agile development methodologies, and this allows for development delivery through iterations. Delivering through iterations will allow you to visualize the work being done step-by-step. This means that you are able to request changes throughout the development process easily.

Integrating Agile development makes it possible to offer early delivery to your customers with more features being added later on. The biggest benefit to this is there is an early return on investment because users are using the product earlier than expected.

By doing this you can gather user analytics and customer feedback and can be confident in what needs to be developed further in the coming updates.

Reach out to one of our experts at ISU to get started on your mobile app development!

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO MICROSOFT TEAMS FOR PROJECT MANAGERS

This year has changed a lot of major components of daily life, especially when it comes to work-life shifting to being remote. A good portion of the world has had to make this new change.

With that being said, there have been multiple questions brought to light about whether or not Microsoft Teams is suitable for project managers.

But first, why is Microsoft Teams so beneficial for Project Management?

Microsoft Teams is commonly known for their communication features including chat, or video calling.  Unfortunately, this is where most Microsoft Teams users’ knowledge ends. However, Microsoft Teams is much more than just a method of communication.

Microsoft Teams is notorious for being a remarkable tool for communication and collaboration with the ability for document, presentation, and whiteboard capabilities integrated into their already awesome system.

Now, here are the top 5 tips for using Teams for Project Management

1. Ability to efficiently keep everyone alert with Teams and Channels

In order to be a great project manager, you need to allow for open and transparent communication for every stage of each project they’re overseeing. With Microsoft Teams you have the ability to do that efficiently.

2. Easy to keep track of deadlines, so you don’t miss one!

Deadlines can often be hard to keep track of especially if you’re managing more than one project at a time. No matter what the project, they are vitally important to keep your project on track.

Having access to Microsoft Teams, it allows you and your team to have a shared Microsoft Outlook group calendar, which displays the important deadlines for each piece of a project.

3. Easy to use planner capabilities to assign tasks and manage what’s important

Another component to help with keeping track of your deadlines, is to integrate the use of Microsoft Planner to help keep your projects organized.

Microsoft Planner can be easily incorporated to Teams in four easy steps:

• Navigate to the team you want to add Microsoft Planner too

• Click the + sign to add a tab to the group

• Click on “Planner”

• Either create a new plan, or choose an existing plan that you’ve already saved (choose from the drop-down menu) and click “save”

4. Keep work accessible for everyone involved

It’s important to make sure that everyone on the project has access to every component of the project and knows how to do everything. This way, tasks can get completed in an efficient manner and no time is wasted searching for a file.

5. Don’t be afraid to customize your Teams

With Microsoft Teams, you have the ability to customize many features to make completing your project even more efficient. Especially since you can tailor it to your own team's needs.

Without a doubt, with the right integrations and a little customization Microsoft Teams could be your primary source for project management and organization. Having access to so many great features like tracking tasks, document collaboration, and more.

Reach out to our experts at ISU Corp, to help integrate it into your next project!