What’s All the Hype About Skype for Business?

With the number of fully featured phone systems on the market, businesses have a unique ability to base their decision on price above any other factor. And for businesses under 400 users, Skype for Business should be on the short list of phone solutions.

Until recently, surprisingly steep costs of phone systems created major barriers for businesses to experience smooth, gradual growth. Large-scale capital expenses and the necessity to purchase phone systems in bundles meant companies swung wildly through periods of growth resistance and rapid intense growth. Simply to be able to afford the bare necessities of calling features and nothing more. For too many companies, phones are an unaffordable, unmanageable nightmare.

Times have changed. 79% of U.S. businesses are currently deploying or plan to deploy Skype for Business.

Why? Companies need more phone and less expense. That means meaningful, useful features, easy administration, and a shift away from a capital expense phone system. In fact, your phone solution is one of the most important technologies you should consider right now, especially where cost savings are concerned.

Microsoft’s Skype for Business boldly integrates with productivity tools and just about every communication-related cost you have – often with dramatic impact on your phone expenses.

4 ways Skype for Business Costs Less

1. No more moving parts to replace. Switches, handsets, and infrastructure, oh my! As a soft phone, Skype for Business runs directly on each device and requires no other moving parts to keep running. All you need is a headset.

2. One tool to rule them all. Conference bridges, instant messaging, video, screen sharing and calling should be brought under a single application and bill. All you need is your software and your device of choice.

3. Carrier fees. If you’re paying more than $12 per line for unlimited domestic calls or more than $24 per month for unlimited international calling, you’re paying too much.

4. No more dedicated lines. The cost of dedicated phone lines per user, or you must purchase a block of numbers. On top of that, you’re faced with paying for the per minute usage for domestic and international calls, which is significantly more than a flat monthly carrier cost.

4 Meaningful Opportunity Costs Skype for Business Delivers

1. Integration into Office 365. With a more collaborative environment, the ability to fully integrate your communications tools with your primary applications offers unending possibilities from an easier way to join meetings to streamlined calendar management.

2. New hires ready to work before their first coffee break. Each instance of Skype for Business can be purchased when and where you need it. New hires can be set up and ready to go within minutes, their phones fully integrated into their Office 365. All you need is a laptop and a headset, and they are off to the races before their first coffee break.

3. Less time managing phones and fewer errors. Moving complexity from where you don’t need it. A shift simplicity in administering your phone system means fewer errors and more robust features, that means less downtime and hours that your IT resources don’t have to spend managing your phone systems.

4. Enhances productivity. The ability to contact people, share presentations, instant message and video chat makes productivity much easier. In the middle of calls, users can switch to video, share screens, send links through an integrated chat or record calls for later playback, with very little effort and thought.

You should feel confident when you pick the next phone system for your business. As a Microsoft Gold Certified partner, Nortec Communications offers the unique Microsoft Immersion Experience, where you can test drive Skype for Business with the guidance of our professionals.

Know what you’re getting in your next phone system before you sign that proposal. Sign up for a free Skype for Business test drive!