Item: Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams
Rating: 6
Author: Mark DiNallo

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

[Our organization is using Skype for Business (formerly Lync)] for medium to large sized video calls and conferences with some of the manufacturers we represent. The group chat option helps to facilitate a smoother flow of conversation as it enables people to have "side conversations" without disrupting the presentation being put forth to the group as a whole. Very similar in nature to other video conferencing software. Some additional benefits.

Pros and Cons

Group Chat option allows multiple people to have a conversation away from the main presentation
Integration with Microsoft Office allows easy usage of excel, PowerPoint and other MS programs
Easy calendar integration for Microsoft Outlook
Mobile interface is very easy and intuitive

Intermittently seems to have a lot of trouble maintaining a connection, clarity will suffer due to this
Security is weak compared to others
Browser based version is not ideal, can be problematic, especially for those in rural areas

Return on Investment

Has enabled better time usage, especially with the mobile app, very easy to use
Increased efficiency as a result of clear, concise channels of communication
Downside- more frequent meetings, can take up a lot of time

Alternatives Considered

Zoom, Adobe Connect and Microsoft Teams

All are variations on the same theme. They each have things they do better and things they do worse. In the case of Skype, I think the mobile integration is great, the browser support is so-so, and the security as a whole is weak. Others have things like individualized URLs for better security.

Key Insights

Do you think Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams's feature set?

Yes

Did Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams go as expected?

I wasn't involved with the implementation phase

Would you buy Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Microsoft Teams, Podium, CDK Drive

Likelihood to Recommend

In the automotive industry it is a pretty regular occurrence to have large scale meetings with [Skype for Business (formerly Lync)], for example, VW of America, in which there can be thousands of people on the call; this enables us to then set those people into groups so that conversation can be had amongst the group while there is a main presentation being given at HQ. That is the best usage case I have seen for one of these platforms.

Skype- Similar to other platforms, with its own unique strengths and weaknesses

Overall Satisfaction with Skype for Business (formerly Lync)