Microsoft rebrands Lync into Skype for Business
MICROSOFT has announced the rebranding of Microsoft Lync into Skype for Business, a move which the US giant expects will generate 200-per-cent user growth within the first year.
The rebranded services will be officially launched in Thailand on May 1.
Giovanni Mezgec, Microsoft general manager of product marketing for Skype for Business, made the announcement about the rebranding of Microsoft Lync, which is a communications and collaboration platform with features including presence, instant messaging, voice, and video calls and online meetings.
Skype for Business will allow companies to communicate and connect with as many as 250-300 users via mobile devices and desktop PC screens at the same time, he said.
“Microsoft believes Skype for Business will allow enterprises to use technology more easily. Users will also be able to search for and connect with anyone in the Skype network with enterprise-grade security, compliance and IT control,” he added.
Panjaporn Vittayalerdpun, office business group head of Microsoft (Thailand), said the local unit would have available two kinds of Skype for Business services: Skype for Business online, designed for businesses with a Microsoft Office 365 licence; and Skype for Business Server 2015.
Microsoft (Thailand) has more than 2,000 partners and around 10 service providers deploying Skype for Business services to the market, she said, adding that the new services support the Windows, iOS and Android environments.
Meanwhile, the Microsoft partner ecosystem is ready to help organisations plan for their deployment of Skype for Business.
Microsoft globally has 100 million active Lync users, and more than 300 million Skype individual users that connect with friends and family worldwide.
There are currently more than 100,000 Skype users in Thailand, said Panjaporn.
Microsoft expects that within one year of the Lync rebranding, the number of business users will have grown by around 200 per cent, with the new services focusing on the banking, finance, retail and manufacturing sectors.
“We believe Skype for Business will offer services that will help drive the more than 2 million small and medium-sized enterprises in Thailand, and enable them to benefit from the Asean Economic Community and the digital economy via cost savings in terms of communicating with their business partners and customers,” the office business group head explained.
