Skype for Business

Skype is a fantastic tool for any business these days… However you need to be aware of the following:

1. Skype for business is not the cheapest – there are others, but on Balance the extra cost does not matter as so many people use Skype it makes it much more worth while
2. Skype is fundamentally for residential users – i.e. not for Business – but this is changing and I will explain how you can set it up for business in a moment
3. Skype is best used with Webcams, Headsets or Handsets, i.e. you don’t want employees conversation blaring over the office through their computer speakers.

So here is how to set it all up. Basically if you set it up correctly you’ll be home and dry.

1. First things first get your Finance Director on Board, As FD he needs to have full control over Billing, Invoices and Call information.
2. Next go to www.skype.com, download and install… you can start using straight away.
3. Get your FD to do the same… also get your FD to register/sign in for the Business Control panel. You’ll have to read up on everything as you go along, but essentially, if the FD is the main handler on the Business Control Panel he can do the following;
   1. Control user accounts
   2. Top up user accounts centrally i.e. no need for people to use they own credit cards, they can do it through the FD
   3. Your FD will be able to view and download all invoices
   4. User accounts can be grouped i.e. by Office (UK, AU, Asia etc)
   5. Plus lots more
4. So far so good, Your FD should have management of your account… next you can start asking others to download Skype and install, then they can be added to the Business Control Panel.
5. Equipment – many people might have webcam already great… but essentially a decent webcam should cost no more than £20 while a handset might cost £35 and a Headset £15, you can of course spend more, but you don’t have to.
6. So everyone has Skype Downloaded, installed and has their equipment attached, now it is just a case of calling someone for FREE

Next

Using Skype

1. Making calls with Skype to other Skype users is free, so me calling you through Skype would be 100% free
2. SkypeOut – Calling Landlines – this is where Skype does cost, the calls are a faction of the price of traditional telephone lines… the key here however is that with Skype if you call Australia you are effectively making a Local Rate telephone call, the Long Distance bit is free. I have spoken with people in Australia using Skype quite happily
3. Answering Phone – Skype can be set to either transfer to a land line number or to an Answer phone (costs extra), but the point is if the computer of the employee concerned is switched off or that employee is not ‘logged in’ then they can still receive a telephone call, albeit for a cost.
4. SkypeIn – this is where you can buy a telephone line in another country and have it redirected to your Skype Account… lets say for example you want a telephone support line for your US customers, but you have NO office in the USA… you get a SkypeIn number for New York or Boston (or location of your choosing) your US customer then call that number and they are instantly transferred to your customer support in Australia or where they are located. The really clever bit is that you can have lots of telephone numbers in different countries all connected to 1 Skype Account so you could in theory have numbers for China, US, UK, France, Australia and so on all connecting to one person in Sydney… it is powerful stuff.
5. Conference Calling… you can conference call anyone who is signed into Skype for FREE, you can also include and landlines as well, but you pay the usual rate.
6. Webcams work for the Face to Face meetings but will not work for Conference Calling…

Essentially that is it. I hope that provides a good outline of what is on offer.

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