Although it's been awhile since I've used Lync, I've been knee deep in Skype. During Barry Castle’s webinar presentation of "How Skype Can Help Small Businesses Play Bigger In the Cloud," I heard Barry state a few things that inspired me to immediately move on Skype to see for myself what I could or couldn't do.
I will spend the summer digging deeper in Skype beyond where I've gotten already. As of this writing, I've been a paying Skype Connect business user officially since June 21. I will follow up in another post about what I did prior to this.
Skype Connect is basically a SIP trunk. For clarification: a SIP trunk is the same as a channel or concurrent call session (CCS). Skype clients are currently only for desktop and mobile devices and do not associate with the Skype Connect or SIP trunks. The huge potential of Skype is being able to use Skype clients to associate with business Skype Connect service.
Microsoft is working out possible integration between Skype and Lync while addressing regulatory issues. These two different business units of Microsoft--Skype and Lync--really do complement each other. I have to disclaim that I don't know Microsoft's roadmap or detailed plans but to me it makes perfect sense to do this. On a basic level, shown below, Skype and Lync are very similar.
Microsoft has hardened Skype security, and Skype Connect is a very competitive SIP trunk offering available in 1 to 300 channels or concurrent call sessions (CCS). Out of the gate, US business users pay just 8/10 cent per call minute for calls within the USA, so one hour of talk time is just 48 cents. The minimum duration of a billed Skype Connect call is 30 seconds. After the first 30 seconds, Skype Connect calls are billed at increments of 6 seconds thereafter. Fractions of less than 6 seconds are rounded up. Skype Connect calls do not incur a connection fee.
Business users may also purchase bundles of minutes at discounted rates and must purchase a number of bundles equal to the number of Skype Connect channels they subscribe to. Without any public telephone numbers attached to Skype Connect, the PSTN and cellular calls placed over Skype Connect is proving to cost 60% less for calls than our existing SIP trunk provider. When it comes to access costs, the Skype SIP trunks (Skype Connect channels) are 55% less than what we pay our current provider for each SIP trunk (channel or concurrent call session).
The key differences are that Skype does not provide 911/E911 services and DID isn’t currently cost effective with Skype for larger businesses. Skype sells "online numbers" for $6.95 each per month, and some consecutive numbers are available and DID service can be emulated for SMBs. Skype users can call Skype Connect trunks (Skype to Skype) and this is an advantage in force that goes with Skype as a brand and its global adoption rate. In Barry’s webinar presentation, he noted that Skype currently carries about 25% of the planet’s international calling minutes, citing research by TeleGeography.
Anyone that currently uses Skype’s "Click-to-call" has their browser enabled to dial numbers, and "Skype buttons" advertised on company websites use their Skype network client. Telephone numbers are highlighted in web searches with Skype, and the company telephone number is displayed in Skype blue. What I don't know is whether or not, when any Skype users that have their browsers enabled with Click-to-call--will that call route to Skype Connect if the user clicks on a webpage showing the company's MBTN (Main billed telephone number)? I do know that the same user clicking on the Skype button on our webpages will ring in on Skype Connect because that's a "Skype Name" being dialed (Skye-to-Skype) and not a telephone number. This is another potential windfall for Microsoft in capturing more voice traffic.
The other thing I don’t know is once Skype "verifies" our company, when users Click-to-call on webpages with our MBTN--will those calls then route to our Skype Connect just like users that click on our Skype buttons? Our outbound calls will show our MBTN when Skype verifies our company.
Now, if the mere fact that Skype is carrying one fourth of international calls doesn’t impress you then maybe the differences in costs that Skype Connect offers over SIP trunks will garner some attention. But this isn't the only thing that caught my attention.
Next Page: Adding presence
Our IP-PBX is hooked up with Skype Connect and we are enjoying call rates with great savings. I contacted Skype support and spent a few hours trying to find a way to bond Skype clients to Skype Connect. I think that Skype in its next play will do this; whether it’s a convergence of Skype and Lync or further development of both and/or both platforms touching the other, I don't know.
Skype clients have presence, and gluing that presence to Skype Connect makes sense. Skype clients work virtually anywhere and this is huge when considering BYOD and in giving users choices. I still have my IP-PBX and great Skype call rates and per-trunk fees, but with Skype clients available to all employees and with an "intelligent connection" to our Skype Connect trunks, I now have a viable UC platform that I can scale as I need, when I need it and for as long as I need it. Let me say it another way--without servers, LDAP, Active Directory or an IT guy that scores of SMBs lack access to and funds for, they can gain presence and low cost options for calling and can even emulate DID service. As these same businesses grow they could leave the IP-PBX/PBX platforms and move into Microsoft centric solutions. CEO Steve Ballmer knows this and I think Microsoft has great potential to do what the hoteliers say in "improving the odds of their capture rates" or getting more guests (customers) to stay within the confines of the property (Hotel or Microsoft).
Extending presence from Skype clients while using Skype Connect means virtually anything that successfully connects to Skype will have a powerful platform offering both low cost and value added features/functions on a pay-as-you-go model and or using some bundles to entice business owners. There are no middlemen with Skype and no distribution channel. Another implication is Skype Connect has the potential to connect to other Skype Connect businesses, and this means more call traffic running over Skype's network.
How many existing managed service providers and hosted PBX providers are willing to open up Skype channels to their platforms? I don’t think it matters because Skype can just take the traffic from them. Of course reality is in how easily hardware manufacturers will play into Skype's security that now offers Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Secure RTP (SRTP) protocols for encrypting SIP messages and RTP (media streams) between compatible IP-PBXs, Media Gateways, or UC (Unified Communications) platforms and Skype Connect.
Then, because it's easy to adopt, implement and scale, existing SIP trunk providers are in for a run against a software giant that I think is outplaying them. Large enterprise is smitten to some degree with Lync and Brian Riggs wrote in Microsoft TechEd 2012 Through UC-Shaded Glasses that, "About 20% of Lync end users have desk phones that register with Lync Server; the rest use the Lync client and a PC-attached headset." Skype clients with presence connected to Skype Connect, I think will capture a significant share of customers.
Does it make sense for Microsoft to retain Skype and Lync as separate platforms or to converge the two or do something else? Maybe I’ve juiced myself beyond my coffee limits and I’m just overly excited about Skype Connect possibilities.
What remains is I'm already saving 60% using Skype for call minutes over existing SIP trunks and paying 55% less on access rate for the SIP trunks with Skype Connect, and it took very little effort on my part for programming our IP-PBX while implementing on the fly.
Whatever Microsoft does with Skype and or Lync, take note. Be afraid, very afraid because Skype and Lync can disrupt your revenues whether you are selling carrier services, hosted and managed services or PBXs. Microsoft I think has or is about to strike gold again.
