Ever since Microsoft bought Skype I have been getting questions about where it fits. We got our first indication earlier this year when we all got notifications that Live Messenger was merging into Skype. Obviously there was no need for two different services that did essentially the same thing… but Lync was a different story.
Unlike Skype, which is a completely cloud-based service, Lync can be installed on-site, and is proprietary to an individual company. While that company has the option of connecting its Lync to the outside world, it can be secure in the knowledge that its information is proprietary and stored securely.
None of that is going to change, but today Lync has been given the ability to talk to Skype. So now the Enterprise richness of Lync has the global reach of Skype without surrendering its control.
Is it mandatory?
Of course not… for this to happen your Lync administrator needs to actively enable Lync-Skype connectivity. You still have the option of staying private. Once they have done that, your Lync users can connect to Skype from either Lync 2013 or Lync 2010, including any of the 2013 mobile clients.
As for Skype users, they will need the latest Skype client, available from www.skype.com. As of launch this connectivity will be supported from the Window sand Mac desktop clients, but other options will be made available as other clients are updated.
So what are you waiting for folks? Lync up!
For full details from the product team, read the blog article here.