Skype for Business is out; Microsoft Teams is in

In what may have first came out as an accidental leak, Microsoft is now letting users know that it will be letting go of the Skype for Business name and combining this business communications solution with its Microsoft Teams offering.

The two had once been separate and used for different reasons, but it seems the giant is working to bring the two functionalities together to offer business users features like messaging, video conferencing with multiple attendees, and more.

Microsoft Teams is a chat-based workspace app used to increase collaboration across organizations and competes directly with other services like Slack.

There hasn’t been an official announcement or details on how combining both will work, but business users are already getting antsy thinking about how this move may help or hinder their communications needs.

Business communications are critical today thanks to the internet. Remote communications have limited boundaries and made it possible to communicate easily across borders without having to be in the same physical location. Microsoft took a giant piece of this communications pie when it purchased Skype back and changed it the service’s name from Lync.

Since Skype for Business has become a huge force in the business communications space for its UC capabilities and security, it was only a matter of time before we’d see a new name come around and new capabilities from Microsoft. This latest move will change the name to a more fitting description that highlights the technologies ability to foster collaboration and teamwork and communications across business users.

Only time will tell how long this name sticks around and how well the added capabilities are received. Which feature are you most excited about? Tell us in the comments below.

See also:

• Microsoft Teams offer new collaboration features like Office Store