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General Information
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October 9, 2009
• Vol.31 Issue 25
Page(s) 35 in print issue
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Skype Use In The Enterprise
The Internet’s Favorite Phone System Can Centralize Account Management, Improve Integration & Enable Mobility
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| Key Points
• Skype, the Internet phone service, is rapidly expanding onto enterprise turf with business products designed to consolidate Skype user management and billing and integrate the Skype service with VoIP PBXes.
• While Skype’s rates for calls to domestic phone numbers aren’t significantly lower than those from conventional carriers, SMEs with substantial overseas calling may find significant savings by using Skype for international calls.
• Skype’s mobile client, currently available on the iPhone and Window Mobile phones, allows traveling employees to stretch cell plan minutes by using Skype over Wi-Fi networks. | First instant messaging, then blogs, followed by Facebook and Twitter; it seems the Internet’s social communication services are steadily invading the staid world of enterprise IT.
Don’t look now, but Skype, the pioneering voice, video, and messaging application, is next—at least if its devoted users and company executives have anything to say about it. Skype has nearly half a billion registered users, and companies can rest assured many of their customers and employees are among them. Despite IT resistance, IDC Research Analyst Rebecca Swenson says Skype has already snuck in the back door of many enterprises and is widely used at work—a situation that is leading many firms to officially incorporate Skype as a supported service.
Skype got its start as a virtual Internet phone company and owes much of its growth to the fact that users can make free calls to other Skype contacts regardless of their location. It’s one of the oldest VoIP services, with mature technology and a demonstrable record of excellent call quality. As VoIP becomes increasingly commodified, Skype has added features such as video, chat, SMS messaging, screen sharing, and file transfer that have morphed it into a rich communications platform, one that Matt Jordan, enterprise business development manager at Skype (www.skype.com) terms “free, on-demand, unified communications.”
Yet Skype has had trouble shaking its consumer roots and getting enterprise IT departments to take it seriously. Their trepidation stems from Skype's proprietary, undocumented P2P (peer-to-peer) transport protocol that leaves many IT managers concerned about privacy, security, and network usage. Perhaps of bigger concern to enterprises, according to Info-Tech Senior Research Analyst Jayanth Angl, is that Skype lacks service-level guarantees and business customer support.
 Skype’s Business Offerings
While Skype is unlikely to change its protocol or P2P architecture to appease IT skeptics, it has added several products targeted directly at the enterprise, particularly SMEs. These include Skype for Business, Skype for Asterisk (an open-source PBX commercially marketed and supported by Digium), Skype for SIP (the standard VoIP signaling protocol), and Skype Mobile.
Skype for Business is a Web-based control panel that allows IT to centrally manage Skype accounts, phone numbers, and Skype credits. And Skype’s latest forays into the business world include Skype for SIP and Skype for Asterisk, which are aimed at integration with existing PBXes.
Skype for mobile devices, a new and somewhat controversial service, is something Angl says SMEs may find particularly useful. Skype currently provides clients for Windows Mobile phones and the iPhone, with plans for Android, BlackBerry, and Java-based devices in the works, according to Angl. The controversy arises over support for Skype on 3G networks, which many carriers disable because it essentially uses a mobile data connection to bypass the carrier’s voice network and get “free” voice minutes.
Usage Scenarios
Angl sees a number of favorable scenarios for Skype in the enterprise. The most obvious is as an alternative voice trunk to reduce long-distance charges. And Skype’s mobile solution might be another potential cost-saver for companies with remote or traveling employees. Jordan notes that enterprises spend about 30% of their telecom budgets on wireless services and sees the potential for substantial savings if companies teach employees to use Skype where possible when on the road.
The native Skype application is a pretty rich collaboration tool, which could serve as a cheap and easy videoconferencing and messaging solution for SMEs with remote and mobile employees. Swensen agrees that Skype provides a compelling UC foundation. “Skype brings to the table not only valuable cost savings but also an innovative way of delivering communications.”
Web integration using the SIP gateway is another promising business application, according to Angl, and is particularly suited for pre-sales or customer support sites. As Jordan puts it, “click-to-call is like having an 800 number on the Internet,” which he notes has been quite popular in the travel and hospitality industry.
Final Thoughts
Although Skype continues to add features such as video calls, SMS messaging, and call forwarding, its drawing power remains price, which is free when staying within the Skype ecosystem. Whether coincidental or not, the past year’s economic turmoil has played into Skype’s plans to extend its franchise to the enterprise. Yet accessing the Skype network need not require deploying the Skype client. As Angl points out, “While the desktop application poses similar security risks to other consumer messaging tools, small business IT leaders should understand the alternative approaches to accessing Skype’s low-cost calling services.” 
by Kurt Marko
Skype Services For Different Enterprise Constituencies
Skype brings to the table a number of different services for the business environment that address the needs of the user, the administrator, and the IT manager.
For the User: The Skype portal offers a number of modes of communication for the business user: IM/chat, voice, video, conferencing, file transfer, and desktop sharing. In addition, Skype users have the ability to record calls and fax (with help from Pamela, an add-on tool) and apply click-to-call buttons to their email and/or Web site.
For the Administrator: Skype has built administrative tools into its solution that make it easier for enterprises to oversee employee Skype use and billing. Administrators can buy Skype credit and delegate to users as they see fit.
For the IT Manager: Thanks to the new Skype for Asterisk and Skype for SIP services, as well as Skype gateways that tie into TDM PBXs, IT managers can take advantage of the cost savings of Skype through the business’ existing phone system. Skype can now be used to save money on long distance calls, such as those generated from a call center.
SOURCE: “RECOGNIZING VALUE: COMMUNICATION AS A SERVICE FOR THE ENTERPRISE”; IDC WHITE PAPER, SPONSORED BY SKYPE; BY REBECCA SWENSEN; JULY 2009.
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