Lync Connects to Skype

Lync and Skype users can exchange presence information and communicate through instant messaging (IM) or voice, using a Microsoft-hosted connectivity service that went live in May 2013. The service gives organizations a more secure, practical option for communicating with customers, business partners, or contractors who use Skype than those available today. However, the service does not yet enable video calls, Skype’s most popular feature, and both the organization using Lync and the Skype users it wants to communicate with might need to make technical changes to enable the service.

Presence, IM, and Voice for Callers Without Lync

The Lync enterprise software and online services enable users to view and publish presence status (for example, online, busy, or away) and initiate various types of communications sessions, including IM, voice, video, and application sharing. Skype is a separate Microsoft-hosted public online service and line of client software that offers similar capabilities, primarily for consumers and small businesses. With the new Lync-Skype connectivity service, Skype users can add Lync users as contacts and vice versa. Users on either side can then see a contact’s presence information, and start two-party IM sessions or voice calls.