Skype for Business Online Functionality Moving to Teams

Over time, Microsoft Teams will acquire the capabilities of Skype for Business Online and become the primary unified communication client in Office 365. This transition is likely to be lengthy, with key telephony features targeted for late 2018. Microsoft has released no current plans to end Skype for Business Online, although it is unlikely the service will continue indefinitely. For on-premises customers, a new version of Skype for Business Server is expected in late 2018. Current customers will see no immediate change to their existing service, but those planning migrations or new systems should wait until more information is available.

Transition to Teams Just Beginning

In Sept. 2017, Microsoft announced that Teams would acquire the calling and meeting capabilities of Skype for Business Online and become the primary client for unified communications in Office 365. Teams is an Office 365 service that offers group-based collaboration spaces with persistent chat and integration with several Office 365 and third-party services, as well as voice and video meetings. Skype for Business is Microsoft’s unified communication solution for voice, video, and chat, and it includes a hosted online service, an on-premises server product, and client applications for desktop and mobile platforms.