Both Microsoft Skype and Teams are popular products from Microsoft. Each with its own unique features and usability factors.

But why are people moving over to Microsoft Teams and abandoning Skype for Business?

Teams of 10 or 10,000 can meet online with Microsoft Teams. On the other hand, Skype for Business allows only 250 people for video conferencing. This will retire by July 31, 2021.

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Microsoft Teams will replace Skype for Business in Office 365 applications very soon.

Organizations can work more efficiently with Microsoft Teams. Employees can collaborate with each other. This brings in better productivity and saving in time and resources.

It is an integrated app that brings together files, chats and document sharing.

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Since 2013, Skype has been primarily used for home purpose for free call and small businesses. On the other hand, Microsoft Teams lets you host visual and audio web conferences for office goers.

In this article, we will take a quick look at both the apps. We do a Skype Vs Microsoft Teams comparison.

Microsoft Teams Vs Skype

Skype for Business Vs Microsoft teams

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  • Centralized data storage,
  • Permanent stored data access.
  • Easier team member management.
  • Easier work flow.
  • Microsoft Teams has much better features compared to Skype.
  • Skype doesn’t have a centralized location for data storage.
  • New members can’t get automatic access to stored data.
  • Confidentiality level for each team.
  • Complete privacy in Microsoft Teams.
  • Whiteboards, Sharepoint collaboration, easier file sharing and update.
  • Better call and video conferencing features and settings, enhanced privacy give Microsoft Teams a huge edge over Skype.
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Microsoft Teams Pricing

Skype – An Introduction

The Skype app was acquired by Microsoft in 2011 for nearly 8 billion dollars. Skype is largely a VoIP application that helps users make phone calls over the Internet.

Download Skype For Desktop Mobile

If you had a Skype number, you could make phone calls to any Skype number across the world free of cost. Additionally, you could make cheaper calls to regular phones.

Microsoft offered attractive subscription packages to its users. Over time, Skype chat, Skype messaging, and Skype video conferencing features were added.

As more organizations started using Skype for their business purposes, more features were added.

As of 2020, Microsoft Teams replaces Skype for Business as its professional online meeting solution.

Skype For Business

In 2015, Microsoft launched Skype for Business.

It merged the features of Skype and Lync making it possible for business organizations to hold video conferencing with up to 250 participants at a time.

Skype for Business was a successful product from Microsoft, with attractive pricing being one of the key reasons for its rising success.

Skype Features

Key features of Skype 

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  • You can make free Skype to Skype calls.
  • You can pay for Skype to Phone subscriptions and make phone calls to any part of the world at cheaper rates.
  • These are supported by Call forwarding and voice mailbox features.
  • They are provided with your Skype number.
  • You can do a video conferencing call with up to 50 people at a time.
  • Record video and voice calls for a later reference.
  • We can also record Shared files and streamed videos during the Skype video conferencing call. These recordings will be available for 30 days in the archives.
  • Skype also allows for mobile screen sharing.
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Pros of Skype: 

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  • Free Skype-to-Skype calls
  • Attractive packages
  • Live subtitles
  • Easy to install and use
  • Screen sharing
  • Group messaging and group video calling

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Cons of Skype:

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  • Skype is bandwidth sensitive. Call drops, lags are quite common.
  • To share documents and real-time file sharing, both Skype users need to be online.
  • Skype eats up a lot of bandwidth.
  • Lack of clarity in call and video quality, missed calls, call disturbances, background noises etc lead to a bad user experience.
  • Some users find the UI difficult to use.
  • Video conferences freeze at times
  • Skype isn’t a collaborative tool. 

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Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams was launched by Microsoft in the year 2017 to as a collaborative tool for companies. It is seeing success in this product.

Download Microsoft Teams Desktop Mobile

Some of the key features of Microsoft Teams are:

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  • Share Point Collaboration
  • White Boarding
  • Easier access to necessary files through the “Files Tab”
  • Easier file sharing and updating.
  • Activity feeds to notify the latest notifications.
  • Activity search to quickly search through previous activities.
  • You can be pre-schedule meetings, record them and store permanently.
  • On the fly we can create Meeting Notes.
  • Access and updates can be done by everyone attending the meeting.
  • Adding new members to an existing team and resource sharing with them is easier.
  • Features such a background blurring and background noise muting are available.
  • Enhanced security features (Azure’s Active Directory Integration)
  • This app works on both desktop and mobile.

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Conclusion:

Skype and Microsoft Teams are both popular tools in their respective purview. Teams is definitely a feature-rich and collaboration friendly tool, making it a popular product in the current business scenario.

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2 Comments

  1. A few of the statements in this article is not correct.
    Skype for Business is only a rebranding of Lync 2013 server product and is for corporates that have on premise servers. And have a can communicate with Skype Consumer if the SkypeConsumer have a MS-account for logon.
    When Office 365 came they mirrored/redesigned the Skype For Business for Online use too. This Online version of Skype for Business will now be “swallowed”/migrated into Teams.

    Skype(The old Consumer Skype with dialing capabilities) will still be there for a while.
    Consumer Skype can today communicate with SkypeForBusiness and soon Teams users.

    Skype for Business 2019 will still be there for Large organisations that need telephone system onprem. But most large Office 365 users will migrate all voice/video/phone to Teams.

    Voice dialing to phones from Teams doesn’t come cheap. You have to buy dialing quota. You will need a MS365 license that fasilitates this (E5 or addon license) $12 pr. month.
    For small use/personal use, you might still hang on to consumer skype for this reason.

    Corporate M365 users have a totally different confernecing solution called LiveEvents in Teams. (100.000 attendees at the moment, limited presenters)

    Skype Meeting Broadcast (10.000 attendees)
    These solutions are more streaming/presentation solutions than “meetings”. Would you want 10.000 people trying to communicate simultaneously in a meeting? 😀

    Just a few clarifications.

    1. @Darth: Thanks for the inputs regarding Skype and Teams.

      Yes, I agree that Skype is for personal use and Teams will be soon the official icon for business meetings replacing Skype for Business. For small businesses, who have not upgraded to MS365, Skype for Business will still be useful.

      With WhatsApp, Facebook, Zoom, Meet, Telegram and other messengers having voice and video calling facility enabled, Skype lost its charm. But before 2020, Skype was a reliable tool for online-calling and chatting. Mainly for calling telephone numbers. Also Skype to Skype calls are free. Even the pricing were in par with mobile rates in India.

      People in US, Europe and Aus still use this app, as my analytics indicate that Skype has its share of market.

      Regarding too many people joining an online meeting, I would say that it’s still possible in an virtual conference situation like “Corona”. Recently at our place, there was a political campaign online using Zoom app with attendees expected to reach 10,000 threshold.

      Teams has grown up into a business collaboration tool for Windows users and office environment. Since SMBs will be interested in investing MS Office 365, it would not be a burden for employees. In addition, Teams is having additional features added from time to time.

      Currently Skype is being used on a personal note. Voice-calling is also good. This is useful when other messengers don’t work or congested. Now, Teams too can be used for personal purposes. But it still didn’t catch at the level of Zoom and Meet.