Skype Means Business - Saving Money is Just the Start
Skype today announced it has taken Skype for Business one step
further in response to continuous demand by businesses all over the
world to use Skype(TM) to communicate with customers and colleagues.
Skype for Business has proven to be incredibly popular because firms
save both money and time as Skype is so easy to use and a convenient
way of keeping in touch.
Business users have always been part of the Skype family and make
up over 30% of Skype's global community, now numbering at 171 million.
In a recent survey of 250 businesses using Skype, 95% claimed to
have saved money and 80% claimed that using Skype increased employee
productivity.
One particular firm, Lewis & Hickey, a group of leading
international architects that has recently installed Skype across its
offices in the UK and Prague, claims that since making its first Skype
call, it has saved up to 7.6 % on its standard call charges and wants
to reach a cost reduction of 50% of its total telephony expenditure in
the near future.
Benoit Mareschal, Director, Business Development at Lewis &
Hickey, comments: "We have clients and teams across the UK and abroad
and like many creative businesses we need to share ideas and keep in
touch with one another. This can come at a high cost. We wanted to
find a way to communicate but pay less for the privilege. Since we
started using Skype, the amount we're spending on international mobile
and landline phone calls has dropped significantly. Skype creates a
human bridge between technology and personable communication."
The survey also revealed that 62% of the businesses communicate
better with customers on Skype and 76% said they work more closely
with colleagues because Skype is so easy to use.
Benoit Mareschal agrees, "Now we have Skype, the ability to talk
with one another has increased enormously. People used to rely on
email but with Skype you can get an immediate response to a query
without disturbing the whole office - especially if you are using the
instant chat feature. You can see when people are online, ask your
question and carry on with what you were doing."
With additional new features unveiled today, Skype has also made
it easier for businesses to install and manage Skype. Skype can be
easily installed on multiple computers using the Windows Installer
package (commonly known as MSI), giving IT Administrators greater
control over how Skype communications traffic runs across their
corporate networks.
An online control panel enables companies to allocate individual
users with Skype credits that can be used to make cheap SkypeOut(TM)
calls to traditional landline phones or mobiles and provides a
consolidated view of what is being spent.
Meanwhile, Skype is working collaboratively too. Together with its
partners it has been working on a range of new business productivity
tools, called Extras: these include the Convenos web conference and
collaboration service, a package called Unyte which enables users to
share the view off their PC desktop and a Skype-enabled call-centre
offering from ACD.
To learn more about Skype for Business visit www.skype.biz.
About Skype
Skype is the world's fastest-growing Internet communication
offering, allowing unlimited free voice, video and instant messaging
communication between users of Skype Software. With over 171 million
registered users, Skype is available in over 28 languages and is used
in almost every country around the world. Skype generates revenue
through its premium offerings such as making and receiving calls to
and from landline and mobile phones, voicemail, call forwarding and
personalization including ringtones and avatars. Skype also has
relationships with a growing network of hardware and software
providers.
Skype is an eBay company (NASDAQ: EBAY). To learn more visit
skype.com.
Access to a broadband Internet connection is required for Skype
and all Skype Certified devices and accessories. Skype is not a
replacement for your traditional telephone service and cannot be used
for emergency calling.
Skype, SkypeIn, SkypeOut, Skype Me, Skype Certified, Skypecasts,
associated logos and the "S" symbol are trademarks of Skype Limited.