We want to help…
We did some user research and we found that about 30% of our user base uses Skype for work purpose, pretty interesting because we have a consumer focused product. From the research we also found that it was mostly small companies using Skype and the reason that they use Skype is because it saves their company money but also because it increases their productivity and saves them time.
There are some features that helps conf calling, group chats, presence, SkypeIn, Call forwarding etc.
In this blog we want to highlight new cool things for Skype’s business users and tips and tricks how to get the most out of Skype at your company.
If you have any comments, ideas or feedback, email me at s4b@skype.net. I can’t promise to answer everything, but I promise to read them all.
…And as someone just said in the office – If this only was about cheap calling, it wouldn’t be revolutionary.
Hi i sell on the net http://WWW.COOLBUCKLES.COM . I have a good idea since i Speak French, English, Portuguese and Spanish. I attend all my customers in all these languages by email. My question is why can’t i have a “SKYPE voice” icon on my web site with this on it………………………………Example………………. “CALL US” …..from 9am to 2pm ……[clic for PORTUGUESE] [click for SPANISH] …..[clic for ENGLISH] ….. [clic for FRENCH] ……………………………………………………In ALL different Languages that i have chosen. Also with voice mail and a hold message that i would dictate for each language for the waiting customer on voice line. I THINK THIS IS A GREAT IDEA SINCE THE WORLD IS COMING MORE AND MORE TOGUETHER WITH THE INTERNET AND ALOT OF MULTILINGUAL BUSINESS WEB SITES WOULD ADOPT THIS SKYPE VOICE ON THEIR WEB SITE.
I think the number one feature missing from Skype with regards to businesses is the ability to transfer calls to a different Skype account. This feature alone would make Skype with SkypeIn numbers a viable alternative to a traditional office switchboard. For a small business a switchboard is expensive and they will only use a fraction of the features. Transfering Skype calls would make it possible to completely replace traditional telephony – without it a key feature is missing for businesses.
I agree, Call Transfert is THE feature missing in Skype for Small Business use.
Think about it guys !
Is Skype really serious about business? What is new? A lot of these Extras for Business provide absolutely no compelling extra functionality, or they require taking on some third party software.
So what if Salesforce is integrating Skype? What is *Skype* doing for business beyond the existing product?
There is an embarrasing lack of specific detail on this business part of the site. Come on Skype – pull it together! People really WANT this!
One more voice in the mix on TRANSFERING CALLS..
the company I work for is looking to upgrade and would love to use Skype rather than pay a ton to set up a traditional phone system or other VoIP services…
but without the ability to transfer calls between co-workers … it is a definite NO from the boss…
If only we had a skype appliance plugged in our premises allowing the security/network and management to be able to :
1) Monitor calls and costs
2) Optimize network flows (force designated appliance as a skype node)
3) Check file transfers against malware or allow it or not
4) Interface with our LDAP directory
Then I could guarantee you 10k users more in the comming weeks !
I have just speant the last 4 hours looking into the whole call transfer buiness. As a small company of 10 people we want to use skype but NEED the transfer funcionality.
Is this something that can be achieved using the API if so I’m willing to find devloper to do it cos it would be massively popular.
Come on SKYPE, give us all a hand to use your service more???????
For call forwarding features and not only, the bestis to connect skype to a PBX.
We found a great product in Skype2PBX.
Is really good, all the skype features are available but you can directly call from your PBX.
We have a number of workers who work from home. I would love to have the ability to have a skype phone as the main phone, then to place the caller on hold, speak to a home worker (also on Skype, as though they were in the same building), come back to the caller and to transfer them through, whilst clearing down the main line for the next caller. This facility would transform our business.
Totally agree with the need for call transfer. However, a useful “Skype for Business” needs a bit more:
It would also need a selective call forwarding, e,g,, busy, no answer, after hours etc., and would have to be able to ring a second account, e.g., assistant, in parallel to the dialed account.
But even more importantly it would have to grant number blocks for SkypeIn, e.g., 10, 20, 50, 100 extensions, which could also eventually be moved to other providers. No Business can afford to publish a phone number it does not “own”. Vice versa it should be possible to transfer existing phone numbers to Skype, as it is possible between POTS provider.
I strongly believe the business market for a software only VOIP solution is huge, if Skype really wants to play here. I am looking right now for a VOIP solution to integrate number blocks in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and potentially other EU markets with one telephony provider. And guess what, it does not exist.
Although Skype doesn’t provide Call Transfer directly, but SkypeAttendant still can do this. Please have a try:
http://blogs.skype.com/directory/skypeattendant/view/
I own an internet website and our webmaster and service reps as well as myself work from home. I need a virtual PBX type system where we can have calls roll from one skype id to another if the rep is busy on another call. And, the ability to put a caller on hold. If there was a hold feature and we can have 2 active log in’s for 1 worker at once, that would help, too (where she can put the caller on hold and pick up the other line). Ability to transfer to another person would be great too. I see a lot of interest and wanted to add mine, too. Thanks!
My comment: interlocutor security
How can we engage more companies to use Skype? (specially the big ones)
I run a company and my main concern while using Skype is having control of my usernames. Two examples:
a) Imagine I have a financial adviser with a good portfolio of clients and then he moves to another company. Can I keep his business Skype username and forward calls to his substitute?
b) Imaging I try to solve the above problem by naming my employees usernames as “namesurename-company”. Someone else can sign up as “name2surename2-company” and look like if it was my employee.
The solution, well, allowing emails addresses as usernames (as MSN) would help in the sense that the company has control over its domain name.
I hope it helps.
I love Skype.
Francisco from Madrid (Spain)
Skype: franciscohm
WEB: http://francisco.hernandezmarcos.net
Adding another voice to the call transfer idea. This would open up alot of opportunities for online radio stations/call-in podcasts as well.
Hey, all,
I’m posting here because I’m not sure who to send my query to, but I certainly guess that education could be considered business, so the post _sorta_ fits here.
What about Skype in education? It’s almost universal these days to hear educational (and entertainment) podcasters recording Skype calls for interviews (see the Richard Vobes Radio Show, Dawn and Drew, PK&J, and in education “edtechtalk” and Snacks4theBrain!–my own podcast. The developing videoconferencing feature seems destined to position Skype as a leader there, too. I’m putting together a “Birds of a Feather” session for the National Educational Computing Conference in June at San Diego (typically 15-20,000 attendees) about desktop interactive videoconferencing and have issued a challenge to solution providers to send in a one-minute video to convince educators that their product is the one best suited to educational/training use. See the brief video explanation at http://usn.org/scott/video/NECCchallenge.wmv . If you’d be kind enough to forward this message or call the appropriate Skype party’s attention to it I’d be very grateful: It’s not very clear from the Skype site who best to send it to. If that precludes your posting this message that’s okay as well. Thanks! Scott Merrick
If video calls are possible, then I would like to see if video messages would be possible too. The main idea is to have prerecorded video answering message, telling who I am and possibility to leave a message, also with video. Also could record my own message and edit this message, then I could send the messages the one I love while I am traveling in different time zone. This could also make possibility to make small presentations of new servcies and make video news around the world using Skype.
What it requires from Skype: edit and recording functions for video and some UI changes to send messages.
As the (big bad?) boss of a firm of property location agents these are the things that we are crying out for:
A Call transfer facility. We have our researchers working from home and whilst it’s great to be able to contact them on Skype for free – I’ve got to say it would move our business firmly over from using traditional calls to Skype fulltime if we could forward incoming calls.
Also our consultants are out and about roaming a lot. We only use Skype to call between the offices at the moment – is there any way we can start using the skype on a mobile device and if so how?
Cheers guys and big thumbs up to the work you’ve done so far. We love your product at Homefinder UK especially with the conference facility. Genius!
Mrs Freya Bletsoe
Director
Homefinder UK Ltd.
http://www.homefinderuk.com
http://www.freyabletsoe.com
10 days ago my Skype stopped working without notice. When I went to my account the number was not available and there was no record of it. I have been trying to get help from customer service ever since. I have entered trouble tickets on a daily basis, with no response and no ticket number issued. In the mean time, I am loosing business. If you want business customers maybe you should try offering customer service.
Another vote for Call Transfer! If this feature was added we would run our business off of Skype.
The post by “redhand1″ on Monday, Mar 27 summed it up pretty well.
Another vote for call transfer, but a further feature we need is smarter billing for skype out.
Currently with Skype Groups, accounts can be set to top up nightly, but if someone in the group overspends during the day they’re suddenly cut off!
What I’d like to see is either a single pool of credit which is used for the whole group, or a “top up when credit is low” option that runs in real-time, not overnight. Losing calls to customers mid-conversation is not good.
Oh, and another one – I’d like to be able to conference in people to a call I didn’t initiate. Currently this isn’t possible.
I agree with most of the points made by samuel.barbaud, particularly regarding the need to control and optimize network flows. We need to be able to force designated appliance or daemon as a skype node, and limit the ports used between the node and the Internet, and between the node and Intranet clients.
Also critical is the ability to scan file transfers, or forbid transfers by type, size, content or just outright.
Identity management is also a big deal for us. A control node with an interface into LDAP, Active Directory, RADIUS, etc would help here.
“I own an internet website and our webmaster and service reps as well as myself work from home. I need a virtual PBX type system where we can have calls roll from one skype id to another if the rep is busy on another call. And, the ability to put a caller on hold. If there was a hold feature and we can have 2 active log in’s for 1 worker at once, that would help, too (where she can put the caller on hold and pick up the other line). Ability to transfer to another person would be great too. I see a lot of interest and wanted to add mine, too. Thanks!”
I SECOND THIS FEATURE…THIS ONE IS THE KEY
In the latest version of Skype, users have lost the ability to add a new caller to a conference call in the middle of the conference call. We used to be able to do it in previous versions. Now we need to hang up on the conference call and re-initiate it with all the members at the call outset.
In the next version of Skype, definitely add that ability back in. It’s a huge pain in the neck to conference correctly now – and users like me wish we could back-rev to get the old feature again.
Thanks in advance for fixing this!
I’ve seen a lot of posts here wanting the ability to transfer an incoming Skype call to other collegues.
Here is a solution “The Skype Certified VoSKY Exchange”
Here is a snippet from http://www.vosky.com :-
The “Skype Certified” “VoSKY Exchange is the world’s first product that brings the benefit of Skype to an office environment. Exchange seamlessly bridges your existing PBX to the Skype network, and gives you inexpensive long distance and international calls. Exchange adds four Skype lines to your PBX, and extends the benefit of Skype to every extension in your office.”
Once you have added the VoSKY Exchange to the PBX a Skype call can be put on hold and transfered just like any other call traditional call.
For more information please visit http://www.vosky.com
I am desperate for Skype, or one of its partners or developers, to release an automated call handling system.
We are a small company with four staff all of whom have Skype accounts. We have three SkypeIn numbers. It would be great (and I for one would pay a nominal sum for such) if someone would release an add-on for skype where we could record a voicemail message, along the lines of: “press 1 for [person], press 2 for [person]… etc” and calls can then be seemlessly forwarded to the respective person’s skype account, or mobile etc if they’re out and about. Also it would be good if this system had an option to record additional messages, such as giving callers or postal address etc…
Maybe this already exists?? If so, I would be grateful if someone would point me in the right direction.
Thanks in advance.
Matthew (fireflyfilms)
PS I don’t want to invest in a PBX/PABX system – I imagine in time an add-on should be able to give all this functionality.
Hello, I use Skype for business purposes. Is there any ability to send fax from Skype to line phones? That would help a lot. Thanks.
Dmitriy.
Skype2PBX is the proper solution for small to big company because support up to 99 concurrent skype lines, have a central management console with centralized contact list, you can have auto attendant and forwarding features here the main features:
For more information please visit http://www.skype2pbx.com
Another vote for call transfer…
Yet another vote:
“the ability to transfer calls to a different Skype account”
I’ll drop my POTS line and get my skypeIn instantly…
not more left to say..
Can we use Skype to videoconference w/ 12 different people @ 12 different locations? Seems from the blog comments that only between 2 locations is possible? Thx.
Skype brings business people together (URL who wants to Skype Skype brings business people together)