Microsoft Teams will replace Skype for Business. As of April 1, 2019, third-party audio conferencing technology will no longer function in Skype for Business. The Skype for Business online application will no longer be available after July 31, 2021.
Instead, Microsoft 365 users will have access to Microsoft Teams. Teams is a truly unified communication system, but it's a big change for your organization. If you want to improve your efficiency and ROI, you'll need to prepare.
Upgrading from Skype for Business to Teams is a simple thing on paper. In fact, once Skype for Business is End of Life, Microsoft will replace it automatically. Getting the most out of Teams, however, is more difficult.
You may be able to instantly enable Teams for meetings and messaging, but what about calling? Calling in Teams is a more complicated process, often requiring the help of a telecom expert to properly set up. This is especially true for organizations with complex call routing and legacy voice systems.
Perhaps you used Skype for Business for calling. Your entire calling environment won't be automatically carried over once the platform is retired. If you're not prepared for this, your users will be faced with confusion and disconnection.
Users are the most important aspect of this transition. You'll need to create a user adoption plan to get the most out of Teams. Organizations that dedicate time to creating these plans are six times more likely to meet or exceed their objectives.
Preparing your organization for this new solution is more than you can do on your own. It takes the help of a team of experts to make sure your deployment is a success. That's where a Teams integrator will help your organization.
A Teams integrator is a organization of Teams experts and specialists. They help you design a Teams solution to fit your organization and deploy it on your schedule. Once the deployment is done, they provide managed services to make sure your solution stays efficient.
You won't have to rely on your own IT team to make this transition. An integrator frees up your IT resources by taking on all Microsoft related tasks. Your IT team will be able to focus on their day-to-day tasks.
Continuant is a certified Teams integrator. For more than 25 years, we've helped organizations all over the world get the most out of their communication systems. We design, deploy, and manage Microsoft solutions to help our customers improve efficiency and meet their business goals. We'll setup your calling infrastructure in Teams and make sure your users are trained and setup for success.
Ready to prepare your organization for Teams? Schedule a technology assessment to get started.
* Editor's Note: This article was originally published in March 2019 and has been revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.