Advantages and Disadvantages for Business Managers

Advantages:

       
One of the primary advantages that any business manager gains from using Skype in the workplace is that it is either free or costs very little, depending on how it is used. If the business is using Skype for business calls to other Skype users, then it is free. Otherwise, purchasing SkypeIn or SkypeOut monthly plans or pay-as-you-go plans are very affordable; SkypeIn costs $60/month, and SkypeOut costs $12.95/month for an unlimited world plan. For small businesses this can be particularly advantageous. 

As well, the usage of Skype can increase productivity in the workplace. Skype offers a service called Skype Manager which allows business employers to manage their employees' SkypeIn and SkypeOut accounts. Skype Manager includes the capabilities of real-time analysis and reporting, as well as a convenient centralized payment system.

Skype in itself, being a service which offers unified communications capabilities, is advantageous for businesses because it allows organizations to connect and conduct business meetings with other businesses, business partners and clients. Brightstorm Inc. is an organization which produces learning videos for students and streams them on the internet, and which also heavily relies on Skype for its recruitment and interviewing process. With the use of Skype, Brightstorm Inc. can recruit employees from across the nation which offers this organization a vast selection of candidates, and by interviewing them using Skype, they can have an idea of how the person is perceived on video and if they have enough personable attributes to be successful in video tutorials. 

Voice quality is also an advantage; on good Skype calls, voice quality is better than on a regular phone call because Skype uses wide-band technology that sends twice as much audio information as the PSTN.

Disadvantages:

A disadvantage for managers that choose to use Skype is that connection quality is not always as good as it is on the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Calls have been known to drop, and although this has minimized in the past few years some organizations which heavily rely on capabilities such as those which Skype offer require a guarantee of good quality, with financial compensation in cases where good quality is not provided. Skype does not offer a service level agreement (SLA) warranting  that service will be available and quality will be good at the risk of financial penalties to the provider (it only guarantees its "best effort"), which causes some organizations to find more expensive services that offer an SLA.

On bad Skype calls, voices may break up to the point where it is difficult to carry on a conversation, and there may also be a noticeable lag in the signal reaching its destination. This can be particularly harmful for an organization when it is conducting meetings with clients or business partners. As well, quality is not very reliable in multi-party conference calling.

   
Lastly, security can be a concern for some companies; in 2007, there was an outage which lasted for two days in which Skype had become unavailable. Although such an occurrence is very rare,since Skype does not offer an SLA this may not be a chance worth taking for some larger and more financially capable companies. Skype also can use a company’s network resources to route other users’ calls- even if Skype’s use of any one computer is minimal, as Skype suggests, this causes IT professionals to be cautious in their consideration of using Skype. As well, there is a possibility that an IM client can infect a company network with malware, and although this is also rare, some companies would rather not take the chance.

"Another differentiator is that Skype is free and simple to set up, and it costs us virtually nothing for a new user to join the Skype network, which is why we can offer the service for free."
-Niklas Zennstrom

Barriers to Adoption

Despite numerous requests, both Microsoft and Skype are unwilling to reveal whether or not other parties can be capable of intercepting Skype conversations. It does not take much imagination to realize the potential ramifications if this were a possibility. There is no doubt a plethora of private details discussed over Skype that corporations would rather not be gleaned by outsiders.

Another concern is the unpredictable call quality, with the risk of a poor connection increasing as more people are added to the conversation. A static, unsteady reception of another's conversation is nearly impossible to decipher and could greatly hamstring any video conference.

Yet another possible barrier to adoption is the lack of physical infrastructure. A switchboard for handling calls, or even the ability to transfer calls are completely absent from Skype. Their resolution to avoiding hard infrastructure is in itself a concern: the terms of use for anyone installing Skype includes a section that gives Skype the ability to use your computer as a node to funnel their traffic through. This could pose all sorts of security concerns for the user.

Finally, Skype is devoid of any monitoring tools which means that the IT department is totally in the dark regarding Skype usage. Enterprise level videoconferencing software is equipped with just such tools, allowing the IT manager to keep an eye on how the software is being used and to make appropriate decisions based on that information.


"When voice over the public internet works, it is great, but when it is bad, it is appalling, and business users will not tolerate poor voice services when they are conducting important company business."
-Bruce Everest

Future Use

Microsoft's relatively recent purchasing of the software is a likely indicator that there will soon be integrated support for the application across their product lines, and even a possible expansion across other parties' platforms. Even more interesting than that is the new possibility of using Skype without owning a personal computer.

With the launch of Logitech's Skype-equipped webcam, the need for a computer is completely removed from the equation. All that the new user would need is this webcam, and a TV to hook it up to; this removes the relatively high cost of acquiring a computer.

Another benefit of Microsoft's purchase is their ability to blend Skype services with those of their enterprise level voice/video service Lync. This will offer corporate users of Lync to connect directly with their consumers via this new bridge.

Lastly, we are seeing a profound shift towards portability regarding Skype. No longer are you tethered to your computer, but can now install the application on your smartphone or tablet. This allows people to remain connected with whomever they please while travelling, in transit or anywhere else that they wouldn't have access to a computer.


"Our vision is that products and services that Skype users know and love today will simply grow and be enhanced,"
-Steve Ballmer

About Skype

Skype, founded in 2003 and headquartered in Luxembourg. It is a common software used by 40 million users around the world. The free software provides phone calls, text messaging, file transfers, and video chat/conference. Skype team designed the software that can be deployed on computers, smartphones, and televisions. The software established an advanced method to allow people to communicate with the world.

"Wherever you are, wherever they are - Skype keeps you together." 

Use of Skype

Skype provides competitive advantages with the functions attached to the software. A number of companies apply the software wisely to expand their businesses, tune up their business processes, and expand client types.

Crunch, an online accounting company in the United Kingdom, uses Skype to communicate with clients on both a national and international level . In order to provide similar or higher levels of customer service, Crunch video calls clients to help build a more trusting relationship. Video calls allow employees and clients to meet face-to-face, even if they are physically separated. The use of video calls decreases the possibility of a misunderstanding occurring. Additionally, phone calls are also provided; the fees charged for international phone calls on Skype, compared to telephone companies in the nation, are relatively cheap. Crunch has benefited greatly from free video calls and affordable phone calls.