<s>
Skype	B-Protocol
for	I-Protocol
Business	I-Protocol
(	O
formerly	O
Microsoft	B-Protocol
Lync	I-Protocol
and	O
Office	B-Protocol
Communicator	I-Protocol
)	O
is	O
an	O
enterprise	B-Application
software	I-Application
application	O
for	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
and	O
videotelephony	B-Application
developed	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Office	I-Application
suite	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
designed	O
for	O
use	O
with	O
the	O
on-premises	O
Skype	B-Protocol
for	I-Protocol
Business	I-Protocol
Server	I-Protocol
software	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
software	B-Architecture
as	I-Architecture
a	I-Architecture
service	I-Architecture
version	O
offered	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
Microsoft	B-Operating_System
365	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
supports	O
text	O
,	O
audio	O
,	O
and	O
video	B-Application
chat	I-Application
,	O
and	O
integrates	O
with	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Office	I-Application
components	O
such	O
as	O
Exchange	B-Operating_System
and	O
SharePoint	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2015	O
,	O
the	O
software	O
was	O
rebranded	O
from	O
Lync	O
to	O
Skype	B-Protocol
for	I-Protocol
Business	I-Protocol
,	O
co-branding	O
it	O
with	O
the	O
Microsoft-owned	O
consumer	O
messaging	B-Protocol
platform	O
Skype	B-Application
(	O
which	O
had	O
begun	O
to	O
integrate	O
with	O
Lync	O
in	O
2013	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2017	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
announced	O
that	O
it	O
would	O
phase	O
out	O
Skype	B-Protocol
for	I-Protocol
Business	I-Protocol
Online	O
in	O
favor	O
of	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Teams	I-Application
,	O
a	O
new	O
cloud-based	O
collaboration	B-Application
platform	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Support	O
for	O
Skype	B-Application
for	O
Businesses	O
Online	O
ended	O
in	O
July	O
2021	O
,	O
although	O
a	O
new	O
version	O
of	O
Skype	B-Protocol
for	I-Protocol
Business	I-Protocol
Server	I-Protocol
will	O
be	O
available	O
with	O
a	O
subscription	O
license	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
released	O
Office	B-Protocol
Communicator	I-Protocol
2007	O
to	O
production	O
on	O
July	O
28	O
,	O
2007	O
,	O
and	O
launched	O
it	O
on	O
October	O
27	O
,	O
2007	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
followed	O
by	O
Office	B-Protocol
Communicator	I-Protocol
2007	O
R2	O
,	O
released	O
on	O
March	O
19	O
,	O
2009	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
released	O
the	O
successor	O
to	O
Office	B-Protocol
Communicator	I-Protocol
,	O
Lync	O
2010	O
,	O
on	O
January	O
25	O
,	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2013	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
announced	O
that	O
it	O
would	O
allow	O
Lync	O
users	O
to	O
communicate	O
with	O
Skype	B-Application
,	O
a	O
consumer	O
IM	O
platform	O
it	O
had	O
acquired	O
in	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
November	O
11	O
,	O
2014	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
announced	O
that	O
Lync	O
would	O
be	O
renamed	O
Skype	B-Protocol
for	I-Protocol
Business	I-Protocol
in	O
2015	O
,	O
also	O
adding	O
support	O
for	O
video	B-Application
calls	I-Application
with	O
Skype	B-Application
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
September	O
22	O
,	O
2015	O
,	O
Skype	B-Protocol
for	I-Protocol
Business	I-Protocol
2016	O
was	O
released	O
alongside	O
Office	B-Operating_System
2016	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
October	O
27	O
,	O
2016	O
,	O
the	O
Skype	B-Protocol
for	I-Protocol
Business	I-Protocol
for	O
Mac	O
client	O
was	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
September	O
25	O
,	O
2017	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
announced	O
that	O
Skype	B-Protocol
for	I-Protocol
Business	I-Protocol
Online	O
would	O
be	O
discontinued	O
in	O
the	O
future	O
in	O
favor	O
of	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Teams	I-Application
,	O
a	O
cloud-based	O
collaboration	B-Application
platform	I-Application
for	O
corporate	O
groups	O
(	O
comparable	O
to	O
Slack	B-Protocol
)	O
integrating	O
persistent	O
messaging	B-Protocol
,	O
video	B-Application
conferencing	I-Application
,	O
file	O
storage	O
,	O
and	O
application	O
integration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
released	O
a	O
final	O
on-premises	O
version	O
of	O
Skype	B-Protocol
for	I-Protocol
Business	I-Protocol
Server	I-Protocol
as	O
part	O
of	O
Office	B-Operating_System
2019	I-Operating_System
in	O
late	O
2018	O
,	O
and	O
announced	O
in	O
July	O
2019	O
that	O
the	O
hosted	O
Skype	B-Protocol
for	I-Protocol
Business	I-Protocol
Online	O
will	O
cease	O
functioning	O
on	O
July	O
31	O
,	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
September	O
2019	O
,	O
Skype	B-Protocol
for	I-Protocol
Business	I-Protocol
Online	O
is	O
no	O
longer	O
offered	O
to	O
new	O
Microsoft	B-Operating_System
365	I-Operating_System
subscribers	O
,	O
and	O
are	O
being	O
directed	O
to	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Teams	I-Application
instead	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
next	O
version	O
of	O
Skype	B-Protocol
for	I-Protocol
Business	I-Protocol
Server	I-Protocol
will	O
be	O
available	O
with	O
a	O
subscription	O
license	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Basic	O
features	O
of	O
Skype	B-Protocol
for	I-Protocol
Business	I-Protocol
include	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
communication	O
between	O
the	O
clients	O
takes	O
place	O
through	O
a	O
Skype	B-Protocol
for	I-Protocol
Business	I-Protocol
Server	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
makes	O
communications	O
more	O
secure	O
,	O
as	O
messages	O
do	O
not	O
need	O
to	O
leave	O
the	O
corporate	O
intranet	O
,	O
unlike	O
with	O
the	O
Internet-based	O
Windows	B-Protocol
Live	I-Protocol
Messenger	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
server	O
can	O
be	O
set	O
to	O
relay	O
messages	O
to	O
other	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
networks	O
,	O
avoiding	O
installation	O
of	O
extra	O
software	O
at	O
the	O
client	O
side	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
number	O
of	O
client	O
types	O
are	O
available	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Skype	I-Application
for	O
Business	O
,	O
including	O
mobile	O
clients	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Note	O
:	O
With	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Lync	B-Protocol
Server	I-Protocol
2013	O
in	O
October	O
2012	O
,	O
a	O
new	O
collaboration	O
feature	O
"	O
Persistent	O
Group	O
Chat	O
"	O
which	O
allows	O
multi-party	O
chat	O
with	O
preservation	O
of	O
content	O
between	O
chat	O
sessions	O
was	O
introduced	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
main	O
new	O
features	O
of	O
this	O
version	O
are	O
the	O
addition	O
of	O
real-time	O
multi-client	O
collaborative	B-Application
software	I-Application
capabilities	O
,	O
(	O
which	O
allow	O
teams	O
of	O
people	O
to	O
see	O
and	O
simultaneously	O
work	O
on	O
the	O
same	O
documents	O
and	O
communications	O
session	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lync	O
and	O
Skype	B-Protocol
for	I-Protocol
Business	I-Protocol
implement	O
these	O
features	O
as	O
follows	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Collaboration	O
through	O
PowerPoint	B-Application
documents	O
,	O
where	O
the	O
participants	O
can	O
control	O
and	O
see	O
presentations	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
allow	O
everybody	O
to	O
add	O
text	O
,	O
drawing	O
and	O
graphical	O
annotations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
acquisition	O
of	O
Skype	B-Application
in	O
May	O
2011	O
,	O
the	O
Lync	O
and	O
Skype	B-Application
platforms	O
could	O
be	O
connected	O
,	O
but	O
sometimes	O
only	O
after	O
lengthy	O
provisioning	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Skype	B-Protocol
for	I-Protocol
Business	I-Protocol
uses	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
extensions	O
to	O
the	O
SIP/SIMPLE	O
instant-messaging	O
protocol	O
for	O
some	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
with	O
most	O
instant-messaging	O
platforms	O
,	O
non-Microsoft	O
instant-messaging	O
clients	O
that	O
have	O
not	O
implemented	O
these	O
publicly	O
available	O
extensions	O
may	O
not	O
work	O
correctly	O
or	O
have	O
complete	O
functionality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Skype	B-Protocol
for	I-Protocol
Business	I-Protocol
supports	O
federated	O
presence	O
and	O
IM	O
to	O
other	O
popular	O
instant	B-Application
message	I-Application
services	O
such	O
as	O
AOL	O
,	O
Yahoo	B-Application
,	O
MSN	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
any	O
service	O
using	O
the	O
XMPP	B-Protocol
protocol	I-Protocol
,	O
although	O
support	O
for	O
XMPP	B-Protocol
has	O
been	O
deprecated	O
in	O
Skype	B-Protocol
for	I-Protocol
Business	I-Protocol
2019	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Text	O
instant-messaging	O
in	O
a	O
web	O
browser	O
is	O
available	O
via	O
Skype	B-Protocol
for	I-Protocol
Business	I-Protocol
integration	O
within	O
Exchange	B-Operating_System
Outlook	O
Web	O
App	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
other	O
IM	O
protocols	O
such	O
as	O
AIM	B-Protocol
and	O
Yahoo	B-Application
!	I-Application
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
does	O
offer	O
details	O
of	O
its	O
extensions	O
on	O
MSDN	O
and	O
provides	O
an	O
API	B-Application
kit	O
to	O
help	O
developers	O
build	O
platforms	O
that	O
can	O
interoperate	O
with	O
Skype	B-Protocol
for	I-Protocol
Business	I-Protocol
Server	I-Protocol
and	O
clients	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
May	O
2018	O
,	O
the	O
following	O
Skype	B-Protocol
for	I-Protocol
Business	I-Protocol
clients	O
are	O
available	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	B-Protocol
Phone	I-Protocol
and	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
Mobile	I-Operating_System
apps	O
were	O
discontinued	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
in	O
May	O
2018	O
.	O
</s>
