skype for business : deployment & call...

E-guide

Skype for Business: Deployment & Call Quality Guide Find expert advice on Skype for Business & test your knowledge

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Section 1: Getting to Know Skype for Business p.2

Section 2: Deploying & Testing Skype for Business p.24

Section 3: Managing Skype for Business Call Quality p.43

Section 4: Skype for Business Study Guide & Quiz p.53

Getting even more exclusive content p.56

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In this e-guide: Businesses looking to upgrade their unified communications services will most likely consider Skype for Business, thanks to Skype's popularity and penetration in the market.

But is Skype for Business right for your enterprise? And how should you deploy it? We’ve set out to answer all of your questions by compiling the latest information on the product.

This guide provides an in-depth look at Skype for Business to help you get acquainted. Uncover recent top expert articles to help you:

• Get to know Skype for Business

• Deploy and test Skype for Business

• Manage and maintain call quality

• Study up for Skype for Business exams


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Section 1: Getting to Know Skype for Business For those of you who want to know more about Skype for Business, this section offers an overview of Skype for Business Server as well as the cloud-based Skype for Business Online. Read further to learn about partners and platforms that can integrate with and support your deployment.


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Microsoft Skype for Business Server: Product overview

Chris Partsenidis, Founder - Firewall.cx

Microsoft's position as a leader in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for unified communications is no mistake. The Microsoft Skype for Business Server, formerly known as Microsoft Office Communications Server and Lync Server, doesn't require any special introduction.

Millions of people use Skype for Business services on a daily basis for their communication needs, making it a trusted and proven solution. Businesses looking to upgrade their UC services will most likely consider Skype for Business, thanks to Skype's popularity and penetration in the market.

The Microsoft Skype for Business Server is a complete UC platform and approach; however, it's not what we're used to with other UC vendors. For instance, Microsoft does not manufacture its hardware IP PBX systems, such as voice gateways, IP phones or similar systems. Therefore, this solution is completely Windows Server-based, which may make some IT administrators and telecom engineers unhappy.

The Microsoft Skype for Business Server can support a range of business sizes, including small enterprises with up to 4,000 users at their central site, medium enterprises with up to 80,000 users with multiple remote sites, and


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large organizations with more than 100,000 users spread across multiple remote sites.

Depending on the size of the enterprise and number of users at headquarters and remote sites, multiple servers are required to ensure proper load balancing and high availability of services.

Setting up servers for internal and external tasks In its simplest deployment, a Skype business solution would require one Skype for Business Server installed on a Windows 2012 R2 64-bit server that would handle user registration, databases, call routing, instant messaging, presence services and more for internal users. Additionally, the deployment would need one Edge Server to give users Skype for Business Server functionality outside the office for mobile or remote users, while at the same time allowing participation during meetings, IM and other communications with outside users.

Redundancy is covered with the installation of multiple on-site Skype for Business servers in an active-active configuration. In this redundant model, users are balanced between the servers. If a server fails, other servers can provide uninterrupted service to users.

In larger-scale deployments, the Skype business server splits its roles into separate servers, creating pools of servers for specific tasks. Organizations can have a pool of front-end servers and back-end servers. The front-end servers handle user authentication and registration, presence information,


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IM, conferencing and more. Back-end servers are SQL servers providing database services to front-end servers.

Microsoft provides a plethora of documentation on different deployment models supported and technical requirements. This is one of the big advantages with Microsoft-based solutions -- IT departments will find a healthy amount of information that will help them deal with pretty much any problem they encounter.

Capitalizing on consumer Skype, touting ease of use The Microsoft Skype for Business Server client has a similar interface to the free consumer-based Skype. Contacts, presence status, buttons and icons are the same as the consumer Skype application.

The recent facelift Microsoft gave to its Skype client has made the interface easier to work with and less cluttered. Functions such as Quick Actions buttons have migrated from Lync to the new Skype client, allowing users to access call, instant message, video conference functions and more, with just a few clicks.

Organizations with PBX desk phones can use their phones to place calls to other Skype contacts. From the Skype client, users select the person they want to call and simply initiate the call from within the client. The Skype business client then sends the signal to the Skype for Business server,


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which in turns signals the PBX to open the user's line and make the call via a desk phone.

With the Skype business client, users can make calls, share files, have voice or video conferences, share desktops, send instant messages, view real-time presence information for other users and much more. The Skype client runs on Windows and Linux operating systems, Android phones, tablets and Apple's iOS.

Connecting Skype for Business with external services Skype for Business offers a variety of methods to connect enterprises to the rest of the world, including Internet, PSTN/ISDN and telecom providers.

As mentioned earlier, Edge Servers are used primarily to connect an enterprise with the Internet and provide a number of services, including:

• Access Edge Service: Used for inbound and outbound SIP protocol traffic.

• Presence and IM Proxy Service: Allows mobile and remote users access to presence/IM through the XMPP Proxy Service.

• Audio and Video Edge Service: Allows application sharing, audio and video and file transfers for remote or mobile users.


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• Web Conferencing Edge Service: Makes it possible for external users to join meetings hosted on the internal Microsoft Skype for Business Server.

Reverse proxies are another essential component in WAN deployment models. Reverse proxies work with Edge Servers and help external users download meeting content, update clients and devices, download files from Address Book Server, connect to meetings using URLs, and discover front-end servers offering mobility services. Mediation Server is a Skype for Business component responsible for translating signals between the internal VoIP infrastructure and PSTN network or SIP trunks. The Mediation Server undertakes the important role of media transcoding between phone calls, encrypting and decrypting SRTP on the internal side of the network where the Skype for Business Server resides. The server also handles SIP connections to telecom providers and IP PBXs that act as gateways for the PSTN/ISDN network.

Organizations that need to connect Skype business services with their PSTN/ISDN network need to use the Mediation Server along with an IP PBX gateway. The IP PBX gateway acts as a termination point for the PSTN/ISDN network, and communicates with Skype for Business via the Mediation Server using SIP.

Skype for Business offers a list of certified vendors that have passed their testing requirements by conforming to the specifications provided by Microsoft. This does not mean other non-certified vendors/equipment will


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not work with Skype for Business -- it just might take more effort and there is no support provided.

The Microsoft Skype for Business Server offers a different approach to UC. With a database of thousands of installations, Skype for Business is setting a completely new standard of UC services on a global scale.

If your organization already uses Skype, then users are likely to feel equally comfortable with Skype for Business and the learning curve will surely be minimized.

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Microsoft Skype for Business Online: UCaaS product overview

Chris Partsenidis, Founder - Firewall.cx

Microsoft opened its doors to unified communications as a service by integrating Skype with its popular Office 365 product. The company has created several plans and services that make its offerings suitable for organizations of all sizes worldwide.

With Skype for Business Online, organizations get a complete UC service that offers instant messaging and presence status, peer-to-peer voice and video, voice and video conferencing, desktop sharing, connectivity to others via the Skype network and mobility to pretty much any device.

Support includes Windows, Mac, Android smartphones, iOS and web clients. And because Skype for Business Online is powered by the Microsoft cloud, organizations can expect high availability and service uptimes.

Balance features with costs Skype for Business Online currently offers two plans. Plan 1 is $2 per user, per month, and it includes limited UC services. Plan 2 -- at $5.50 per user, per month -- includes more collaboration features. Skype for Business Online can also be purchased as part of an Office 365 plan.


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As part of the Office 365 Business Essentials and Business Premium plans, Skype for Business Online supports high-definition video and audio conferencing for up to 250 people. Instant messaging and presence -- during and outside of meetings -- lets users know when their colleagues are available. Enterprise-level, 24/7 technical phone support is also included.

The Business Essentials and Business Premium plans are priced at $5 and $12.50 per user, per month, respectively. These two plans offer almost the same services, but the Premium plan allows a user to have an Office license installed for up to five PCs or Macs, plus Office installed on five tablets and five phones per user. Both plans also provide 1 TB storage space per user and a 50 GB inbox for Outlook, along with enterprise-class email, calendar and contacts.

Cloud telephony boosts vendor's UC status Office 365 is Microsoft's flagship product that enables businesses to work, communicate and collaborate online. In addition to the plans mentioned above, Microsoft offers four more plans: Office 365 ProPlus and three enterprise plans -- E1, E3 and E5.

The ProPlus plan includes locally installed Office applications, while the E1 plan provides online Office applications, with 50 GB mailbox storage for Exchange Online, Skype for Business, HD video conferencing and more.

The E3 plan is essentially a combination of the ProPlus and E1 plans. The E5 plan includes cloud-based calling via a cloud PBX service.


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Microsoft's cloud PBX enables businesses to make, receive and transfer calls to and from landlines, mobile phones, tablets and PCs from almost anywhere internet access is available. Cloud PBX is included in the E5 plan and available as an add-on service in other plans. The cloud PBX service brings Microsoft on par with other UCaaS providers.

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Qumu updates video platform with Skype for Business support

Katherine Finnell, Associate Editor – SearchUnifiedCommunications

Qumu Corp. has updated its video management platform to offer Skype for Business support. With the update, Skype for Business users can now participate in calls with other virtual conferencing endpoints and tap into new meeting capabilities.

With Skype for Business support, users can choose to record a meeting, before or during the call, from within the Skype for Business client. After the call, the meeting recording is stored, distributed and managed centrally through Qumu's video content management platform. Skype for Business users can also livestream virtual meetings.

In addition to live streaming and recording capabilities, Qumu's Skype for Business support offers users automated workflows for meeting recordings, metadata capture for enhanced search and compliance, and the software can integrate with an organization's security framework.

Bandwidth gets Skype for Business certification Bandwidth's Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) service portfolio has been certified by Microsoft for deployment with on-premises Skype for Business


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Server. With the certification, enterprises and managed service providers can deploy Bandwidth SIP services to connect an on-premises Skype for Business infrastructure to the public switched telephone network.

The Microsoft certification means Bandwidth's SIP service portfolio meets the highest specifications for quality of experience and compatibility with Skype for Business.

Bandwidth's SIP service portfolio includes APIs for installation and configuration that allows service providers to either manage users for organizations or to provision organizations to manage their users.

IR updates software for predeployment network assessments IR updated its Prognosis monitoring software to help organizations make network assessments before they migrate to a unified communications (UC) platform, such as Microsoft Office 365 and Skype for Business Online. With the updates, IT departments can test the internal network, connectivity to the Office 365 cloud and assess the infrastructure to resolve any issues detected before migrating to a cloud or hybrid environment.

Organizations that fail to make a network assessment before migrating to a cloud or hybrid UC deployment often find their network is unable to handle the platform's demands post-rollout, severely affecting the user experience.


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IR said Prognosis provides organizations with full visibility across the network, including session border controllers, routers and Wi-Fi access points.

"IT operations can identify what could go wrong ahead of the deployment, so the issues can be prioritized and addressed before they can cause a problem," said Darc Rasmussen, CEO of IR, based in Sydney, Australia, in a statement.

Arkadin and Pexip partner for meeting connectivity Arkadin and Pexip said they would work together to provide Arkadin customers with better virtual meeting connectivity. Pexip's Infinity meeting platform now integrates with Arkadin's hosted unified communications and collaboration (UCC) platform to enable customers' legacy video systems and UCC platforms to communicate.

Pexip's Infinity platform ties together enterprise communications tools, such as Skype for Business, audio and web conferencing, and legacy video conferencing services. Pexip's integration with Arkadin is a response to ongoing enterprise demands for interoperability among incompatible UC endpoints to support their collaboration goals.

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Microsoft partners help drive Skype for Business meetings in enterprise

Antone Gonsalves, Director of News - Networking Media Group

Crestron Electronics Inc., Logitech and Polycom Inc. have added product support for Microsoft Skype for Business meetings that bolster the UC service as a low-cost option for video conferencing in small and midsize meeting rooms.

The trio introduced their latest products last week at Microsoft Ignite in Atlanta. Other announcements at the conference included improvements to Skype for Business on Apple's iPhone and Mac, as well as the continued global expansion of Skype PSTN calling.

The partner announcements were the latest in a Microsoft initiative, formerly called Project Rigel, to make Skype for Business the software for manufacturers' high-definition audio and video conferencing hardware. Microsoft launched Project Rigel, now called Skype Room Systems, at Enterprise Connect in March.

Polycom plans to launch in the first quarter of next year technology that lets conferencing systems from multiple vendors, including Cisco, join a Skype for Business meeting. Microsoft will host the Polycom RealConnect Service for Office 365 in the Azure cloud.


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The cross-system support and Microsoft's expansion of Skype for Business PSTN calling boost the unified communications (UC) product's strength in a highly competitive market, said Irwin Lazar, an analyst at Nemertes Research in Mokena, Ill. "They will definitely help sell Skype for Business into larger enterprises with existing Cisco video assets."

Adoption of Skype for Business meetings The expanded PSTN calling lets people in 17 additional countries use local numbers to join Skype for Business meetings. The expansion means people in 400 cities in a total of 90 countries can dial in using the public telephone network.

Improved PSTN calling and multivendor video conferencing could strengthen Microsoft's standing within industry trends. A recent Nemertes survey found 45% of companies were consolidating UC into a single primary platform, with more than half of that group doing so on Microsoft. At the same time, 32% of companies were increasing their use of small-room video conferencing deployments, which are a sweet spot for Skype for Business, the research firm found. Companies favored systems that cost less than $3,000 per room.

Crestron and Logitech plan to ship by the end of the year a Skype for Business meetings system controlled and managed through a customized Microsoft Surface Pro 4 tablet. Crestron is calling the new product the Next Generation Skype Room System, while Logitech is calling its system the SmartDock.


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In October, Microsoft plans to release a Mac version of Skype for Business built on the Apple programming language, Swift. The software is expected to perform better on Apple computers while delivering high-definition audio and video.

Skype for Business meetings on the iPhone Also this month, Microsoft plans to ship a much better version of Skype for Business for the Apple iPhone. The upgrade is built using Apple's recently introduced CallKit framework that gives developers access to the smartphone's native dialer.

As a result, Microsoft has added features that were once only available to cellular calls. For example, users will be able to accept a Skype for Business call via the lock screen and place an incoming call on hold while taking a cellular call. Cisco announced last month similar CallKit-built features in Spark.

Finally, Microsoft has added closed captioning for presentations on Skype Meeting Broadcast, a service used to conduct large online meetings. By the end of the year, companies using Meeting Broadcast will have the option of letting attendees choose whether to have closed captioning in English, Spanish, German or simplified Chinese.

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Cisco Meeting Server connects Skype for Business and Cisco video

Antone Gonsalves, Director of News - Networking Media Group

Cisco has introduced an integration server that lets Skype for Business users join a meeting held on an on-premises Cisco video conferencing system.

Cisco Meeting Server, available starting this week, manages the communication protocol differences between the Microsoft unified communications (UC) software and Cisco's TelePresence systems. The new technology stems from Cisco's $700 million acquisition of Acano last November.

In March, Rowan Trollope, head of Cisco's collaboration technology group, told attendees at the Enterprise Connect conference in Orlando, Fla., the company was committed to interoperability between its video systems and those of rivals. This week, Trollope depicted Cisco as the interoperability problem solver, while Microsoft continued down a proprietary path.

"[Cisco Meeting Server] fixes problems created by certain vendors -- I mean you, Microsoft -- whose technology hasn't always played well with others," Trollope wrote in a blog post.

Trollope's criticism aside, Cisco has no choice but to ensure support between its on-premises systems and other vendors' communication


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software. Without multivendor support, companies would have difficulty justifying the cost of expensive Cisco hardware, if it was limited to communicating with only other Cisco products. While Microsoft's Skype for Business is one of the most widely used video conferencing systems, many companies also have desktop and mobile communication software from other businesses, such as Polycom and Avaya.

Energy company Exelon using Cisco Meeting Server U.S. energy provider Exelon Corp., which had $30 billion in revenue last year, is an example of the importance of interoperability between Cisco hardware and Skype for Business. Chicago-based Exelon does business in 48 states and Canada, and it uses video conferencing to reduce travel expenses, said Andy Heintz, manager of video and wireless engineering.

In 2014, Exelon picked Acano technology to connect the energy company's 40,000 Skype for Business users with roughly 400 Cisco TelePresence MX Series and SX Series video conferencing systems. The company completed the rollout of Acano in May of this year.

Fully, 95% of Skype users are taking advantage of video conferencing through the Acano system, Heintz said. The remainder has been allowed to stay on legacy systems until Exelon pulls the plug in mid-September.

Exelon partners and customers that use Skype for Business can also join meetings, Heintz said. Exelon emails an invitation containing a link that


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launches Skype. All participants have access to video and audio, and they can share content.

"As far as having meetings efficiently without wasting a lot of travel dollars, it's a great tool for us," Heintz said of Meeting Server.

Cisco Meeting Server negotiates protocol differences Under the covers, Cisco Meeting Server translates the protocol differences between Cisco and third-party products, said Snorre Kjesbu, head of Cisco's video endpoint division. Meeting participants on Skype or other products can share content.

Also, people joining meetings have layout options for gatherings with a large number of participants. For example, the video focused on people conducting the meeting could be in a larger window, along with the presentation, Kjesbu said.

In a one-rack unit, Meeting Server supports up to 96 high-definition video users, 192 standard-definition calls or 3,000 audio calls. People with devices running a WebRTC-supported browser, Microsoft Windows, or Apple OS X or iOS can join a meeting. Cisco also provides management tools for configuration and troubleshooting.

Enterprise-wide licensing for Cisco Meeting Server is available on a per-user basis.


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Cisco is not the only UC vendor boosting integration between its products and Skype for Business. Last year, Polycom released an application that improved content sharing between the company's RealPresence Group Series video conferencing system and Skype for Business.

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ShoreTel offers customers plug-in for Skype for Business

Tracee Herbaugh

ShoreTel has introduced a plug-in that adds call routing, contacts and other telephony features to Skype for Business, which many customers use separately for instant messaging and Web conferencing.

Telecommunications provider ShoreTel announced the plug-in last week in an effort to please Skype for Business users. The plug-in is available to customers of ShoreTel's on-premises UC system, called Connect ONSITE, and its hosted UC as a service product, called Connect CLOUD. The plug-in comes with both Connect services for no additional charge.

The plug-in for Skype for Business targets ShoreTel Connect customers who subscribe to the version of Office 365 that includes the video conferencing client without telephony capabilities, according to Ed Wright, a senior director of product management at ShoreTel, based in Sunnyvale, Calif.

Even without telephony services, Office 365 customers often use Skype for Business for its collaboration functions, including document sharing and team chat.

A plug-in for Skype for Business is not novel. Several vendors, including Cisco and Avaya, have provided Skype plug-ins to their customers,


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demonstrating the popularity of Skype for Business in the enterprise world, according to Irwin Lazar, an analyst at Nemertes Research, based in Mokena, Ill.

"Skype for Business dominates the enterprise instant messaging market," Lazar said. "This is just ShoreTel playing a bit of catch up, and hopefully preventing their customers who are already using Skype for Business for IM, chat [and] Web conferencing from migrating to it for telephony."

With the plug-in for Skype for Business, companies can use Microsoft's software to get access to their ShoreTel contacts and voicemail, execute conference calls, transfer calls, and control preferences, such as call routing.

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Section 2: Deploying & Testing Skype for Business To ensure a successful Skype for Business deployment, organizations must consider their end-user needs, infrastructure demands and the proper deployment model. This section reveals how to prepare for deployment and navigate any issues that come up. Explore further to learn how to trial the service to see if it works for your organization’s needs.


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Preparing your organization to deploy Skype for Business


Once an organization decides to deploy Skype for Business, preparations must be made to ensure deployment success and user adoption. Here's what you need to know before diving into a Skype for Business deployment.

"A thorough assessment and planning is essential," said Rob Arnold, UC and collaboration analyst at Frost & Sullivan. "The move to Skype for Business should focus on the user experience and improving business processes."

The first step to deploy Skype for Business is to fully vet an organization's structure and needs.

These needs are affected by an organization's geographic location, whether it's U.S.-only or multinational, and the communication needs of its users, said Skip Chilcott, global head of product marketing at performance management software provider IR. Evaluating these needs will help an organization determine where it should locate its data centers and the type of communication features that will best serve its users.

Organizations then need to determine what type of architecture best supports those needs and what they want the final Skype for Business deployment to look like -- something most organizations don't think about, Chilcott said.



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Preparing an infrastructure to support Skype for Business Assessing the infrastructure is the next phase to deploy Skype for Business. This is where organizations should evaluate the equipment they have now and what they need in the future to support Skype for Business.

Organizations will have a multivendor infrastructure since Microsoft does not make equipment like routers and session border controllers. Some organizations could continue to use network equipment they invested in, while others may need to buy new equipment.

When planning infrastructure, the cloud is an important factor. Organizations need to consider what their cloud setup will look like four or five years down the road and if they ultimately want an on-premises, cloud-based or hybrid infrastructure, Chilcott said.

"It's hard," he said. "Things move quickly and you don't want to build in the wrong direction."

Taking a hybrid approach to deployment The addition of cloud PBX and PSTN calling to Skype for Business will affect the direction that organizations take.


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"It's going to simplify things quite a bit," said Irwin Lazar, a Nemertes Research analyst. Lazar said moving to the cloud was traditionally a "convoluted strategy" for organizations because Skype for Business had little cloud support.

But the additions of cloud PBX and PSTN calling will "speed the deployment of cloud telephony for those interested going down the road," Lazar said.

Most organizations will ultimately take a hybrid approach to infrastructure and take more steps toward the cloud as technology matures, Chilcott said.

Field workers present an opportunity for organizations to take a hybrid approach to deploy Skype for Business. Chilcott said an organization can move its field workers to the cloud and do cloud-based calling because they're not tied to a desk or to the organization's infrastructure. "You can cut costs and start saving capacity on infrastructure internally," he said.

Focus on end-user training and adoption While it's important for organizations to focus on infrastructure when deploying Skype for Business, end-user training should be a priority, too.

"Training requirements have gone down, but you shouldn't ignore them," Chilcott said.


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Lazar agreed that training is a major issue for organizations. For example, if an organization is deploying Skype for Business and replacing desk phones with a softphone client and headsets, users should be trained on how to use the new headsets.

While the Skype interface is familiar to most users, Chilcott said organizations should set up a training portal or website with resources for employees. Training is essential for end-user adoption.

"Users will make a decision whether they like it or not in the first couple days," he said. "If they don't like a solution, they'll find their own and purchase another solution they like better."

This costs organizations money and they won't see their return on investment on the deployment.

"Identifying champion users in different sites and workgroups, as well as creating a customer success campaign that evaluates adoption and utilization on an ongoing basis, can help drive successful deployments," Frost & Sullivan's Arnold said.

Organizations can achieve Skype for Business deployment success by not "maintaining the status quo by viewing Skype for Business simply as a telephony or conferencing platform," he said.


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Ready to deploy Skype for Business? Follow this step-by-step guide to prepare your organization and your users:

• Assess your organization's structure, such as geographic location and end-user communication needs.

• Determine the network architecture that supports your organization's needs.

• Envision what the deployment's end state would look like. • Evaluate your current and future infrastructure needs. • Consider a cloud-based deployment. Many businesses will opt for a

hybrid approach. • Train end users, create an internal marketing campaign and track

adoption.

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Microsoft Skype for Business voice demands IT due diligence

Kate Gerwig, Editorial Director – Networking Media Group

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. -- In its effort to win increasing numbers of enterprise voice customers, Microsoft is selling its Skype for Business unified communications platform in a variety of standard and customized service plans. While Skype for Business prices may seem compelling, before buying monthly subscriber licenses, Gartner UCC research director Michael Fasciani said enterprise IT needs to take a hard look at the benefits and risks of switching to Skype for Business voice.

Fasciani walked a roomful of enterprise IT attendees at Gartner's IT Operations Strategies & Solutions Summit on Wednesday through the Skype for Business service bundles that were introduced in December 2015. The bundles, which include voice, IM, Web conferencing, voicemail and email, come with monthly list prices that range from $8 per user at the low end to $35 per user at the high end. The December announcement added PSTN Calling, which enables making calls through the public switched telephone network (PSTN) in North America, and a cloud private branch exchange (PBX) option that offers more advanced call control features. Microsoft's Skype for Business Server is its on-premises UC platform.

Microsoft isn't a traditional force in enterprise telephony, yet its Skype for Business UC suite is part of Microsoft's Office 365, which became the



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fastest growing cloud business application in 2015, Fasciani said. Microsoft is positioning Office 365 as an enterprise telephony option that can eliminate the need for a traditional phone system. Microsoft's influence is part of what's driving changes in how enterprises buy UC, especially now that Skype for Business users can now make calls through the PSTN.

Because people have changed the way they want to communicate, hard phones and PBX lines are being used less, so the usage and value of the private branch exchange has dropped over time, Fasciani said, adding that newer IP-PBX's and VoIP servers will also become legacy options going forward.

By using Office 365, enterprises are already entitled to full suites of services, so the decision becomes whether to leverage all of the features that are bundled in including voice and try to actually achieve a unified communications approach rather than a multi-vendor approach, Fasciani said.

While telecom engineers aren't necessarily comfortable using Skype for Business for enterprise voice over traditional offerings from a vendor like Cisco, most enterprise IT staffs are used to working with Windows Server-based applications, which makes a move to the Skype for Business suite a familiar option.

Fasciani offered an instant survey of session attendees that revealed more than 50% have already deployed Skype for Business or are in the process of deploying it, which mirrors the real-world enterprise UC market.


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"Microsoft has already captured reasonable market share, and we think that will only grow now that Office 365 has such a large presence in the market," Fasciani said.

Microsoft has made moving to Skype for Business easy with its licensing options, which include a hybrid strategy that allows some employees to use cloud-based services while others use the on-premises option that has more features, he said. Many large enterprises, the public sector and higher-education will continue to go with a best-of-breed UC approach, while other businesses are starting to favor UC bundles, he added.

"Today only 20% of UC suites are purchased from large vendors like Cisco, Microsoft, Google and IBM," Fasciani said, projecting that UCC license purchases from large UC suite vendors will grow to 50% by 2020.

Skype for Business enterprise voice considerations If thinking about a switch to Skype for Business for voice, Fasciani said enterprises should consider a number of factors before making the move.

If unified suites win the day, customers may be willing to accept a little bit less in terms of service and function in certain areas in order to get the best of breed in others, he said.

Among the considerations, enterprises need to rethink their contact center strategies if their call centers are already tightly integrated with equipment from other vendors like Cisco or Mitel, where plug-and-play won't be an



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option with Skype for Business voice. "You'll have to contract with a third party to make it integrate," Fasciani said.

IT also has to be sensitive to C-level problems when voice systems change. "If C-Level [executives] aren't able to get their calls, and the admins get frustrated that the new system doesn't act like the old telephony system, this will fall back on your shoulders," Fasciani said.

Verifying that issue, one attendee whose company switched to Skype for Business voice said the CEO of her company has always been supportive of all things Microsoft but now says all he ever hears from his admin is that his phone doesn't work.

Other Skype for Business voice concerns include how to manage analog devices, common area phones and E911 services. To ease some of those issues, Skype for Business can be hosted by a carrier like AT&T, Verizon or Bell Canada. With that option, providers take the Skype for Business Server edition and enhance it with their own value-add and solve some voice requirements, Fasciani said.

No matter what, enterprises will need to choose their partners carefully when moving to Skype for Business because "chances are this won't be a single vendor solution," Fasciani said.

Skype for Business voice customers have raised issues with the service quality because it is primarily a UC collaboration platform, he said, adding that voice quality expertise comes with maturity and exposure to all conditions that can happen on the network.


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If you're thinking about switching to Skype for Business voice, "You have to make sure your network is rock solid if you can't tolerate error, Fasciani said.

The bottom line is that Skype for Business voice is an attractive option for the enterprise, Fasciani said, but there are challenges, and enterprises may have trust issues about whether they're really prepared to unplug their tried and true voice systems and hand them to Microsoft.

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Is Skype for Business telephony compatible with my desk phones?

Jon Arnold, Principal - J Arnold & Associates

Your phones' compatibility depends on the type of phone system you have and why you want to use Skype for Business telephony. Larger businesses have dedicated PBX or IP PBX systems that carry most of the voice traffic separately from other workflow activities. Since most of these workflow activities are driven by Microsoft desktop applications, there is a high degree of voice integration needed with these desktop apps.

With Skype for Business telephony, the situation changes because Microsoft is effectively competing against phone system vendors. Since Microsoft is ubiquitous on the desktop, phone vendors are obliged to interoperate with Microsoft since telephony is now integrated with other applications. Microsoft only recently moved to support full-service telephony, including PSTN connectivity, so it's too early to tell how successful Skype for Business telephony will be.

Skype for Business telephony is not meant to be a full PBX replacement. If you're currently using a PBX, it should remain your primary channel for telephony. PBX systems are expensive but reliable, familiar, and feature rich. With Skype for Business, there are desktop and mobile voice options, so you can still do telephony, but that's not ideal for everyday needs.





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Options become more interesting for businesses, such as SMBs, that don't have a full-scale switched phone system. Stand-alone IP phones are likely being used and they're actually ideal for Skype for Business telephony. Microsoft supports most leading IP phone vendors, including longtime partner Polycom, so compatibility won't be an issue.

This scenario will apply to many businesses and, in these cases, there won't be a need to replace your phones. Since these are stand-alone phones rather than purpose-built systems, call control now resides within Skype for Business and the end-to-end telephony experience is within the Microsoft environment. This allows Microsoft to provide tighter integration between voice and other workflow applications.

As long as Microsoft can consistently deliver business-grade quality, you may find this a viable approach for fixed-line telephony, thus ruling out the need to consider a costly dedicated switched phone system.

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Skype for Business enterprise voice trials ramp up


Skype for Business enterprise voice services are growing in popularity, as more organizations are trialing the service.

The number of enterprises and small businesses completing trials of Skype for Business enterprise voice services has increased by 42% and 33%, respectively, since last year, according to a survey by InfoTrack, a division of telecom research firm T3i Group LLC.

The business decision-makers surveyed said they're trialing and deploying Skype for Business enterprise voice largely because the service is viewed as a natural extension of their organizations' commitment to the overall Microsoft unified communications (UC) platform.

Enterprises and small businesses use or plan to use Microsoft's cloud PBX for voice because they are Office 365 customers, and the cloud PBX offers a natural migration from their current enterprise voice service, the report found.

"The two most important findings from this study are the continuing increase in momentum of customers trialing and deploying Skype for Business with enterprise voice and the power of Microsoft's UC platform to support this





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strategy," said Terry White, founder of the InfoTrack UC program. "This is something we have not seen with many other UC providers."

Fuze refreshes user experience in cloud communications platform UC-as-a-service provider Fuze Inc. has updated the user interface (UI) for its cloud communications platform to unify voice, video and messaging in a single app.

With the update, organizations will have just one UI to install across all channels for internal and external communications, which should reduce training headaches and enable employees to access collaboration tools in a single place.

Fuze CEO Steve Kokinos said the vendor took a consumer approach to the platform's redesign by observing individual behavior in a personal setting and updating the user experience based on those observations.

Employee-facing apps deliver a poor user experience, compared with consumer apps, which results in employee dissatisfaction and reduced ROI, according to a Gartner report. A Fuze survey of 1,000 U.S. workers found 73% of respondents believe workplace technology needs to catch up to the consumer experience.


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Software spending drives mobility market growth The global mobility market will see revenues grow from $1.5 trillion in 2016 to $1.7 trillion in 2020, driven by consumer and enterprise hardware and service purchases, as well as significant growth in software purchases, according to an IDC report.

Software revenues will see double-digit growth, particularly in mobile app development platforms, mobile enterprise apps and mobile enterprise security.

"Despite the belief that the mobility market is maturing, there is still plenty of opportunity to drive enterprise spend, especially at the software layer," said Carrie MacGillivray, an IDC analyst. "By 2020, the software market will increase spend by 15%, driven by mobile application development and mobile security capabilities."

Enterprises with more than 500 employees are expected to increase spending on mobile services that enhance worker productivity and provide new capabilities to customers and partners. Small offices with one to nine employees will continue to deliver the largest share of global mobility revenues, as they invest in mobile devices and apps as an alternative to traditional IT services, the report found.

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Skype for Business Mac preview is ready to test drive

Tracee Herbaugh

Microsoft's release of the Skype for Business for Mac preview underscores the proliferation of Apple devices in the enterprise. It also shows willingness on Microsoft's part in catering to this group of users.

Microsoft announced last week in a company blog posting that the Mac preview was available for those who wanted to test drive the new desktop software. The application will be publicly available in the third quarter of 2016, according to the company. Those interested in a Mac preview can visit the Skype Preview site to sign up for an invite.

The Skype for Business for Mac application will be released in three cumulative stages. The first phase includes meetings functionality; the second will include IM and contact lists; and the third involves telephony, said Katie Fourcin, a Microsoft spokesperson. Microsoft will release the Mac preview phases as they are completed.

Microsoft rebranded Lync as Skype for Business a little over a year ago, and this is the first client application for Mac since then.

Microsoft said they want to offer the familiarity of the Skype consumer experience, but combined with the enterprise-grade security, compliance and IT management capabilities. Some of the app's features include the


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ability to see meetings from the Exchange-powered Outlook Calendar and ability to make calls with 250 people. Additionally, users can join in meetings with a click, use full-screen video, view content, share screens, chat while in meetings and invite others to join.

More people using Macs at work Until recently, Macs in the workforce were largely utilized by employees who wanted to take advantage of top-quality design programs, according to Alan Lepofsky, an analyst with Constellation Research Inc.

"Apple's reach in the enterprise has moved far beyond the historical base that was primarily within creative departments," Lepofsky said.

To reiterate this point, Lepofsky said Microsoft's release of Office for iOS has helped garner some 340 million downloads of the application. This number includes Android devices, too, but shows the popularity of Microsoft's plan to diversify beyond the Windows world. Additionally, Skype for Business has been downloaded some 900 million times on iOS and Android.

"Clearly, there is a large Mac base waiting for this update," Lepofsky said.

The Skype for Business for Mac application has been promised for years, and this preview is a significant development, according to Irwin Lazar, an analyst with Nemertes Research, based in Mokena, Ill.


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Microsoft has never fully supported the Mac client, Lazar said. Instead, Microsoft has generally steered Mac users to its Web client, which has some limitations involving meetings, minutes used and peer-to-peer functionality.

"More than anything, this shows Microsoft is fulfilling a commitment they've made repeatedly," Lazar said. "To support the Mac users and stop treating them as second-class citizens."

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Section 3: Managing Skype for Business Call Quality Nemertes Research analyst Irwin Lazar said the biggest issue he’s seen with Skype for Business deployments is performance management. This section reveals what it takes to manage voice quality of service, including tips on optimizing your network and using metrics and performance management tools.


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Skype for Business users struggle to manage voice quality


Once an organization deploys Skype for Business, the next hurdle is managing quality of service (QoS), which measures and improves high-bandwidth video and multimedia content.

Nemertes Research analyst Irwin Lazar said the biggest issue he’s seen with Skype for Business deployments is performance management.

“Organizations struggle with the tools to do quality management,” he said.

For organizations that deploy Skype for Business as a softphone-based application, voice quality is the main struggle, Lazar said. With softphone apps, organizations are running Skype clients on a laptop or PC and cannot manage voice traffic like they could with a traditional voice deployment. Segmenting and prioritizing voice traffic over other data traffic on the network becomes impossible.

“If you roll it out and people aren’t happy with the voice experience, the question becomes: What can you do to fix it?” Lazar said. Many organizations turn to third-party providers, like IR and Nectar, to manage voice QoS for Skype for Business.


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Rely on user feedback, management tools for voice quality of service “Quality of service is critical,” said Skip Chilcott, global head of product marketing at performance management software provider IR.

He said most organizations want to ensure they have tools that offer benchmarks to show Skype for Business performs better or the same as their previous system. Â Benchmarks can also help organizations automate management of Skype for Business QoS.

Chilcott said Skype for Business has seven codecs that can be used in a call. With performance management tools, like analytics and call monitoring, several codecs can be used on a call automatically based on QoS levels.

Additionally, organizations should not confuse QoS with quality of experience. For instance, a user might report a bad experience or voice quality, but the system reports good QoS, he said.

Chilcott said organizations must separate experience from service and rely on both user feedback and management tools to ensure good performance of Skype for Business.

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Maintaining voice quality in Skype for Business telephony

Zeus Kerravala, Founder and Principal Analyst - ZK Research

Skype for Business has obviously been around for quite a while, and Microsoft recently added PSTN calling add-on. It's important to understand that Skype for Business real-time media travels through many different devices, including client apps, servers, software and across different networks. Provisioning quality is actually a multifaceted problem.

The end-to-end latency of real-time media is the total amount of latency introduced across all these components and network segments. The quality of the end-to-end connection is determined by the network segment with the worst quality. This segment acts as a bottleneck for traffic. If you think about it, the quality is determined by the least common denominator, and that needs to be dealt with. For example, in a conferencing scenario, the media path consists of a number of different network segments. The media path connects from the user to the edge of the Microsoft network. This normally includes a network connection such as Wi-Fi or Ethernet, the WAN connection, the connection from the user to the Internet ingress point where your network edge is, and then over to the other user. There's also a connection within the Microsoft network itself if you're using their cloud service. All those things have to be factored in.




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Skype for Business telephony metrics For optimal Skype for Business media quality, there are a number of network performance metrics, targets, or thresholds that are required for your connection from your company's network to the Microsoft network edge. This segment of the network includes your internal network and includes all Wi-Fi and Ethernet connections, any company or site-to-site traffic over a WAN connection, such as MPLS, as well as internet or express route partner connections into the edge of the network. A number of the metrics are latency. Microsoft recommends that one-way latency needs to be less than 50 milliseconds. Round trip latency needs to be less than 100 milliseconds. Burst packet loss has to be less than 10% during any 200-millisecond interval. Packet loss has to be less than 1%. Packet interval arrival jitter should be less than 30 milliseconds and packet re-order has to be less than 0.05% out-of-order packets.

There are a few other performance target requirements. For instance, the Microsoft network has over 160 edge locations worldwide and they work with all the major Internet service providers throughout those edge sites. The latency metric target assumes that your company's sites or single site and the Microsoft edge are on the same continent. Your company's site or sites connect to the Microsoft edge network and that connection includes first-hop network access, which can be Wi-Fi or other wireless technology. The network performance target assumes that proper bandwidth or a quality of service plan has been implemented. In other words, these metrics



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apply directly to Skype for Business real-time media traffic when the network connection is under a peak load.

All those things together comprise what are the PSTN quality requirements for Skype PSTN calling. It does not take an inordinate amount of work to do. You have to gather all of those different metrics and make sure that each of those metrics has been hit. You have to look at them from a network router hop-by-hop basis to have a very successful Skype for Business deployment.

Download this podcast to learn more on how you can maintain voice quality in Skype for Business telephony.

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Three steps to managing Skype for Business call quality

Irwin Lazar, Vice President and Service Director - Nemertes Research

In my conversations with IT leaders responsible for implementing and operating Skype for Business call quality, I often hear concerns about voice performance.

In most cases, as they deploy Skype for Business call features, organizations are transitioning from digital or dedicated IP telephones to softphones. Thus, they no longer can follow the standard blueprint of ensuring voice over IP (VoIP) quality by isolating voice traffic onto its own virtual LAN and prioritizing it above other, non-latency-sensitive applications.

The capabilities of the PC or mobile device running the Skype for Business client may negatively impact voice quality. In addition, IT often lacks end-to-end visibility to enable proactive or rapid reactive identification of voice quality issues.

As a result, Nemertes Research total cost of ownership data shows that Skype for Business implementations have the highest operational cost -- $266 per endpoint or license versus an average cost of $108 for all IP telephony vendors.


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The challenges of ensuring high voice quality in a softphone environment are not unique to Microsoft. But, in our research, companies using Skype for Business call features typically use softphones as the primary interface, shunning desktop phones to reduce cost and improve mobility.

So, what can IT leaders do to ensure the best experience as they transition to Skype for Business call features? Here are three key requirements for success:

1. Optimize the network This is always step one in any VoIP deployment. This involves looking at the LAN, wireless LAN (WLAN) and WAN to identify any congestion points, and tuning quality-of-service (QoS) implementations to support voice.

Microsoft offers specific guidance via TechNet. But, as a general rule, most implementations involve creating a DiffServ Code Point to prioritize voice signaling, and assigning a specific set of ports to Skype for Business traffic to enable routers to prioritize based on identifying Skype for Business traffic and marking it accordingly.

QoS strategies can be supplemented by WAN optimization technologies, including packet shaping and emerging software-defined WAN products that enable IT shops to guarantee performance and availability over Internet-based WAN connections.




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In the LAN and WLAN, newer technologies, such as 802.11ac, can prioritize applications like video and voice. Emerging software-defined networking services from Microsoft partners, such as Aruba and Extreme Networks, can enable real-time optimization of the network to support variable traffic flows and bandwidth demands.

At the SIP trunking edge, session border controllers from vendors such as AudioCodes, Oracle and Sonus can secure and manage inbound and outbound call flows.

2. Leverage third-party tools for voice quality management Companies that invest in third-party tools for IP telephony quality and configuration management see lower operating costs than those who simply rely on existing network management tools and vendor-provided configuration management applications.

Several vendors -- including Integrated Research, Nectar, NetScout, Oracle, Unify Square, Unimax and VOSS -- can help enterprises tackle everything from configuration management and number provisioning to troubleshooting voice quality issues.


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3. Leverage third-party services partners Implementing Skype for Business requires piecing together platforms from both Microsoft and its partners. Businesses may also have to integrate Skype for Business with legacy systems during the transition, while also coming up to speed on managing a new environment.

Companies that leverage third parties for implementation and operational support generally rate their IP telephony success higher than those who attempt to go it alone.

Following these guidelines won't prevent performance problems, but they will serve to reduce risk and increase the likelihood that your Skype for Business call features will result in happy users, and lower-than-average operational costs.

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Section 4: Skype for Business Study Guide & Quiz Gearing up to deploy Skype for Business Server or Skype for Business Online? This quiz, covering some of the technical aspects of the unified communications platform, can help you get ready.


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Cramming for Skype for Business 2015 exams? Take this quiz

Steve Goodman, Exchange MVP – stevieg.org

Skype for Business 2015 exams are expected to leave beta this month, so you might want to study up before they're officially released.

The Skype for Business 2015 exams are part of the Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert communication certification, which also includes two Office 365 exams. The Skype for Business exams include Exam 70-333: Deploying Enterprise Voice with Skype for Business 2015 and Exam 70-334: Core Solutions of Microsoft Skype for Business 2015.

The exams are labelled as 2015 because the server software is named "Skype for Business Server 2015" and doesn't reflect the release date of the exams. The two Skype for Business exams will replace Lync exams. So, if you know Lync 2013, the learning curve isn't too steep, but some new features may trip you up.

The exams are for IT experts who deploy Skype for Business Server and Skype for Business Online for end users and endpoint devices. The exams cover several unified communications services, including telephony, audio and video conferencing, security, and high availability. To help get you ready for the new exams, we've provided the quiz here.



https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/learning/mcse-communication-certification.aspx

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/learning/mcse-communication-certification.aspx




http://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/definition/high-availability

https://mva.microsoft.com/en-US/training-courses/what-s-new-in-skype-for-business-8710?l=mWCP4QI1_1804984382

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In addition to the topics in this quiz, you should learn about the new Cloud PBX, configuring Skype for Business Hybrid within your environment, and a new functionality allowing integration with third-party video conferencing systems. And, of course, make sure you're up to speed on the full suite, whether it's providing file share high availability or implementing persistent chat.

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https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Configure-Skype-for-Business-Server-2015-Hybrid-for-Office-365-operated-by-21Vianet-b06ee805-4349-4519-82fb-b06ed57c0bd0

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