Skype for SIP Beta now open to all Businesses
Ten thousand businesses asked for Skype for SIP when it launched in March. Eight months later the SFS Beta is now open to all users with business Skype names. Anyone with a business control panel, a corporate Skype name subject to the business terms of service and EULA, and a business SkypeIn phone number can now use Skype for SIP. I talked Monday with Skype’s Matthew Jordan about the latest update. Here are the details. Skype for SIP connects your company’s phone switch to Skype. SkypeIn and Skype-to-Skype calls come in to your phone system, outbound calls can go over SkypeOut. VoIP people call a connection between your phone system and a phone company a "trunk." Some people call Skype for SIP "Skype trunking." SFS is a limited add-on. No emergency dialing: You still need a regular phone service to dial police, fire, ambulance. No phone number portability. You need a Skype Online Number and you don?t get to use an existing number. Service levels aren?t regulated by local or government authorities or guaranteed by Skype. SFS isn?t free. US$ 6.95 per month for each channel, one call at a time per channel. You have to rent an Online Skype phone number for your business. You pay for SkypeOut at published rates. At the moment, the Skype Global Rate is 2.1ยข/minute in more than 36 countries. You’ll pay more for mobiles in most places. Unlike SkypeOut for consumers, Skype doesn’t allow or offer flat-rate calling plans. Calls coming in to your phone from the Skype ecosystem are free. Many smart phone systems let you write rules for routing outbound calls. You might choose SkypeOut for international calls or if you haven’t the buying power to negotiate discounts with your phone company. Skype is building a distribution channel. They’ve partnered with PBX makers like ShoreTel, Cisco, and SIPfoundry. Together they have thousands of value added resellers (VARs) who serve local businesses. Those resellers will be eligible to earn affiliate referral commissions from Skype, although a separate program for VARs is not in place. Skype is talking with more PBX makers to make adding a Skype channel a built-in menu option. Skype for SIP is an indirect sales effort. SFS partners with PBX makers, their VARs, to reach IT and telecom departments responsible for configuring telephone systems and buying telephone services. So Skype gets to know your Phone Guy. This gives Skype a beachhead in your company, a relationship to sell more Skype products, and a champion for Skype technology. For many institutions, it is much easier to buy more from an established vendor than a new one. This makes it easier for the rest of the org to adopt Skype. In addition to your phone team, SFS is attractive for remote workers. They can Skype to your company phones for free. It can be as simple as adding your company switchboard as a Skype contact. Your sales, marketing, and customer service teams may also like SFS. If you want to add Skype click-to-call to your web site, SFS lets you reach worldwide Skype users without running up your phone bill. It lets your prospects and customers Skype, the way they want to. And you get to keep your call center gear and software. Skype for SIP builds with Skype’s current suppliers. Skype is one of the world’s largest buyers of PSTN termination and origination services. These suppliers connect Skype to public phone networks. In a very real sense, Skype is a middleman, a retailer buying PSTN at wholesale and selling it to individuals and companies. These same suppliers connect SkypeOut services for all of Skype. Because of this, there should be no issues with scaling Skype for SIP. There are a few barriers to Skype for SIP adoption. SkypeOut prices are not competitive in many markets. Small businesses don?t know how to configure phone switches for telecom services that aren’t built in to the switch. Small businesses only change phone services rarely, often when buying new hardware. The telecom VARs don?t know about Skype for SIP, Skype?s affiliate programs, or how to support their customers who want to buy or use Skype. What?s in it for Skype? Easy billable minutes. Skype can earn a small, growing share of the $billions companies pay to local, long distance, and international phone carriers. Skype could earn a share of the whole company?s spend before winning individual hearts and minds or getting Skype installed on company desktops and mobiles. More paid minutes means more buying power over Skype?s suppliers. This is a very high return on a very small Skype team. What will Skype learn? How to support and lead a channel. While not a new capability at Skype, Skype has never been strong in this area. Skype will accumulate a massive business call data record (CDR) database. They’ll be able to mine the data for behavior patterns to help them design new business products, uncover new ways to find future Skype customers, understand how company telecom departments shop and buy. What’s in Skype for SIP’s future? Potentially there will be free calls to other SFS customers; Skype doesn?t need to pay termination fees. Subscription plans for business, if they helps companies choose Skype. Tools to help telecom administrators manage SFS channel capacity ("You?re at capacity 94% this month. Add a channel?"). Skype for SIP will soon put $20 million per month in Skype’s hands. But this anonymous, hidden, back-door Skype product endangers Skype’s brand and the trust we have in it: Skype For SIP: Big Money, Skypeless, Brand Destroyer. tags: skype, skypeforsip, business, sip, voip, telecom, telephony, voiceCall me at +1-510-316-9773, Skype me, follow @skypejournal and @Phil Wolff.
Visit our Skype Journal private technologist roundtable, one of the longest running public Skype chats. Skype For Sip Beta Opens to Everyone View more documents from evanwolf. See also on Skype Journal: Skype For SIP: Big Money, Skypeless, Brand Destroyer. Skype could be hurting its brand, reducing confidence in its security and privacy pledges, and Skype’s value as a rich collaboration and communication network. Dan York on "Skype and SIP"; Input for Skype’s Platform Ambitions? SIP — The Promise, The Reality and The Potential The Skype for Asterisk Story — Significant Details Skype for SIP == Skype for Asterisk DOA?