Microsoft Teams innovation and momentum paves the way for Skype for Business Online retirement
We announced that Skype for Business Online will be retired on July 31, 2021, and after that date the service will no longer be accessible. Between now and then, current Skype for Business Online customers will experience no change in service, and they’ll be able to continue to add new usersas needed. However, starting September 1, 2019, we will onboard all new Office 365 customers directly to Teams for chat, meetings, and calling. Please note that the Skype Consumer service and Skype for Business Server will both be unaffected by this announcement.
What does this announcement mean for you?
• Current Skype for Business Online customers will experience no change in service through July 31, 2021. After that, customers will no longer be able to access the Skype for Business Online service.
• Skype for Business Online customers and those with Hybrid (online and on-premises) configurations, will have until July 31, 2021 to transition to Microsoft Teams. We encourage partners to continue customer dialog to start their upgrade planning and execution.
• There is no impact to our Skype for Business Server on-premises customers or the Skype Consumer service.
• Current Skype for Business Online customers will be able to add/remove users per their contracts until the retirement of the service.
• Support for the integration of third-party party Audio Conferencing Providers (ACP) into Skype for Business Online has been extended to July 31, 2021, with limited support for remaining active tenants to allow additional time for transition. This is an update in the ACP timeline that was originally announced April2018.
Call to action
• While the retirement date is still 24 months in the future, you should continue to encourage your customers to adopt Teams as their primary communication and collaboration application in Office 365.
• Utilize the communication template and the presentation.
• Familiarize yourself with the FAQ to prepare for customer questions
• Leverage the Skype for Business Online to Teams upgrade planning workshop materials and Teamwork Assessment resources to help your customers transition to Teams.
• Stay up-to-date with the public Microsoft 365 roadmap
Resources to share with your organization
• Skype for Business Online Retirement Resources – FAQ, presentation and communication template
• Skype for Business to Teams Planning Workshop materials
• FastTrack Skype for Business to Teams Upgrade Guidance
• Microsoft 365 Partner Portal for Teamwork practice development
• Microsoft Teams Partner Guide for Calling and Meetings
• Microsoft Teams Technical Documentation
