Microsoft announces Skype-Lync cross-communication support
Microsoft continues to add features to its popular Skype VoIP service, and today the company revealed a long-awaited addition: The consumer-oriented chat client will now be able to connect with Microsoft’s business-themed Lync software for the first time.
The company’s Skype blog reveals that the cross-communication support currently extends to the Windows and Mac Skype desktop clients, but support for more platforms is in the works. Instant messaging and audio chats are currently available, but video chat support will be added later. Upon signing into their Microsoft accounts, Skype users can now add the email addresses of Lync users to their contact lists and start IM and audio chats.
Microsoft stated in their announcement, “This is our first step in combining the enterprise richness of Lync and the global reach of Skype to transform the communications experience and enable Skype users to reach professional contacts in organizations of all sizes.”
Lync is used by over 90 of the Fortune Global 100 companies, according to Microsoft, and its efforts to add a way to chat with the hundreds of millions of Skype users will certainly be a big plus for the people who use one or both services.
