If your company subscribes to Office 365 Business Premium or E3 you already have Skype-for-Business. With the correct PBX add-ons, or by upgrading to E5 gives you the latest telephone and conferencing technology! Office 365 Enterprise E5 is Microsoft’s top of the range enterprise suite, offering a comprehensive set of applications that:

• Enhance and streamline productivity.
• Improve security and compliance.
• Offers analytics and collaboration.

Back in the day, telephone systems for business were complicated affairs and could be expensive to maintain. Everyone needed access to external lines, as well as internal connections so they could talk to each other.

Microsoft has effectively done away with the need for PBX since it linked Skype-for-Business with Outlook and Microsoft Office. The new telephone capabilities for business make communications more effective and powerful. They’re also available to everyone in the organisation from locations around the world.

Skype for Business links seamlessly with Outlook and Microsoft Office, so it’s available from multiple apps within the suite. Contacts are also easier to find. And when accessed through Outlook, include more comprehensive information than was ever possible from a telephone directory.

Skype for Business coupled with Office 365 E5 creates a connected user experience that transcends traditional phone capabilities. In fact, you can completely eliminate the need for a separate PBX system. Just as the cloud has revolutionised the ways in which 78% of UK companies do business, so too is it set to completely change the way we use the phone.

Here are some Skype-for-Business features that you won’t get with PBX or PSTN systems:

• Cloud PBX. Offers the same capabilities, such as transferring and holding calls, but with added features. You can for instance, switch to a video call or add text communication as a further option. Placing calls is even easier as there’s no need to remember a number, you simply click a contact name in Skype for Business or Outlook. You can make and receive calls without the need for a traditional phone system, using mobile devices as well as PCs or mobile phones.

• PSTN Conferencing. Office 365 E5 with Skype for Business puts everyone in touch via PSTN conferencing regardless of whether they have Internet access. Attendees can dial out to add others, or those outside can dial a local access number to gain entrance to the telephone conference. Access can be further simplified by creating a single phone number for all attendees. Those dialling out to add others can dial both domestic and international numbers.

• PSTN Calling. Want to keep your existing phone numbers? With PSTN Calling in Skype for Business, you can. Or you can request new ones and assign them in minutes, including international numbers. You can also reserve numbers in major global cities, with allocation for Direct Inward Dial included in the plan. It provides one simple to use tool for all business calls, encompassing long distance, international or local dialling.

Some features of Skype for Business are available as charged add-ons for users of other Microsoft Office 365 plans, but all are included in the Enterprise E5 plan. If you’d like to hear a demonstration, customers can call 0113 360 4764.

To learn more about Office 365 please visit Microsoft Office 365.