Up in the Air About Business Travel?

Published on: April 16th, 2015

In the popular 2008 film “Up in the Air,” George Clooney portrays a corporate downsizing expert who spends nearly all of his time flying around the country for business travel. In fact, the character actually spends 320 days per year on planes and in airports. His enthusiasm for air travel is partially based on his goal of accumulating 10 million frequent flyer travel miles. Clooney’s character does eventually achieve his frequent flyer travel goal, but by that point let’s not speculate on his health, wellbeing, social life or family relationships.

Why Opt for Business Travel When You Can Skype?

“Up in the Air” did depict the differences between face-to-face meetings and the video conferencing technology that was in use at the time. Now, seven years later video technology has steadily improved and business travel has dramatically declined. Flight cancellations, oversold flights, weather delays, lost luggage, overcrowding, and cramped seats have conspired to make business travel even more frustrating and exhausting. Thankfully there are now great video communication alternatives to time-consuming and expensive business travel.

Microsoft Introduces Skype for Business

Currently, over 300 million people use Skype every month to communicate with their long-distance family, friends, and colleagues. Last year, Microsoft announced that they were updating Lync, their business-centric chat app, by meshing it with the strengths of Skype. Microsoft’s new upgraded product known as

Skype for Business is based on Skype’s design while drawing on many of Lync’s features. Skype for Business is scheduled to roll out in April 2015. Here’s what you can expect from this new Microsoft business product:

• Microsoft has expanded Lync features in Skype for Business with enterprise-grade security, compliance, and IT control.
• Accessibility enables users to search for and connect with anyone in the Skype network who is either inside or outside their organization. Simply use the Skype directory and contact any user on any device.
• Microsoft Office has integrated Skype for Business as a built-in feature that delivers IM, voice, video calls and online meetings.
• Getting started with Skype for Business is easy because no new hardware is required. Current Lync users can simply update to the new Skype for Business Server in their datacenters. For Office 365 users, it’s very easy to get started because service is available through the online version of Office.

Are You Ready to Try Skype for Business?

If you never used Skype except for holiday “face time” chats with long distance family members or to keep tabs on your kids in college, you might want to reconsider the benefits of video conferencing for your business. If you have been using Microsoft Lync, it’s time to upgrade to Skype for Business.

Computer Troubleshooters can help you understand how your business can benefit by cutting back on travel expenses and increase efficiency with Skype for Business. If you are interested in learning more about video conferencing; want a demo of Skype for Business; or need guidance with the deployment of a new product, Computer Troubleshooters can help you. Call Computer Troubleshooters today and one of their technology professionals can assist you.