Skype Joins Microsoft!

Since Microsoft’s original acquisition of Skype announcement, the education community has been buzzing with excitement and speculation. Today, I am happy to inform you that the acquisition of Skype is complete and we welcome the Skype family to Microsoft and US Education.

This is really an exciting announcement for schools and universities around the world. Skype served my grad school cohort extremely well when we needed to coordinate team projects across four continents and two hemispheres.  Without Skype, we simply would not have had a cost-effective or accessible means for getting our projects done and producing grade-A work. While my Skype story is not unique in education, it is about to get a lot better with Skype now apart of Microsoft.

For current Skype users, nothing is going to change. If you have iOS, Android, Mac, Blackberry, Samsung HDTV, Panasonic HDTV, Sony HDTV, or Windows devices you will be able to continue to use Skype as you always have.

In the future, Skype will be connecting on XBOX Live and VideoKinect for XBOX Live. In addition to Skype calls with XBOX Live gamers, Skype users with be able connect with Microsoft Lync Enterprise Voice for your school or university. Later this year, Skype and Lync clients will be available on the Windows Phone 7.5 (“Mango.”) support Microsoft devices like XBOX and Kinect, Windows Phone, and wide array of Windows devices and Microsoft will connect Skype users with Lync, Outlook, Xbox Live, and other communities.

This is all just the beginning.

What truly excites me is that the acquisition truly benefits schools and universities challenged by the consumerization of IT. Skype enables broad, global voice and video communication on multiple platforms and devices. There is no need for a single platform or device-dependent communication scheme that limits consumer choice or enterprise agility.

Over the coming months, I will continue to expand on the Skype acquisition and keep you abreast updates that impact education. In meantime, feel free to post questions in the comments below so that I can follow-up with you.

For more information:

• Skype Newsroom
• Tony Bates Weighs in on Microsoft Acquisition of Skype
• Microsoft to Acquire Skype

Updated: No material changes. This update reflects where we are today.