Small Business Internet Guide-SBOguide

Is Skype ready for prime time?

OK, I'll admit I was skeptical about Skype. It sounds cool, but is it really something your business can use as an effective communications and marketing tool? Can you rely on it? Does it offer features that your business truly needs to be successful?

After working with Skype over the last few weeks, I can honestly say the answer to all these questions is a resounding yes! Even Oprah Winfrey has embraced the technology for its video conferencing capabilities, and businesses around the globe are using it to communicate their marketing message more effectively and with a dramatic savings in time, travel cost, and communication expense. Check out Skype for Business today.

The cheap phone call aspect of Skype is great, but where Skype can really give your business a boost is in its abiltiy to allow you to do video conferencing. This is absolutely the next best thing to being there in person, and some would argue it's really a lot better, given the huge cost savings that can be attained. This is especially true if you have international customers.

What can you do with video? Meet face to face with a client, conduct meetings, demonstrate your product and its features, just to list a few. Skype is even working on the ability to allow your audience to see your desktop. This feature is currently in beta, but should be available soon. Sure you can do that now with tools like Webex, but if you're watching your bottom line as closely as most are, the cost of the Skype method could prove to be unbeatable for most businesses.

Another very useful feature of Skype is the ability to send large files, such as video, graphics, CAD drawings, blueprints, or images that may be too large for an email attachment. Sending files over Skype is easier and faster then email submissions, which will not work at most providers if the file is too large. This also alleviates the need to use an FTP program such as Filezilla to move large files.

So if you haven't considered Skype recently as a tool that can really give your business a boost, now is the time to do so.

You can check it out with no cost or obligation at Skype for Business