SKYPE FOR BUSINESS not a threat to WebRTC

2015 so far is appearing to be the best year for WebRTC. So many activities like Conferences,
Hackathons, business growth have been taken place. This has stimulated so many productstrategic responses from companies who perceive WebRTC technology as a worthy
competitor.
For a couple of weeks now, Skype for business has been pulling good attention worldwide.
Microsoft had been planning the merger of Lync and Skype since Skype's acquisition in 2011
and finally comes the announcement of Skype for Business.
Skype for Business will offer enterprise voice in Office 365 with PSTN calling and
conferencing. The functionality will first become available as a technical preview in the U.S.
this summer.
Skype for Business can be connected to enterprise PBX and used to control and route calls.
Office 365 users will thus be able to leverage Skype for all their written, audio, and video
conversations. The Office 365 Skype for Business voice and video services are based on an
intelligent real time network, spanning Microsofts global data centers, to deliver secure, high
quality voice and video traffic at the speed of light across the globe, Microsoft explained.
Microsoft has partnered with AT&T, BT, Colt, Equinix, Level3 Communications, Orange
Business Services, TATA Communications, Telstra, Verizon, and Vodafone. These companies
will help deliver direct connections to Office 365 Skype for Business customers through
Azure ExpressRoute for Office 365.
Its an undisputable fact that Skype was a first of its kind, and therefore simulated practical
use cases for VOIP communication which some companies learnt from. Of course its obvious
that the business competition have become tighter owing to the ever dynamic improvements
in the technologies.
The questions are; What does Skype for Business mean to WebRTC companies who deal on
similar products? How easy would it be for enterprises to shift from their present solutions to
Skype for Business? Looking at ease-of-use and UX trends do people/companies still enjoy
the idea of installing software to collaborate? How cost effective will Skype for Business be?
.
One thing to give Microsoft credit for is their cognisance of the gradual shift in market focus
from large enterprises solutions to Start-ups and Small businesses.
Venture Capital have had its highest investments rounds totalling $48 Billion in 2014 and
looking at the market trends, Venture Capital investment for 2015 will significantly surpass
that of 2014.
My prediction, which I feel Microsoft is probably acting on is, 3-5years from now, Startups
will take over about 50% of the Tech industry. So the sustainable thing any large company
should do is to fashion their product/services flexible enough to accommodate startups with
limited funds and infrastructures. One of the reasons being that, very soon Innovation, ease

and disruptiveness will be the weapons which startups will use in dominating the industry.
It will be futuristically sustainable for biger companies (even WebRTC companies) to start
partnering with startup companies who are new but fearlessly innovative because they have a
fresh and a non-biased mindset. They think and act without giving much attention to what an
experienced business man might perceive to be a setback.
It might be troubling to consider Skype4business possible effects on Webrtc businesses which
offer similar products. Taking comparisons in the area of UX, cost, Compatibility and ease, I
concluded that WebRTC is awesome and one of a kind that runs on a league of its own.
However, its worthy of note that there is gradually some level convergence between
enterprise products and consumer products which is a trend Microsoft and other companies
are understanding, I believe WebRTC companies can borrow a leaf from this in order attain
more relevance in future.

SPEAKER BIO
David is an internationally renowned WebRTC speaker/writer for Africa, is a Retail
Geek with Etisalat Nigeria and also the founder of Wiretooth Technologies which
provides ICT for Development services and consultancy. He is an innovative
entrepreneur with interest in ICT analysis as relates to Africa. He has interest in
Web, mobile app development M2M, IoT and WEBRTC technology.
He is rated to be among the top 6% of all Nigerian executives by the premier
publication of the Nigerian Top Executives in the IT & Software Industry 2015
available worldwide on Amazon.
He also led teams which held talks with organizations like AMD and DTK
computers in respect to the Nigerian Market and has carried out several market
research surveys on several ICT products in Nigeria
David is into National development through ICT empowerment trainings in
several states of Nigeria. He also had organized some ICT Empowerment training
programs under the Ministry of Economic Empowerment, in some Nigerian states
and other organizations.
Being the first and only African Speaker/Panelist in the just concluded WebRTC IV
Conference Atlanta, his focus is to spearhead activities like undergoing research
analysis as relates to Africa, that will increase and propagate the use of M2M, IoT
and WebRTC Technology in Africa for the purpose of development and also to
make life easier for people. He also possesses experience in the
telecommunication market Industry.
David presently is the CEO of Wiretooth Technologies, the first known WebRTC
Company in Africa, and he plans to start WebRTC conferences/Hackathons in
Africa this 2015.