Microsoft launches free Skype version for small businesses

PanARMENIAN.Net - Microsoft on Wednesday, July 5 announced a free browser version of Skype aimed at small businesses, The Verge reports.

The service is called Skype Meetings, and it's the company's first web-based product after the beta release of Skype for Web last year. Skype Meetings will let you video chat with up to 10 people at a time for the first 60 days of use, and then meeting capacity is limited to three people. It also includes some of the more powerful collaboration tools included with Skype for Business, such as screen sharing and PowerPoint integration.

Skype Meetings is very similar to the free version of Skype. Both versions of the software let you video chat with the same number of people and make use of the platform's messaging capabilities. But Microsoft is clearly marketing this version of Skype as easy, no-frills way for small companies to set up video calls. It's only real appeal over Skype's standard version is the ability to work directly in a browser and the addition of the few features it borrows from the business tier of the product, The Verge says.

The goal is to entice small teams to try out Skype and then upgrade to either the video chat app's more fully featured version or subscribe to an Office 365 business plan that includes Skype.