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Skype for Business Online is hosted as a public cloud service by Microsoft as part of Office 365 and Microsoft 365. The new version, Skype for Business Server 2019, just became generally available a few weeks ago. Skype for Business Server 2015 was the first version after Lync 2013 Server. And thanks to a rich set of APIs, Skype for Business Server has the ability to integrate with 3 rd party applications such as Contact Centre and Recording. Skype for Business Server is the “full fat” product with all the features. Skype for Business Server is the one you install on-premises on your own servers or consume as a service from a private cloud service provider. There are two editions of Skype for Business. The instant messaging client has three main pillars of use: messaging, meetings and voice. Skype for Business (and Lync) has a very loyal fanbase of users and IT professionals globally. Teams launched into public preview on 2nd November 2016, then four-and-a-half months later, the platform became generally available on the 14th March 2017. After all, we’re comparing a product that has been around in various forms for more than eighteen years (Skype for Business (SfB0) is the latest iteration of what started as a messaging tool built into Exchange 2000) to one that’s not even been here for two yet. I know this is going to elicit some debate among readers, and that’s okay. Why the debate for Skype for Business vs Teams?
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