On the week of its 10 year anniversary – a decade of video calling at least – Skype has been busy announcing a flurry of breakthroughs. First it was the news that group video calling has become available to mobile, and later we heard that real-time translation in Skype has finally been rolled-out to all Windows users.
Skype’s final announcement this week is its integration with team messaging app, Slack. “Today we’re releasing a preview version of Skype integration for Slack that lets teams on Slack easily make a Skype voice or video call and reach conclusions faster,” Skype wrote in a blog post.
If your team is already using Slack you can make use of Skype’s video and voice calling by going into Skype and clicking on the ‘Add to Slack’ button. After you find your team, hit ‘confirm’ once you’re sure it’s the right team you’ve picked. One of the good things is you don’t need a Skype account to use Skype on Slack. Just type ‘/skype’ on any channel in Slack and start your conversation with your colleague(s).
Team members can be using Slack on the web, Windows, Mac, iOS or Android, and will receive a Slack notification that a Skype call has started. For group video calling the regular limit is set at 10 participants at any one time, while voice calls is limited to 25 participants.
The move is significant for Microsoft, given the widespread popularity of Slack, called in 2014, “the fastest-growing workplace software ever,” and worth over $1 billion dollars just a year after it was launched. It’s no wonder that under CEO Satya Nadella’s influence and focus on productivity that Microsoft wants to get chummy with Slack.
It’s reported that Microsoft has said Skype on Slack is available worldwide as of now, though the spokesperson for the company would not comment on if this move is final.
Photo credit: Gustavo da Cunha Pimenta via Flickr