Skype is in demand but not from members or users.

Discussions are at the beginning and being totally specific is going to be difficult, but according to reports from good sources, Skype is hot property. There have been no public releases to its members or to the public; however you might not have to wait for long.

A partnership deal for Skype is not something that has been talked about before. This time the reports involve giant businesses. Google and Facebook are considering separate bids to get their hands on the video conferencing service.

If you were Skype what would you do (assuming that the bids were identical)? Would you take the Facebook partnership and combine the instant chat with the additional feature of running live video connection as well or the Google bid and generate more members and more business users using your services.

As we know from previous blogs, Skype has a lot of members, but the percentage of members that actually pay for Skype services is very low. This poor revenue stream may not be solved with a Facebook partnership – it could increase the number of members but not the percentage of paying members. On the other hand Google with the PPC and SEO services that are very business related, could boost revenue when offering conference video calling features to a business audience.

This deal could be very important to both parties (Google and Facebook) particularly as Google is losing ground against Bing and Facebook could continue its domination of the social network. Google could also integrate the Skype services onto its Google Android Phones as well.

As mentioned this is an early report, so we will have to wait and see. In the meant time what, would you do?

SKYPE: Pushing into the Corporate Business Market

Skype are going to introduce a new conference calling service that will allow multiple users to talk at the same time, see each other via online video and share files. The new service is scheduled to be available towards the end of this year, and will be included into the revised revenue based strategy.

This strategy is all about money, because there is a very high majority of the 145 million registered members / users of the Skype service that don’t pay. This no pay percentage is not because they refuse to or just have not paid, it’s because one of the services that Skype offers is completely FREE.

The corporate business market and the video conference calling service is the market that Skype is going to target, but that won’t be easy. Despite having a partnership with Citrix Software Company and a live Skype audience, Skype will be in competition with Cisco System’s WebEx and Microsoft’s Live Meeting.

The FREE service allows 2 people to communicate and meet online on their computer screens. The revised version that will be called Skype for Business, will allow multiple users to be engaged in a conference call and share files.

This Skype for Business unit has received a lot of investment to maximise its expansion effort. The functional aspects of the service will be very simple and immediate; there will be an icon to begin a meeting and a contact list of people you can invite into the meeting.

There have been no indications as to what price the Skype for Business package will be and there is no concrete launch date. However, Citrix wanted to ‘let people work anytime and from anywhere they want to work and communicate’, so use Skype for Business.

Internet Video Calling is on the Rise

When watching cartoons, science fiction movies or even reading a comic, you may have noticed these characters using video gadgets that show the person that they are calling, perhaps on a watch or a handheld device. Police detective Dick Tracy has a video calling device that was mounted on his watch, supporting video calls. So, back in the days of Mr Tracy, the video call was an idea but how available and useful is it to the people of today?  

Well, the video calling services can be found on an Apple iPhone (called FaceTime), on Skype and Fring. These services have really come alive since their invention and there is now mass demand for Smartphone’s, quicker wireless networks and a booming age social networking. The growth of video calling started as a business solution, when hosting a meeting with people that aren’t all together, possibly in different countries. Things have moved on and the video calling is now aimed more towards the individual, potentially replacing the voice call for a video call.

Skype was the pioneer of internet calling, and their App for the Apple iPhone set a new benchmark. When the app was released on Jan the 1st 2011 for the iPhone, it resulted in one million video calls on that day, just from mobile phones. Following on from that, the number of Skype calls from PC’s and laptops increased by 40%, an estimated 70 billion minutes were used between users.

There will be a change in the way that video calling will replace voice calling as the smartphone market increases. Also, 10 million people downloaded the Skype Free iPhone app at the beginning of this year. So, the figures are stacking up in favour of video over voice.

There is a small minority of people that will not be influenced by this new opportunity; a traditional voice call is enough and a video call may be deemed as to intrusive. The stats show that while the video call is proving very popular it won’t be a total replacement of the voice call.

Skype is supported in the US by Verizon Wireless, concreting the service and delivering the best communication to its members. The video calling will work on the Apple iPhone 4, Google Android, and Nokia’s Symbian OS mobiles.  The service is used a lot in the US and Europe but channels are also opening in Russia, India and South Africa.

Even when using the Skype service via a PC, there are phone handsets on the market that connect to the PC’s USB port that replicate a traditional landline handset, if the video call does not suit you at that time.

The Skype calls are free as long as all parties on the call are registered with Skype, making those conference calls and international calls more attractive. All calls have to be made with a Wi-Fi connection with an enabled mobile phone, and the appropriate app. That is the only real criteria. Compare that with a mobile call to a destination inside and outside the UK that would be chargeable, Skype is a very good solution.  Building up a Skype directory could be the new social networking craze.

So, internet calling could save you money and a video call will add some quality.

Skype launch a campaign to target businesses

Skype is a young company that is owned by eBay and based in Luxemburg; it is also one of the Internet’s most popular services. The idea behind Skype is that calls can be made over the internet. This service is called Voice over IP and Skype has 124 million registered users that use this service.

But there is an issue, despite having many users that use the service that Skype provides, many of them have not paid anything. This is not because of fraud or deception – it’s because one of the services available through Skype is FREE. If a Skype user calls another Skype user, there is no charge for the call despite how long the call runs for or where the users are on the planet.

In 2007 there were 50 million registered users, with very little revenue in comparison. Even with 124 million current users the problem is still poor revenue.

To increase this revenue Skype did include a feature on its operating window that linked itself to Facebook News Feed. This facility promoted the Skype services to other friends on Facebook. This did boost registered users but not revenue.

The ratio of users that do pay to make Skype calls to either a mobile or a landline is only 6.5%, this is where the revenue comes from. So, new markets have to be investigated to increase that percentage, because over the last 5 years Skype has attracted more registered user’s year on year. However, 6-7% of these total registered users actually generate revenue. This is not high enough.

Skype will be pushing their services into the corporate business environment, the phone services, video conferencing and instant messaging would be available particularly if a business wants to reduce their overheads.

Around 40% of business lines are enabled for internet calls but not all have the right service on those lines, this where Skype wants to step in enable these lines.

This new launch will increase that percentage of chargeable calls made by users while also reducing call costs to the business, a win win solution for both business management and Skype, but how well received would this service be?

Before you know it, your next call that you make from work could be through Skype.

Could SKYPE replace current business communication channels, including core Telemarketing activities?

SKYPE is a software facility that allows phone calls to be made over the internet. Calls can be made to mobiles and landlines (with the appropriate subscription) all over the world. Other services that SKYPE offers include instant messaging (IM) and video conferencing.

The set up that SKYPE have is unlike other Voice over IP (VOIP) services because there are no servers involved in the calls.  The SKYPE software that is downloaded onto your PC or mobile device is the gateway for all its services.

Traditionally SKYPE was only accessible from a PC that has an internet connection. Time has moved on and now manufacturers have included SKYPE onto many mobile devices and computers.

Following that, SKYPE is also accessible from a WiFi area. A SKYPE app was released for download from iTunes for the Apple iPhone.  This emphasis in alternative communication launched a whole series of SKYPE handsets products generically called SKYPE WiFi Phone.

With the appropriate subscription package, a SKYPE WiFi Phone and an internet connection, calls can be made to a mobile or landline anywhere in the world. In addition, if your PC has a webcam, the facility to engage in a more personal video call is available, for 2 or more people, while sending IM to invite other contacts that you have included onto your contact list in the call or conversation.

In a classic business office would SKYPE calls be useful? Would it be easier to close deals using a video call and not a traditional phone call? Could marketing information from a sample of people be more effective if they could see who they were dealing with? So, calls and video conferencing can be made from your work by using your PC, potentially saving money but also adding more value to an activity. I also include that a call between two SKYPE members is free!

SKYPE will be included onto business cards, default signatures on emails, pre-recorded voice mail boxes, website ‘contact us’ pages and company signage before we know it. Advertising a SKYPE contact is vital when trying to open doors for potential customers or new business prospects.

With this new channel online and established, the telemarketing activities and marketing campaigns may include an automated voice mail message or IM to a SKYPE audience. This message would include a return SKYPE username for the selected audience and return the message via IM or call. The benefit to the business is a new captive audience and the return IM or call from the audience would be free!