Microsoft has announced that Skype for Business Online will be retired on July 31, 2021. Moreover, the service will no longer be accessible after the aforementioned date. The current Skype for Business Online clients will remain unaffected until the retirement. However, it is important to note that all new Office 365 customers will directly on-board to Microsoft Teams for chat, meetings, and calling starting September 1, 2019.
Why Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams was launched in 2017 as “the hub for teamwork” in Microsoft 365. Teams combines chat, video, calling, and document collaboration into a single, integrated app – and enables an entirely new way of working. Over the last two years, Microsoft has made significant investment in Teams to be able to replace Skype for Business Online. . Using Teams, companies across the world are becoming more agile, shortening cycle times, improving the efficiency of key workflows, and cutting out unnecessary overhead.
Teams isn’t just an upgrade for Skype for Business Online, it’s a powerful tool that opens the door to an entirely new way of doing business. But don’t take our word for it! Learn more about the potential benefits of Teams for your organization with the recently published Forrester white paper “The Total Economic Impact of Microsoft Teams.”
Microsoft is also we offering a comprehensive set of technical guidance and planning resources, including a proven success framework, best practices, planning documents, free instructor-led training, and FastTrack on-boarding assistance for eligible subscriptions for a seamless migration.
Source - Microsoft Teams Blog