Skype for Business Partner Resources – Now Available

 

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*Repost from today’s Partner Connect Newletter:

Dear Partners,

We are excited to announce that the technical preview of the Skype for Business client is available today. Skype for Business combines a familiar Skype-inspired experience, an expanded Lync feature set, and the ability to search for and connect with any of the hundreds of million people who use Skype. The technical preview gives current Lync customers the opportunity to trial the Skype for Business client before the client, server and online service become generally available starting in April.

What this means for partnersAvailability of the Skype for Business technical preview provides the opportunity for you to start working with your customers in finalizing Lync deployments and to begin planning Skype for Business implementations.

Partner call to actionNow that the technical preview of Skype for Business is available, we recommend that you:

1.

Join the technical preview today.

2.

Download all the great Skype for Business partner resources available to support your customers' Skype for Business implementations.

3.

Work with your customer on using the Skype for Business client trial and developing the Skype for Business deployment plan.

Skype for Business partner resourcesThe full set of Skype for Business partner resources includes:

Skype for Business FAQ for Partners

Skype for Business Partner Brand Guidelines

Skype for Business Positioning and Messaging

Skype for Business Photos

Skype for Business Client UI Screenshots

Skype for Business demo guide

Skype for Business Customer-Ready Presentations and Resources:

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Meet Skype for Business

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What's Coming in Skype for Business in the first half of 2015

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Skype for Business – To-Customer Announcement Email

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Skype for Business – Clients

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Skype for Business – Voice

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Skype for Business – Meetings

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Skype for Business – IT Pro Experience

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Skype for Business – Developer Platform

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Skype for Business SI Partner Playbook

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FY15 Evidence Market Analyst Details

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Why Skype for Business and not Google Hangouts 

Skype for Business Customer-Ready Industry Presentations

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Skype for Business in Banking and Capital Markets

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Skype for Business in Communications and Media

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Skype for Business in Government

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Skype for Business in Healthcare

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Skype for Business in Manufacturing and Resources

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Skype for Business in Retail

Partner technical readiness resources

What’s New in Skype for Business: Office 365 Summit Session Decks and Recordings, also available on InfoPedia

Skype for Business Readiness Webcast Registration and Recordings

What is the message to customers? With Skype for Business becoming generally available in April, now is the time to start planning deployment. Most of the existing software and hardware solutions that are qualified for Lync 2013 will also be compatible with Skype for Business. As a result, current Lync customers can get quickly up and running with Skype for Business, leveraging their existing investments. Stay tuned – we'll be sharing more on the future for Skype for Business later this week at Enterprise Connect.

-Josh Condie