What do we know about Skype for business?

Without breaking any NDAs and with the posture that the product has not been released and everything is subject to change - what can be said about the next version of Lync?

Well, it will get a new name and new logo.

But what will the twitter hashtag prove to be? #s4b #Skype4b #Skypeforbusiness
That remains to be seen, but things are not getting any better due to the fact that "for Bussines" is a translatable term. I have already seen Swedish Microsofters write about "Skype för Företag" aka #SkypeFF ??

So what has been communicated so far?

• The release date is "In the first half of 2015"
• It will run on Windows 2012 R2 and with SQL Server 2012 (and will most probably support SQL AlwaysOn Availability Groups and Windows 10)
• It will support "in-place" upgrades - so you can use your current Lync server hardware and SQL and Reverse Proxy, etc.
• The client will come with two "skins" one new and one "classic Lync" looking interface
• The "Transfer call" function will be better / easier to use than in the Lync 2013 client
• Video calling to Skype, the SILK audio codec and support for non-Microsoft account Skype IDs will be there.
  If we take a sneak peak at the sessions at the coming Ignite Event the only thing we find right now around Skype for business / Lync is the "Technical Deep Dive Into Skype for Business Video" session.

Looking back at my list of announcements from the Lync Conference earlier this year we can conclude that "P2P Video with Skype" and "Lync Mobile for Android on Tablets" is already available. So a good guess would be that the "Video Interoperability Server" / "videoation server" will also come with Skype for Business.


Sources:
An online chat with Jamie Stark ( @nomorephones )
Video calling Skype / Lync