Skype for Business will be retired on July 31, 2021.

Skype for Business is a different product than consumer Skype.  It is built on a different platform and allows much larger meetings — up to 250 people.  Faculty and Staff members will automatically have call-in telephone numbers added to any scheduled Skype meetings.

You can use Skype from Office 365 on the Web (webmail.brynmawr.edu) for IM or scheduling meetings from your calendar.  For in-time meeting creation and full functionality, we recommend that you obtain the Skype for Business client — note: this is not the same as the consumer Skype client.  This is available for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.  For your College computer, you already have it.  Otherwise, download it from Software Center (contact the Help Desk if you need assistance).  You can get it directly from Microsoft for mobile devices and personal computers.  You are entitled to the licensed version.

You can invite anyone to a meeting, and they can attend without a client or login, right in their browser or by using the Skype Meetings app.

LITS is now recommending Skype for Business to replace previously used Adobe Connect, departmental/personal Skype, or Webex accounts.

Learn more:

• Do I have Skype or Skype for Business?
• Getting Started: What is Skype For Business?
• Skype for Business Help Center

Please note that Bryn Mawr does not have outbound calling enabled.  Also, if you need to do a broadcast for more than 250 people, please contact LITS well in advance of your event as an additional service is required.

Getting Started with Your First Meeting

The first step is to obtain the Skype for Business client — note: this is not the same as the consumer Skype client.  This is available for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.  For your College computer, you already have it.  Otherwise, download it from Software Center (PC instructions/Mac instructions — contact the Help Desk if you need assistance).  You can get it directly from Microsoft for mobile devices and personal computers.  You are entitled to the licensed version.

Once you have Skype for Business installed, open it and:

1. Set up your audio options and make sure everything’s working
2. Set up your video options and make sure everything’s working (if you want to share video during the meeting)
3. You will actually create the meeting in Outlook:
   1. If you use the Desktop version, switch to the calendar and click the New Skype Meeting button.
   2. If you use Outlook Web Access (Webmail), switch to the calendar, click New Event and then Add Online Meeting (to the right of the room/location field)
   3. Select Skype Meeting
   4. Set the date and time as you would normally.
   5. Add yourself, any BMC colleagues, and/or outside parties here too if they’ll be part of the meeting.
   6. Outlook will automatically generate a “Join this Meeting” link and a dial-in number will be shared with your attendees in the description field of the event. (Please note that event generated from student accounts are Web-only and will not have a dial in option).
   7. The join URL and dial-in info in the event description can be copied and shared via other means of communication if certain users are unable to receive the event invite.
4. You can open your meeting at any time by clicking the Join link in your meeting.
   1. There’s a nice overview of the icons and features at Learn about the Skype for Business meeting window.
   2. For details about how to do things during a meeting (record, chat, share files, share your screen, etc.), see Microsoft’s Meetings with Skype for Business documentation.

Since some of your attendees may be unfamiliar with web-conferencing, I recommend including links to these help pages in your meeting invite:

Join via computer

Call in to the meeting