45 Days Until the End of Skype for Business Online

Microsoft continues to warn organizations on Skype for Business Online that it will switch it off on July 31, 2021.

Microsoft first warned customers with Skype for Business Online two years ago that the service would reach the end of life on July 31, 2021. Then, in February, it sent another reminder, six months ahead of the retirement date, urging an immediate Teams migration. 

Now, in a new blog post three months out from the deadline, it said to keep working on your upgrade plan and detailed what customers can expect before July 31. 

“Skype for Business Online will be fully functional through July 31, 2021, to allow customers time to transition users to Teams or to an instance of Skype for Business Server,” Microsoft said. 

Customers should consider some other factors, including services integrated with Skype for Business Online and several other interim migration options, such as “Teams Only” and coexistence mode. After the cut-off date, Teams Only will be the sole option. 

Fundamental changes Microsoft that will happen before July 31: 

• Service integration with Skype for Business Online will no longer be supported beyond retirement (third-party audio-conferencing providers, Skype for Business Online Cloud Connector Edition, hybrid voice configurations, Skype Meeting Broadcast).
• Customers will not be able to move online users out of Teams Only mode after retirement.
• Users can be moved directly from Skype for Business Server to Teams Only after configuring Skype for Business hybrid with Microsoft 365 or Office 365.

Microsoft started scheduling “Microsoft-assisted upgrades” to Teams for customers with cloud-only or hybrid deployments as a “last-mile” transition service back in August.

Microsoft adds that user upgrades typically take 24 hours to complete. Once completed, users need to log out and log on, which then will take them to Teams. 

If you need help, contact us immediately as time is ticking!