

Still, you need to confirm that you are on “Teams Only” mode and not the other modes (“Co-existence” or “Islands”) that allow user access to Skype for Business or adjust the interoperability of the two systems. If Teams is your primary tool for chats and meetings, that is a great start.

We already use Teams for Chats and Meetings. The change to Teams could still be disorienting for staff and disruptions to organizational flow, so you want to make sure you communicate and plan this transition ASAP.

If you do not have the resources or time to plan your upgrade to Teams, CREO can help. We recommend checking out Microsoft’s Teams Upgrade guide to get you started. You need to plan, prepare, and communicate this roadmap of change to your organization. Help, we are still using Skype! It is time to get moving! With less than two months to Skype retirement, you want to make sure that your organization is ready for this transition.

New Office 365 (now Microsoft 365) tenants created after September 1 st, 2019, were directly onboarded to Teams over Skype for Business Online. During that time Microsoft added features to Teams reaching ‘feature parity’ with Skype for Business Online and felt that they could recommend Teams as an upgrade from Skype for Business. The retirement was announced in 2019, just two short years after Microsoft Teams made its debut. Microsoft 365 Admins of Office 365 powered organizations can upgrade individual users or the entire tenant to Teams Only mode before this date. Your organization will be upgraded to Teams automatically starting August 1, 2021. If you have not planned your upgrade to Teams, Microsoft will perform an Assisted Upgrade for on-premise solutions and/or switch your environment to Teams Only for Online solutions. Third-party audio-conferencing providers will also stop working. What’s Happening? Skype For Business Online is officially being retired on July 31, 2021, at which time it will no longer be accessible or supported.
