Stay Connected Wherever, Whenever

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You may have noticed a new icon on your taskbar over the past several months for Skype for Business. Skype for Business is a Microsoft Office 365 application that allows for instant messaging as well as voice and video conferencing.

Skype for Business is similar to Skype, but with some added features. Please remember that you will need to login with your City University account, and your normal Skype login will not work. You can, however, call a Skype account from your Skype for Business account, and can link your accounts to share contacts.

Skype Instructions

Keep up with colleagues

Skype for Business allows you to send and receive instant messages to your contacts, providing a quick and easy way to catch up with your colleagues or get quick answers to questions.

You can also make voice and video calls to hold virtual meetings. Skype for Business offers an alternative to travelling to meet with others, allowing you to meet from your own PC.

Skype Instructions 2

Share documents, programs and even your screen

As well as voice, video and text messaging, Skype for Business allows you to share documents, applications, and even your desktop with the other participants. This allows you to conduct presentations or training effectively, keeping all of the participants engaged. Sharing a document is as simple as dragging it into the conversation window, or using the attachment button in Skype for Business.

If you have a program installed on your computer that you’d like to share with the other participants, you can present that program. This allows others to use the program as it is running on your computer. You can go one step further than this and share your desktop with another participant, allowing them to see what’s on your screen and control your computer.

Skype Instructions 3

 

Find your colleagues

The Skype for Business Contacts section allows you to add and store information on colleagues and external contacts. The contacts in Skype for Business are automatically populated by the Outlook address book, so finding any member of university staff is as simple as typing their name into the search bar and selecting the one you want.

Schedule a meeting from your Outlook calendar

As well as starting a call from the Skype for Business interface, you can schedule meetings in your Outlook calendar as you usually would. Simply click the “Skype Meeting” option in the calendar item, and it will add a link to the invitation that attendees can click when it’s time to meet. This will take them to the Skype call. This aims to make setting up a Skype meeting as simple as possible.

Skype Instructions 4

Keep notes on your conversations

Skype for Business has an inbuilt recording function, so you can record your meetings to play back later. Never wonder again if you remembered to mention something, just go back and check! You can also make notes during your meeting and save them to OneNote, to help you keep track of your discussions.

With all of these features and more, Skype for Business offers a genuine alternative to travelling to meetings, and can allow you to conduct your work from a single location. For more information about Skype for Business please contact the IT Service Desk.

If you’re interested in learning more about how Skype for Business works, why not come along to a Lunchtime Learning Session? If you contact us with your requirements we can arrange for a demonstration session at a time and venue of your choice. We can also arrange a short pop-up session to give you a taste of what the system can do. We can even arrange to attend the beginning of an existing meeting to provide a short demonstration of how your committees could benefit from the system.

To enquire about any of the demonstration sessions we offer, please contact ITCommunications@city.ac.uk with your requirements and we can arrange a session to suit your needs.