Skype for Business to be Retired

This had been rumored, now its out,   been using Teams now for a year, its nicely done.  Unclear how this be done with regards to Business vs 'Home'  users.

...Skype for business: OOO
Skype for Business Online is headed for retirement.

New Office 365 customers will be onboarded to Microsoft Teams. Existing Skype for Business customers will be encouraged to make that transition, too. However, there are migration issues to consider, as well as other alternatives.

Here's how to prepare for the end of Skype for Business.  (hpe.com)

Microsoft Slack Competitor via Skype?

 A Microsoft Slack Competitor via Skype?

Might Microsoft show off its Slack competitor at November 2 event?
Microsoft is planning to talk up team collaboration technologies at a November 2, 2016, event in New York City. Maybe we'll see the beta of Skype Teams launch then, too.  ... "   By Mary Jo Foley

Follow Mary Jo's Foley's ZDnet Microsoft blog for more on this.

With bot infrastructure to compete with Google Allo for the workplace?

Slack and Skype

Was just introduced to Slack and liked it.  Especially for better email focus.  Now what will its (still limited) integration with Skype look like?   More on the integration in CMSWire:

" .... According to the Skype blog, the integration mirrors much of the way other services work in Slack. All you have to do is type /Skype to begin a conversation with a member of your team. For example, Slack includes several other slash commands like /close, /away, and the always popular /giphy to perform a related commands.

Teams that want to integrate this into their own Slack can do so by adding the Skype button and selecting which channel you want it to work with first. You’ll then be able to launch a Skype conversation, or join an existing one, with any of your Skype contacts in that channel. .. "