Microsoft releases free browser version of Skype for businesses

Microsoft today announced  Skype Meetings, a free browser version of Skype aimed at small businesses. It comes as the company's first web-based product after the beta release of Skype for web last year. Skype Meetings would allow users to video chat with up to 10 people at a time for the first 60 days of use, following which the meeting capacity was limited to three people. It also comes with a number of more powerful collaboration tools included with Skype for Business, such as screen sharing and PowerPoint integration.

Skype Meetings is much like the free version of Skype, with both versions of the software allowing video chat with the same number of people and making use of the platform's messaging capabilities. Microsoft is, however, clearly marketing this version of Skype an easy way for small companies to set up video calls. Its only real appeal over Skype's standard version was the ability to work directly in a browser and some features it borrowed from the business tier of the product.

The goal was make small teams try out Skype and then upgrade to either the video chat app's more fully featured version or subscribe to an Office 365 business plan that included Skype.

The service comes with PowerPoint integration, the laser pointer and whiteboard functionality, and screensharing, which make up some of the most popular presentation tools on Skype for Business. Being a free service, Skype Meetings is a pared down version of the original product for paying enterprise customers.

The free platform thus offers a glimpse into the full range of productivity tools on offer with Skype for Business.

"If you have an Office 365 business subscription that includes Skype for Business, then you already have richer online meetings capabilities," says Andrew Sinclair, general manager for Skype for Business, reports Tech Times.