On Tuesday, Microsoft announced that Skype for Business Online will be retired on July 31, 2021, and after that date the service will no longer be accessible. Between now and then, current Skype for Business Online customers will experience no change in service, and can continue to add new users as needed. The Skype Consumer service and Skype for Business Server will both be unaffected by this announcement.
The support life-cycle for all active Skype for Business products is shown below:
|
Products Released |
Lifecycle Start Date |
Mainstream Support End Date |
Extended Support End Date |
Notes |
|
Skype for Business 2015 client |
1/9/2013 |
4/10/2018 |
4/11/2023 |
Client: The Skype for Business 2015 Client release is an update to the Lync 2013 Client and will follow the same product lifecycle. |
|
Skype for Business 2016 client |
9/22/2015 |
10/13/2020 |
10/14/2025 |
|
|
Skype for Business 2019 client |
9/24/2018 |
1/9/2024 |
10/14/2025 |
|
|
Skype for Business Online |
5/1/2015 |
7/31/2021 |
7/31/2021 |
This service is being retired. Go here to learn more. |
|
Skype for Business Server 2015 |
7/30/2015 |
10/13/2020 |
10/14/2025 |
|
|
Skype for Business Server 2019 |
10/22/2018 |
1/9/2024 |
10/14/2025 |
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/search?alpha=Skype%20for%20Business
Next steps that organizations should take are outlined in the announcement. You can also find resources specific to Teams at https://aka.ms/simplyteams which will be updated soon with this announcement.
If you are currently on Skype for Business Online or on-premises, Enabling can partner together to design your roadmap on how to transition to Teams in Microsoft 365. Enabling’s process to do so is outlined at https://www.enablingtechcorp.com/microsoft-teams
