Skype Chat for business is the way forward

Skype has been in the news a few times recently; launching version 4.0 a couple of months back now and more recently the eagerly anticipated Skype for iPhone App. One interesting fact I was unaware of until the recent iPhone launch was that Skype hasn't exactly hit it off in the US. It was thought that the iPhone App (and coming in May 09 a Blackberry App) will help counter this trend. They are also working hard to push the Skype-for-business concept.  Whilst I can't really confess to know why it's not as popular in the States as it could be, I do have a few ideas on why Skype as a business solution could take off. 

A quick read through their corporate marketing pages exudes the not so subtle theme that 'we can do anything 'traditional' communication technology can:

"Skype Solutions for your business

Connect to phone systems, integrate with Outlook and Salesforce, send faxes, record calls and much more".

All very well as a good starting point, but for me it's the way in which Skype allows the mediums for communication to evolve that gives the most potential for success as a business application. At the forefront of this medium evolution is Skype Chat. I've never really got to grips with internet messaging services: too late for the chat room culture, just too old for MSN-generation! I stumbled onto Skype (as I do with most of the technology I come to use daily) by accident and attracted mainly by the ability to make voice calls. After the initial trying of various phone and video calls (the video especially to little success), I've settled on Chat as my main means of communicating through Skype. What I've found I've been pleasantly surprised with!

I find Skype Chat an unassuming presence in the system tray. I use it to chat with people for both personal and business reasons, often both! Unlike conversations in email, it's designed so you can see the structure and content of the conversation at a glance so it's easy to follow (or catch up). The notification of a new chat message is discrete and will wait happily for you to look and respond when you have time. Maybe it's a cultural thing but with Chat as opposed to email, you don't feel pressured for an immediate response (comparing an essentially real-time email conversation for example). I think the main reason for this, however is that you can see when the other person is replying (little pencil symbol) and you can also see when they [as they can you] are away from your PC (through status changes). In more progressive and technology-oriented businesses, I've seen Skype and other chat-based applications used amongst developers, sharing code or other problems for people to respond to.

The result is that you can continue a productive conversation whilst attending to another task. In a business context, this means you can have non-critical dialogue open with multiple people and respond to and address the dialogue in a timely manner that suits you. It also helps prioritise what is critical and what is not! 

Another key element surprisingly is etiquette! Because you are not using a medium of communication that is still based in the formal letter writing structure [email!] there is no need to apply the same level of etiquette. Formality is not needed as the emphasis is on informal 'chat'! I believe strongly that electronic mail should be just that, and formal language and appropriate grammar should be adhered to within emails. But I believe chat-based applications give the ability to communicate informally and thus avoid mixing the two idioms to form a confusing email conversation!

In my opinion this is something that the people at Skype understand. The extent to which they can push this culture change though may be limited. Step 1: get businesses using our applications, Step 2: the world! sort of mentality I think is being deployed. To this end, Skype have added to their PC-based offerings that have been available to date, as mentioned previously is the iPhone Application. Whilst this will not necessarily facilitate this medium of technology in the short term, it has future opportunities to do so. Although Chat is included, until iPhone 3.0 is released, the user will need to be in the Skype application to make and receive chats and calls. It will help in other areas, allowing remote-based employees to communicate for free, or at a far-reduced rate compared to mobile phone tarrifs and expensive hotel phone connections.    

In short, chat-based applications I believe have a real future in business communications. The sooner organisations move away from email as the primary tool for electronic communication the quicker these applications will realise their potential and the more effective organisations can begin to communicate. Email is a great tool when used correctly. It communicates formal messages, easily accommodates multiple visibility to a seemingly infinite amount of people and has an audit trail and sense of permanence that has been universally adopted. Well, it kind of looks like a letter when printed out! But it is not appropriate for all business uses and should be freed of its responsibility to facilitate informal communication. Step up Skype Chat, your time has come!