Is Skype ready for corporate use?
Deb Shinder
Published: 22 Nov 2006 16:14 GMT
With millions of users worldwide, Skype is arguably the most popular consumer-level voice over IP (VoIP) implementation on the planet. As of the end of last year, Skype, now owned by eBay, had more than 50 million users according to many reports and more than 200 million downloads.
Most credit Skype with bringing VoIP to the masses. One big reason for its popularity is that it's freeware at least, if you don't need to be able to receive calls from regular phones.
Is Skype just a toy for home users and techie types who don't want to pay for a "real" VoIP service, or does it have something to offer businesses? Let's take a closer look at the peer-to-peer VoIP software from the same people who brought us the KaZaA file-sharing program.
What's different about Skype?
In its original incarnation, Skype is a type of "soft phone" it runs on a regular PC on top of a standard operating system. (It's available for Windows, Linux, and Macintosh OS X.)
However, there are dedicated mobile Wi-Fi phones available that will let you make Skype calls without a PC (but not without an internet connection). One example is the Netgear Skype Wi-Fi phone.
Most commercial VoIP services operate on one of two standard protocols: Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) or H.323, which are standards defined by the IETF and ITU. Calls typically go through a call server, which manages the calls.
But Skype is a little different: it uses closed, proprietary protocols and peer-to-peer technology that depend on "supernodes". According to some analyses, Skype's P2P network is also fundamentally different from other P2P networks, but not surprisingly it's similar to that of KaZaA, which also uses the supernode structure.
Skype also differs from other VoIP services because it provides instant text messaging (IM) and file-transfer services not just voice communication. With the free software, you can perform all these transactions with others who have Skype installed on their computers, and you can make calls to PSTN and cellular numbers.
However, you can't receive incoming calls except from other Skype users. To do that, you need to pay for the SkypeIn service, which is considerably less expensive than most VoIP services coming in around $38 (£19.90) for a full year.
Skype features and concerns for business
Security is a big concern for businesses today, especially those in industries regulated under HIPAA, GLBA and other laws that require them to use measures to protect the confidentiality of certain information. Skype encrypts all voice traffic with AES, a strong encryption standard adopted by the US Government in 2002.
Many VoIP systems suffer from implementation difficulty because their protocols don't play well with firewalls and Network Address Translation (NAT) devices. But Skype works behind NAT and firewalls.
Skype is also available for Windows Mobile devices, such as the Samsung i730 Pocket PC phone. If you have an internet connection, you can use it to make calls instead of using up your allotted monthly mobile phone minutes. With a SkypeIn number, you also get a voicemail account, where callers can leave messages if you don't answer (including when your computer is off or disconnected from the internet).
Businesses will like the fact that you can make outgoing calls to other Skype users anywhere in the world at no cost and that includes video calls. You can even have a conference with up to four people at no cost, and you can engage in group chats with up to 100 people.
Through the end of 2006, you can also place outgoing calls to landlines and mobile phones in the US as part of the free service. If you pay for
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