Speaking points from MS regarding Skype for Business for Mac

[andrew_nicholas]

Just watched the presentation from Microsoft regarding the Skye for Business Mac client and here are some of the key takeaways, keeping in mind that everything is still very much subject to alteration and change:

They will be maintaining support and development of 2011 until SfB launch.
Messages are slated to be in a single window view, i.e. tabbed conversations.
They are aiming for a convergence with the consumer version.
They will be introducing a regular release cadence after the application enters general availability.

Rough Timeline:
Nominations for open preview - Q1 CY16
Technical preview opens - Q2 CY16
Summer CY16 - general availability
Added features starting in H2 CY16 *Screen Sharing scheduled for this time
Regular release cadence to begin in H2 CY16

[mm2270]

Thanks for the info on this.

Messages are slated to be in a single window view, i.e. tabbed conversations.

Thank goodness!! Lync's horrible proliferation of windows all over the place drives me crazy!

Other proposed features sound good too.

[ImAMacGuy]

Thank you for the update!

[Aziz]

I hope SfB works properly with our Polycom cx600 phones. Every time we try to initiate a call using the Lync client, it crashes.

Thanks for the update! Was this a web presentation? I never heard anything about it.

[andrew_nicholas]

It was yea; I didn't directly get it but someone forwarded me the link. If there is another in the future I'll make sure to make a post here.

[mrice]

Pretty sure this presentation was under an NDA :)

[andrew_nicholas]

I didn't think it was. It was provided to me as a public link.

[mrice]

Fair enough. The copy i've seen says 'Microsoft confidential' at the bottom, and was made clear that it was not meant to be public information.

[fritz_schlapbac]

Here you can see some (bad) screenshots of this presentation:
http://windowspbx.blogspot.ch/2015/11/take-look-at-totally-new-skype-for.html

[Fishd]

Summer 2016!?? I'd hoped it was closer than that :(

[cbutcher]

Does anybody know if an archive was published of the presentation?

[mrice]

Preview now available:

http://9to5mac.com/2016/04/26/skype-for-business-mac-preview/

Preview is currently missing some key features.

[ImAMacGuy]

anybody download this and have the file name/process to add to the blacklist?

[Bhughes]

@jwojda I signed up, havent heard back from M$ yet....

[Aziz]

"General Availability Q3 if this year". Probably August.

[ImAMacGuy]

I got my acceptance, it downloaded Skype For Business.app

[wmateo]

@jwojda hook me up!