Skype Is Not a New Technology. Voip

Skype is not a new technology. VoIP has been around for years but Skype took years to reach the kind of status it enjoys today. Owing to its pioneering status, Skype became popular rather fast which can be held responsible for its slow growth in later years. While Skype was everything that VoIP was touted to be, it still lacked the kind of culture and corporate strategy needed to turn Skype into a major force. Founded in 2003, it was not until 2009 that Skype realized it's potential.

The strategy lacked growth which was one of the most major problems with the company. It was indeed unfortunate that Skype with all its potential and pioneering status was not able to devise a growth strategy. Most of the people using Skype did it for free. They were more interested in computer to computer calls instead of buying minutes to call friends and family back home.

Skype needed a better strategy since it was clear that despite a huge customer base of over 560 million users, the company was still not as profitable as it had once appeared. The company was bought by EBay which later sold it to a private equity for $1.9 billion. Skype has finally decided to use corporate accounts as its main source of revenue.

We must understand that while individuals may choose to pay for minutes, they still cannot pay as much as corporations and thus corporate accounts are needed to generate a continuous revenue stream for a business model which basically offers free services. Skype is much better software than many similar ones out there but it lacked growth avenues because of its poor strategy. The company is now planning to change all that as David Gurie, the VP of Skype business units says.

He explains that the company will not focus on those customers who can pay 30% more than regular individuals and this is seen as the main strategy for Skype revenue generation. The company is also now approaching major electronic giants in the country to integrate their television sets with Skype feature so corporations can use this technology to conduct video conferences. CULTURE: Skype was acquired by Microsoft in an attempt to improve integrated technologies and turn Skype into one of the most successful VoIP software in the world.

This acquisition has also altered the culture as Microsoft aims to target customer and customer needs with a keen precision. The same culture is now adopted by Skype where people work in small teams and communication between members is always encouraged. Employees pay close attention to what customers are saying and what they need from Skype. Skype also believes in being agile which makes that it acts quickly when it finds a need it can meet.

Not only does it respond quickly, it also makes sure that the technology reaches customers as soon as possible. The company also believes in diversity. This comes from the fact that Skype has customers all over the world and also has established offices in many countries of the world which makes diversity as essential trait to incorporate in its culture. For this reason the company seeks employees who understand the importance of diversity and know how to deal with diversity in workplace.

(Kohnstamm, 2012) WORK: Skype employees work in small teams to be better able to communicate and to provide better services through close collaboration. Skype has a diverse portfolio now with products such as Skype manager, Skype pro, Skype administrator etc. These products allow customers and corporations to use Skype according to their own needs. Those who need to communicate worldwide on regular basis and also the kind of communication they require. Some need video conferencing and some need team conferencing where people from various locations can talk at the same time.

These are other such products make Skype a popular software and now that Microsoft has taken it under its wings and moved the headquarters to California, more is soon expected out of Skype. People: Skype targets everyone including corporates and expatriates. People who need to call home regularly are those who are away from home and hence they need low cost call packages and this is where Skype steps in. while most calls are free, those made to phone need to be purchased using Skype minutes.

Similarly it also offers packages for corporations and hence Skype has a very big target market which makes it easier for Skype to locate its customers and to develop its advertising and marketing efforts. Performance. In the year 2009, the company announced revenues of $760 million which was much better than what was expected of Skype but over the last two years, people are hopeful that coming years.