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Microsoft Skype for Business update fixes Mac bugs
Microsoft has released a semi-annual Skype for Business update for on-premises users that includes several bug fixes and feature enhancements for the platform's Mac client.
The latest software patch for on-premises Skype for Business eliminates bugs and adds features for users that run the Microsoft platform on Mac OS, narrowing an already minimal gap between the Mac and Windows clients.
For Mac users, the Skype for Business update lets delegates -- users designated to receive someone else's calls -- create and edit a meeting on behalf of a colleague. Also, users can now be made a delegate even if their account isn't part of an organization's enterprise voice plan.
Microsoft has enabled video-based screen sharing for Mac users, the result of a next-generation screen-sharing protocol that the vendor added to Skype for Business earlier this year. The new system is faster and more reliable than the traditional method and works better in low-bandwidth conditions.
The Skype for Business update, available for download now, also fixes several bugs on the Mac client, including a flaw that prevented users from joining a meeting hosted by someone outside their organization.
Microsoft seems to announce updates to the Mac client more quickly than it does for other changes to the Skype for Business platform, and describes Mac upgrades in more detail, said Jim Gaynor, a vice president of the consulting group Directions on Microsoft, based in Kirkland, Wash.
"There are still a few gaps between SfB Mac and Windows clients, most around some of the advanced call control features, file upload/sharing, and the ability to upload PowerPoint decks for online presentations," Gaynor said. "But they're fairly minimal."
Skype for Business 2015 server nears its end of life
The improvements to the Mac client were among roughly 40 enhancements released as part of Microsoft's biannual update to the Skype for Business 2015 server.
This summer's Skype for Business update introduces location-based routing for Skype for Business mobile clients. The feature gives businesses more control when steering calls between VoIP and PSTN endpoints based on geography.
Microsoft is expected to stop releasing feature updates and bug fixes for the 2015 server in fall 2020, the end of the typical five-year lifespan for the product.
The vendor recently published a preview of the 2019 server, which is due out by year's end. That server will extend support for on-premises Skype for Business for at least another five years, primarily to serve large organizations that are not ready to migrate to Skype's cloud-based successor, Microsoft Teams.
The 2019 server will encourage businesses to host some telephony and messaging features in the cloud. Meanwhile, Microsoft Teams, a team collaboration app similar to Slack, will soon replace Skype for Business Online within the cloud-based Office 365 suite.
