skype for business mobile report - usage and adoption...

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An Osterman Research Survey Report

Published July 2016 sponsored by

Skype for Business Mobile Report: Usage

and Adoption, Satisfaction and Inhibitors

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©2016 Osterman Research, Inc. 1

Skype for Business Mobile Report: Usage and Adoption, Satisfaction and Inhibitors

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Skype for Business is Microsoft’s enterprise-grade unified communications offering and the successor brand to what was previously known as Office Communications Server and later Lync Server. Skype for Business (available in both on-premise, cloud and hybrid configurations and SKU’s) sells as part of, and is integrated with Office 365 and includes a number of enterprise-grade features, including full telephony capabilities via the public switched telephone network or cloud-based PBX, online meetings, instant messaging, encryption, robust authentication, and mobile capabilities. The mobile client capabilities in Skype for Business, as well as their usage & adoption, satisfaction and inhibitors, were the primary focus of this study. KEY TAKEAWAYS Our research revealed the following key takeaways about the use of Skype for Business when used on mobile clients: • Skype for Business mobile client satisfaction trumps, but…

Overall, slightly more than one-half of respondents to the survey are satisfied with the mobile capabilities in Skype for Business, while only 16% are dissatisfied.

• ….Several Mobile Client rollout issues remain There are a number of issues that are inhibiting more widespread rollout of the Skype for Business mobile client, including the app draining mobile device batteries at an unacceptably high rate, problems with content sharing, and a feature set that is considered inferior to that of the desktop client.

• Mobile Client “competition” still lurks

Unbeknownst to IT, many mobile users are bypassing the Skype for Business mobile client in favor of easier to use/understand consumer chat applications, such as Whatsapp.

• The Mobile Client is often only a VIP deployment

Many IT departments are opting to initially roll out the Skype for Business mobile client to just select or “VIP” users rather than corporate-wide.

• Key Mobile Client features require more IT visibility

Many IT departments are not yet aware of some of the various features and functions available in the Skype for Business mobile client, such as call transfer and Simul-ring, despite the fact that some features are widely deployed.

• Mobile Client troubleshooting is excessively time-consuming

On average, IT departments spend a significant amount of time troubleshooting Skype for Business mobile issues relative to the proportion of users who have been enabled with the Skype for Business mobile client.

• Lack of tools and telemetry contributes to IT’s workload

The excess bandwidth needed by IT to manage the Skype for Business mobile client is due, at least in part, to the lack of built-in tools and telemetry data required to manage the mobile capability properly.

• The Mobile Client is key to long term Skype for Business ROI

More than one in five survey respondents agrees or strongly agrees with the notion that a strong and functional Skype for Business mobile client is an integral part of their organizations’ unified communications strategy over the near term.



SURVEY FINDINGS OVERALL SATISFACTION WITH MOBILE SKYPE FOR BUSINESS IT organizations are generally satisfied with the use of Skype for Business on mobile devices, as shown in Figure 1. The level of satisfaction with Skype for Business on mobile devices from an overall perspective is also related to its penetration. Our research found that among organizations with a maximum of 10% penetration for mobile users employing Skype for Business, 43% were either somewhat or very satisfied with their experience. However, for organizations with greater than 10% penetration for Skype for Business mobile, that figure jumped significantly to 65%. Figure 1 Current Overall Satisfaction With Mobile Skype for Business

Source: Osterman Research, Inc. Even more interesting is the fact that the biggest users of Skype for Business on mobile clients anticipate that they will be even more satisfied with the platform in two years. For example, among those organizations that anticipate they will have no more than 30% of their users employ Skype for Business on mobile devices by 2018, only 37% anticipate that they will be either somewhat or very satisfied with the platform. However, for organizations that anticipate in excess of 30% penetration for Skype for Business mobile, the anticipated proportion of those who believe they will be somewhat or very satisfied jumps to 68%. What this tells us is that satisfaction with mobile use of Skype for Business seems to be largely dependent on an organization’s commitment to the platform and IT’s willingness to learn the intricacies of the system. Skype for Business clearly has a number of vexing issues to overcome, but once these are addressed through the appropriate application of third party solutions and IT’s journey down the learning curve for the system itself, the platform can become a solid component of an organization’s unified communications solution. WHAT ARE THE INHIBITORS TO MOBILE SKYPE FOR BUSINESS When respondents were asked to rate the extent to which various factors were an inhibitor to the adoption of Skype for Business on mobile devices, our research found that the vast majority of organizations felt all of the factors were, at least to some extent, inhibiting its adoption. As shown in Figure 2, 28% of survey respondents felt that the inability to see the application sharing content on a mobile client was a significant inhibitor to the adoption of Skype for Business on mobile devices. The same proportion felt that the Skype for Business mobile client’s negative impact on device battery life was also a significant inhibitor.



Figure 2 Inhibitors to Use of Mobile Skype for Business Among Organizations That Have Not Yet Achieved 100% Penetration

Source: Osterman Research, Inc. There are some important conclusions we can draw from these findings: • The Skype for Business mobile client needs work and some of its deficiencies, such as its

negative impact on battery life, are inhibiting overall return-on-investment and satisfaction with the platform. Interestingly, but not surprisingly, the problem is worse for organizations that have a greater proportion of their users on the Skype for Business mobile client: among organizations that have no more than 10% of their users on the mobile client, 22% believe that the mobile client chewing up battery life is a significant or major inhibitor to the usage of Skype for Business. However, for organizations with more than 10% of their users on the mobile client, this jumps to 36%.

• As the penetration of Skype for Business increases, inadequate service availability becomes a

more serious issue that can negatively impact usage of the Skype for Business mobile platform. • When asked about the impact of overall usability of the mobile client being “sub-par” as an

inhibitor to Skype for Business mobile client adoption, we found a negative relationship. In other words, the more that the Skype for Business mobile client is used, the less of an issue that usability becomes. For example, we found that for organizations with a maximum of 10% of their users on the Skype for Business mobile client, 25% of the respondents indicated that sub-par usability was an inhibitor. However, for organizations with greater than 10% of their employees using the Skype for Business mobile client, this dropped significantly to only 14%, indicating that greater familiarity with and use of the Skype for Business mobile client leads to less dissatisfaction with it.

END USER FOCUS AND USAGE Thirteen percent of organizations acknowledge that their mobile users are bypassing Skype for Business on their mobile devices in favor of consumer messaging tools like Whatsapp or similar types of applications. For the 15% of organizations who view the Skype for Business mobile client’s functionality to be focused only on enabling employees to make telephone calls this Whatsapp



‘favoritism’ makes sense. However, a much larger proportion view Skype for Business on mobile devices also to be useful for collaboration and application-sharing functionality. Sixteen percent of organizations are rolling out Skype for Business on mobile devices to just a relatively small proportion of their employees on a “best efforts” basis. Moreover, there is support for the notion that Skype for Business on mobile devices is primarily a VIP or executive “cost” as opposed to a true enterprise need that offers a compelling business case for users across the organization. However, as usage of Skype for Business increases, this perception seems to fade rather significantly.

PENETRATION OF KEY MOBILE SKYPE FOR BUSINESS FEATURES Some of the key features in Skype for Business on mobile devices have been widely implemented while others are left largely unused. As shown in Figure 3, the 1-click join for conference calls is in use by more than seven in 10 organizations to varying degrees, and more than one-half have employed the callback feature. However, the call transfer and Simulring features for Skype for Business on mobile devices have been left unused by most organizations. Moreover, IT is not even aware of these features in some organizations. Figure 3 Penetration of Key Features Supported by Mobile Skype for Business

Feature

IT Not Aware, Not Used by Employees

IT Aware, Not Used by

Employees

IT Aware, Used by

Minority of Employees

IT Aware, Used by

Majority of Employees

1-Click Join for Conference Calls 8% 21% 49% 22%

Callback 18% 29% 37% 15% Call Transfer 19% 36% 34% 10% Simulring 34% 34% 24% 8%

Source: Osterman Research, Inc. The lack of use of key features of the Skype for Business mobile client is, to a large extent, a self-defeating cycle, since organizations are making significant investments in a platform that they then fail to use to its full extent. Moreover, as discussed elsewhere in this report, the more users that an organization enables with the Skype for Business mobile client, the greater the level of satisfaction that IT and end users will have with the platform. Therefore, satisfaction with Skype for Business mobile will rely upon a combination of rolling it out to more users and IT’s increased familiarity with how best to implement the platform’s features. In short, bullishness about Skype for Business mobile increases the more that it is deployed. Perhaps more fundamentally, it will be incumbent upon Microsoft to educate IT more thoroughly about the features and functions available in Skype for Business if it hopes to increase penetration among its customer base. In addition, IT needs to focus more heavily on educating their end users about the various features that are available in the Skype for Business mobile client, how to use them, and how they can bring value to the mobile experience.

IT MANAGEMENT OF SKYPE FOR BUSINESS As shown in Figure 4, the bulk of the time that IT departments spend troubleshooting Skype for Business is occupied with desktop and laptop users – not surprising given that most Skype for Business users are using it on these platforms.



Figure 4 Breakdown of IT Person-Hours Spent Troubleshooting Skype for Business

Source: Osterman Research, Inc. Although Skype for Business on mobile devices has been deployed to only 20% of users, troubleshooting Skype for Business on these devices consumes nearly 30% of IT’s total time spent troubleshooting the platform. This clearly indicates that the mobile functionality for Skype for Business is significantly more problematic than the other elements of the system. Moreover, this implies that the excess bandwidth needed by IT to manage the mobile capability is due, at least in part, to the lack of tools and telemetry data needed to manage the mobile capability properly. IT SATISFACTION WITH MOBILE SKYPE FOR BUSINESS As shown in Figure 5, only 4% of Skype for Business mobile-enabled organizations are “very satisfied” with the telemetry and analytics information made available by Microsoft to manage the system and the related end-user experience. However, another one-third are “somewhat” satisfied, while 10% are somewhat or very dissatisfied.



Figure 5 Satisfaction With Telemetry and Analytics Information Provided by Microsoft

ROI AND COST SAVINGS Most organizations are fairly unwilling to sacrifice call quality when using the mobile client in Skype for Business in order to achieve unified communications cost savings. • Overall, a fairly small proportion of organizations that have deployed Skype for Business on

mobile devices are realizing “significant” cost savings compared to their prior use of non-Skype for Business mobile platforms. However:

o Organizations with higher usage of Skype for Business mobile realize greater cost savings

than with their previous, non-Skype for Business mobile environment.

o At the same time, organizations with greater use of Skype for Business mobile had more negative impact on their return-on-investment for unified communications because of the platform’s quality problems.

We believe this is explained by the fact that the more mobile-savvy and experienced an IT organization is, the more sensitive IT departments will be toward return-on-investment issues unless Microsoft addresses the shortcomings in the Skype for Business mobile client.

• On a more positive note, more than one in five survey respondents agrees or strongly agrees with the notion that a strong and functional Skype for Business mobile client is an integral part of their organizations’ unified communications strategy over the near term, and nearly one-third agree or strongly agree that the Skype for Business mobile client will enable their employees to have true anywhere/any device connectivity. We anticipate that these perceptions will increase significantly over time as Skype for Business takes a stronger foothold.

MOBILE SKYPE FOR BUSINESS USAGE TRAILS SIGNIFICANTLY Among organizations that have deployed Skype for Business, nearly two-thirds of employees have been equipped with Skype for Business on a desktop or laptop computer, while only one in five have been enabled with Skype for Business on a mobile device, as shown in Figure 6. However, two years from now, while Skype for Business on a desktop or laptop is expected to increase to nearly three in



four employees, the penetration of Skype for Business used on a mobile device is expected to nearly double. Figure 6 Percentage of Employees Using Skype for Business by Platform 2016 and 2018

Source: Osterman Research, Inc. Clearly, the majority of Skype for Business-enabled organizations have deployed the platform for its capabilities as a replacement for the desktop telephone and/or to enable laptop-based users to have easy access to telephony, not as a mobile device platform. This is desktop vs. mobile focus seems to be changing, however, as use of Skype for Business on mobile devices seriously outpaces growth for desktop- and laptop-enabled users.

NETWORKS, TELEPHONY AND SECURITY • While the Skype for Business mobile client may be positioned by Microsoft to become the

primary method for employees to access telephony capabilities, only 15% of IT departments that have deployed Skype for Business will prefer this to be the case.

• Our research also found that for Skype for Business-enabled employees who use the mobile

client for at least half of their work, 46% access it via wireless carrier networks and the balance use Wi-Fi. However, we also found a minor relationship between Skype for Business mobile client penetration and use of wireless carrier networks: the more that Skype for Business mobile is used, the more reliance users have on wireless carriers. This underscores the importance of IT education regarding how best to use Skype for Business mobile. There are different options to evaluate, either a) ensure that a Wi-Fi system is fully built out to cover the workspace and thus push SfB mobile traffic to this channel to lower the amount of higher cost carrier traffic passed over a 4G channel and to ensure what will likely be a better voice quality experience for the end user; b) forcing PSTN audio (using a new Microsoft PSTN fallback setting) over mobile/4G (assuming that a company has invested to some degree in mobile signal infrastructure inside a building) to ensure overall quality knowing that IT can't assume that a user will always make the best network choice and that the company can't predict the user location (particularly on roaming scenarios) when they make calls; or c) some combination of a and b.



• The lack of key security features in the Skype for Business mobile client (such as two-factor authentication) has slowed the rollout of the mobile client for only 14% of organizations.

DISPARITY IN THE PERFORMANCE OF MOBILE SKYPE FOR BUSINESS Our research found that 33% of the survey respondents believe that Skype for Business works better on some mobile device platforms than on others. Somewhat ironically, when asked to rank order the mobile platform on which Skype for Business works best, Windows Phone received the lowest number of “1” (best) rankings – Skype for Business is considered by most to work better on iOS and Android devices, as shown in Figure 7. Figure 7 Ranking of Mobile Platforms Based on Performance of Mobile Skype for Business

Source: Osterman Research, Inc.

PENETRATION OF SKYPE FOR BUSINESS AND EARLIER VERSIONS Our research found that among organizations that have deployed Microsoft Lync and/or Skype for Business, more than three-quarters have deployed Skype for Business, while significantly smaller numbers have deployed various versions of Lync, as shown in Figure 8. This indicates that a large proportion of Skype for Business-enabled organizations are relative newcomers to Microsoft’s unified communications solutions, not veterans that have worked through the intricacies of managing Lync and/or Office Communications Server over several years. Supporting this is the fact that Skype for Business on mobile devices is not the primary method for employees to access telephony capabilities for the vast majority of organizations.



Figure 8 Versions of Skype for Business, Lync and OCS That Have Been Deployed

Source: Osterman Research, Inc.

ABOUT THE SURVEY AND REPORT This report presents and discusses the results of a survey conducted by Osterman Research and underwritten by Unify Square during the late spring of 2016. The focus of the research was on how organizations have deployed Skype for Business and/or earlier generations of the platform (Lync or Office Communications Server), with an emphasis on the mobile capabilities of the Skype for Business platform. In order to qualify for the survey, organizations had to have already deployed either Skype for Business or a version of Lync. The survey was conducted with mid-sized and large organizations: the mean number of employees at the organizations surveyed was 24,375 and the mean number of email users was 17,831. The survey was conducted with members of the Osterman Research survey panel via an online survey.

ABOUT UNIFY SQUARE Unify Square’s software, consulting, and smart remote managed services power the world’s largest Microsoft Skype for Business (SfB) deployments. Built on innovative technology, our solutions create actionable insights and help enterprises transform their unified communications infrastructure, delivering enterprise-grade service availability, data-driven end-user satisfaction, and double-digit ROI increases. Founded by SfB product visionaries, Unify Square is a member of the Skype for Business Partner Advisory Council and one of Microsoft’s global elite partners. Our software and services have delivered value to more than five million Skype for Business seats, in over 275 global enterprises across more than 50 countries, and in most major industry verticals. Headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, Unify Square also has offices in the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, India, Australia and Singapore.



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