CSP News
Skype for Business Online Plan 2 standalone offers and of sale
Effective July 1, 2019, Skype for Business Online Plan 2 standalone offers will no longer be sold to new or established customers, as Microsoft continues to help customers with making the transition to Microsoft Teams. Customers who have already purchased the Plan 2 standalone offering will have access to the service through the end of their contracts. Customers who have access to Plan 2 through one of the Office 365 suites are not affected by this change.
Microsoft encourages customers to upgrade to an Office or Microsoft suite to benefit from Microsoft Teams, the primary client for messaging, meetings, and calling in Office 365. For those customers still using Skype for Business Online, Plan 2 will still be available in Commercial and Government/Education-equivalent Office 365 and Microsoft 365 suites (Business Essentials, Business Premium, E1, E3, and E5).
Microsoft Kaizala coming to all Office 365 customers & Microsoft Teams
Starting June 2019, Microsoft Kaizala Pro will expand globally in the Cloud Solution Provider program to align availability with Microsoft 365 and Office 365.
Existing Office 365 and Microsoft 365 customers
Microsoft Kaizala Pro will also become available as part of existing customers *Office 365 subscriptions beginning late-May 2019. Microsoft Kaizala Pro will be visible in the Office 365 app launcher, with users seeing a Microsoft Kaizala icon and will be on-by-default for all organizations. Customers will be able to start using the Kaizala Management Portal to link their Office 365 account on the Kaizala mobile app. If Customers would like to allow users to access Microsoft Kaizala Pro, no action is needed.
Why Microsoft Kaizala?
Microsoft Kaizala brings unique capabilities to Microsoft 365, with its ability to connect and engage people both inside and outside of an organization’s directory – including contract workers, vendors, partners, suppliers, customers, and citizens – using large and flexible group types. Microsoft Kaizala enables phone number-based identity for easy onboarding, and a simple user experience for messaging and work management through the open directory. Microsoft Kaizala Pro gives organizations the ability to create and manage organizational groups, gather rich analytics, build custom integrations and workflows, and offers enterprise-grade security and compliance.
Enabling every member of an organization’s network with digital communication and collaboration tools – whether they are inside or outside of the company directory – can transform the way work gets done. Microsoft believes that every organization should have the ability to own and manage their company data. Based on this vision, and on feedback from customers, Microsoft will be bringing Kaizala capabilities into Microsoft Teams as an integrated offering. We expect the integration to happen in phases over the next 12-18 months, and we will provide more details about the Kaizala and Teams integration roadmap later this quarter.
Useful links:
Kaizala Pro product information and home page
Microsoft Tech Community Kaizala blog
Technical Resources:
Introduction to Microsoft Kaizala
Microsoft Kaizala Developer Platform Documentation
Connectors & Adds ins to integrate with other LOB apps
Business Solutions using Kaizala