Microsoft launches Skype Meetings, a free video conferencing service for small businesses

Microsoft has launched a new, free tool aimed at providing video conferencing services to small businesses. Named Skype Meetings, it enables real-time audio and HD video conferencing along with features like screen or PowerPoint slide sharing, whiteboard features and more. All that’s needed to use the service is a device with a web browser, a microphone, speaker and camera.

Setting up a meeting is as simple as the meeting organizer sharing a link that participants must click to join. Being a simple URL, it can be sent to meeting participants via email, instant message or any mode of digital communication. Once the meeting is in progress, the organizer has ‘organizer level’ control such as the ability to mute other participants.

Skype Meetings is a scaled-down version of Skype for Business that is included in the Office 365 business subscription, which enables upscaled capabilities like being able to organize online meetings of up to 250 people, scheduling a Skype meeting from within the Outlook calendar, or launching an IM, audio or video conversation directly within Outlook, PowerPoint or Word.

This service is in direct competition with Google Hangouts, which offers similar functionality including multi-party video conferencing, screen sharing etc.

Skype Meetings enables up to 10 participants to videoconference in the first two months of signing up for the service, after which this is reduced to a maximum of three people.