The future of Persistent Chat in 2018 and beyond

New Update: Future of Persistent Chat beyond Skype for Business

For a number of weeks, Microsoft’s message to the world regarding the future of Skype for Business and the persistent chat feature, has created disparity amongst some customers. As a long-standing Microsoft partner, MindLink has been working hard to understand the facts and clear the air around the decisions that were announced at the Ignite conference late summer this year.

Thanks to some of our partners at Microsoft and events such as the recent Microsoft Unified Communications User Group event in London held on November 16th in London. We finally, have some clarity...

Where previously Microsoft had taken a stronger stance towards moving customers off Skype for Business and onto Teams. In addition to the announcement around deprecating product support for Skype for Business. The current position suggests a more softer and gradual transition, one that will allow businesses to run either system side by side whilst migrating their user base onto Teams.

What does this mean for existing Skype for Business customers, notably those leveraging On-Premise deployments including Persistent Chat? Good news! With the release of Skype for Business 2019; On-Premise will continue to be supported in addition to Persistent Chat!

Albeit a new 2019 Persistent Chat Server role will not be introduced, the existing 2015 Persistent Chat Server role remains supported in Skype for Business 2019 moving forward! The Persistent Chat component will continue to enjoy security and stability fixes, and customers will only need to retain an (empty) Skype for Business 2015 front end pool, which will allow the 2015 Persistent Chat Server component to be part of the 2019 pool deployment. You can move your users to 2019 pools, and still provide them access to Persistent Chat rooms from your 2015 PChat server.

At MindLink we’re very excited about this announcement, as this means our commitment to development against Microsoft’s UC systems grows stronger. With the information we have today, and as a longstanding Microsoft Partner with considerable specialist expertise in the UC space. We will continue to provide secure mobility, robust integrations, support for compliance and more to the Skype for Business Platform – both On-Premise and Cloud.

If you have any concerns about the future of your Skype for Business deployments, get in touch! Find out how MindLink can help you leverage your investment in Skype for Business and help plan ahead.

Want to learn more about our products?

• MindLink Anywhere: A feature enhanced, Skype for Business Web Client for secure web access.
• MindLink Mobile: A secure and containerised Skype for Business Mobile Client, that supports Persistent Chat.