Excerpted from WSJ, “Skype Targets Businesses to Ring Up New Revenue” By Geoffrey Fowler, Mar 23, 2009
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EBay’s Skype Internet phone unit, on the hunt for new sources of revenue, is making a push into the corporate market.
Skype plans to announce a version of its Internet calling software that connects to corporate phone systems. The new software is expected to allow employees to make domestic and international calls using regular office telephones, instead of a headset plugged into a personal computer. Initially, the company will charge about 2.1 cents per minute for calls to cellphones and fixed lines, but calls from computers to phone systems using the Skype software will be free, similar to what it now charges for its consumer service.
The company is known for allowing users to make free voice and video calls between computers, using a technology called VOIP, for voice over Internet protocol. Though the majority of users are consumers, the company says about 35% of its customers already use the service for business purposes.
Now the company is hoping to appeal more directly to small and medium-sized businesses, which may be particularly receptive to lowering their phone bills during the recession … Its new product is called Skype for SIP. The acronym stands for Session Initiation Protocol, a technology used by many business phone networks …
Skype’s announcement comes as parent company eBay — which bought Skype for $2.6 billion in cash and stock in 2005 — faces pressure from investors to make more money from Skype or sell it. The company brought in $550 million in revenue last year, mostly from services such as paid calls to regular phone lines and voicemail.
Its new effort faces plenty of competition in what some analysts estimate is a $200 billion business communications market … Skype argues that its 405 million users give it a leg up in the business market. It points to customers like Steve Mandel, founder of a management training and consulting company, who says his 65 employees use Skype to keep in touch with each other and with clients. “If Skype didn’t exist, our phone bills would be I’m guessing 50% to 100% higher than they are now,” he said.
Skype has been controversial with some technology managers. Though the service seems to be free … mitigating potential security risks posed by the software, since it involves the Internet and often requires software updates, “involves operational and support costs.” Skype insists that its software is secure, and has developed tools to make sure all the computers at a company are using the same version of its program.
As part of the move to attract business users, the company is trying to change its image — including its logo, which used to feature a guitar and rainbow. “Customers told us, ‘How can we take you seriously when you look like an Abba album from 1976?'” said Mr. Oberg. “A lot of the features that we have sold to consumers in a certain way need to be sold to business in another way.”
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April 4, 2009 at 1:09 am |
The Skype and Paypal issues are only diversionary tactics! When are the stockholders going to realize that ebay’s CEO is taking them for HUGE fools??? He touts, “Don’t look at ebay’s numbers. I’ve got a new plan”, but the “new plan” is STILL to kill ebay, ebay Inc.’s bread & butter. “Here, look at Paypal and ignore how I am destroying ebay’s core and millions of what WOULD have been future patrons”. Get rid of him before there is nothing left to save of ebay or your money!
Read what his own employees think of him at glassdoor.com. Read the sentiments of (ex) ebay users by searching the internet for Terminate ebay’s CEO, John Donahoe at petitiononline.com
It’s time to look out for YOUR best interests and fire the person responsible for YOUR losses!
Educate yourselves about what ebay’s CEO, John Donahoe is REALLY doing to ebay Inc! Because of Donahoe’s policies, sellers are constantly getting their items stolen from them by their buyers with the help of ebay Inc. and Paypal! Donahoe’s policies are aiding thieving sellers shill bid against honest buyers! The site has turned into nothing more than a free-for-all for scammers from both sides. The honest buyers and sellers are leaving by the droves and if you really care about your money, I’d suggest you look at the REAL facts rather than buying into Donahoe’s smoke and mirror parlor tricks! Take a good long hard look at ebay’s recent decline and pay particular notice to the FACT that it began when Donahoe and Whitman teamed up with their “Disruptive Innovation” scheme against ebay. To hide the reality, ebay is purging it’s boards by deleting honest posts and by suspending all members who dare post the truths about ebay’s deceitful practices.
Search the internet for this title, then decide how long you want your name connected to such a corrupt business: “Battle over bag: Seller loses out in online sale”.
Millions of online shoppers and sellers have already left, more are leaving. Fire Donahoe to save what’s left of your investments!