Skype Professional Account Preview app surfaces, but you can't log in just yet

By Dan Thorp-Lancaster
published

Skype's Professional Account app will help connect business owners with customers and clients.

Skype Professional Account Preview app now available, but you can't log in just yet

In November, Microsoft announced Skype Professional Account, a service intended to help business owners with a number of tools to help them connect with clients, schedule appointments, and more. At the time, Microsoft said a desktop app would be "coming soon" for businesses interested in signing up to test the service as part of a closed preview. Now, while the service is still closed to those without an access code, the folks at Windows United have managed to dig up a download link for Skype Professional Account Preview.

When it launches in full, Skype Professional Account will allow business owners and instructors to book meetings with clients, accept payments, and keep notes, all from within the app. As you'd expect, the service will support calls as well. Skype professional accounts will also include enhanced profile pages that include a dedicated website with details like business hours and offerings.

Skype Professional Account Preview

The target user base, Microsoft explains, is business owners who may provide services like tutoring or music lessons over Skype. Those looking for such services will also be able to search for businesses from within Skype.

The preview app is pretty useless right now if you haven't been invited to test it. However, business owners who are interested in giving it a shot can still sign up for a shot at testing it while it's in preview at the Skype Professional Account page.

Download Skype Professional Account Preview{.cta .large}

Dan Thorp-Lancaster
Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl. 

8 Comments
  • Looking forward to hearing and reading feedback about the Skype Professional Account Preview.
  • I'm so sick of Skype's identity crisis. I thought the whole point of Microsoft Teams was to undo the dumpster fire that was Skype for Business. Now they are going to dovetail yet another flavor of Skype and try to shoehorn a use case into it? Maybe I'm missing the point, but I don't see how this is a superior product or service compared to Teams (which you don't even need ProPlus for, you can get with an E1 subscription).
  • Same here, but after all Skype is not going away any time soon so I'm curious what the experience will be. Skype hosted the future decoded webcast... it was the most convoluted web cast experience ever as you had to login as a guest... in the past these web casts were easily accessible. As the place I am working in now they use Skype for Business and it's an absolute nauseating experience. If it's any worse than current skype for business experience than it makes easier for me to make a case for the office to switch to a better alternative such as Microsoft Teams or something else that ties in with the current exchange / on prem solution.
  • Once Teams has Skype presence properly  why would you use the abomination that is SfB?
  • @hwangeruk. I have no overall control in the matter, I don't work in IT or IT support. So got to use whatever IT sets up. As I said I can make a case for a switch, that's all I can do at this new job. Otherwise it becomes toe stepping and then petty office politics just muddy everything up as I would be someone from another department trying to get IT to change something. As opposed to being someone in the IT department trying to get a change made for the whole organisation. Two different things entirely lol.
  • I agree with what you're saying for the most part about Skype having too many versions but for this it seems different from what any other Skype version exists. This is for businesses to interface with customers which would naturally have features not necessarily needed in the other versions. I see it as something totally different from something you use internally at your job or what consumers use to video chat, even though it still has the Skype name attached to it.
  • Not sure how you think there's an identity crisis... there's essentially only 3 flavours: Skype - for consumers
    Teams - for people to communicate internally with their 'teams' and full O365 integration, with capabilities to communicate with customers (mainly for businesses/schools).
    Skype Profesional - Basically the same thing as Skype but with advanced features that are tailed to bringing a more interactive experience with customers (e.g. training, teaching, etc.), most people won't need this, but it's good for those who do.
  • Definitely agree with this, they really can't decide what they are doing. One will always have features that another doesn't which will lead to it looking more and more of a confusing mess