App development is a complicated process. Most of the companies in the Silicon Valley are trying to make this affair simpler for developers. In a similar effort, Microsoft announced on Thursday that it is expanding its reach to businesses by launching its Skype for Business SDK.
The software development kit can be used to integrate Skype’s messaging, audio and voice capabilities into any app over Android and iOS. This will lessen the burden of development on the shoulders of a developer and help them focus on the primary aim of the app. The company said that initially the focus of the new SDK is to power “remote advisor” solutions that enable consumer iOS and Android apps. This means that the company wants to enhance the communication experience between external users and users within the company.
The communication taking place could either be a chat, a call or a video chat. The SDK, to make this possible, uses the “guest meeting join” capability that is available both for Skype for Business Online and for Skype for Business Server.
In case you or your enterprise is an existing Skype for Business Server or Skype for Business Online user, you can use the infrastructure of the aforementioned services to initiate and handle the communications. This, though, depends on whether you are using a proprietary server or Microsoft’s cloud based services. Also, clients will be carried forward, so you won’t be loosing anything in case you plan on adopting the Skype for Business SDK.
The remote advisor solutions from the Redmond giant were demonstrated and its Build conference 2016, just a few weeks ago. We saw the company show off a telehealth app created by MDLIVE. The app allowed patients to get in touch with doctors via video calling sessions. Doctors could share and review medical records, lab results, send messages etc and patients could book, schedule then connect with doctors for real-time chats using the MDLIVE app.
“Skype for Business will provide MDLIVE with a much more scalable architecture, so we can accommodate even higher volumes of video consults daily,”
said Randy Parker, founder and CEO of MDLIVE.
“The adoption of Skype for Business also enables us to deliver a significantly improved user experience for both patients and physicians.”
This was just one possibility where Skype integration can be used. In fact, this service is so flexible that it can be implemented in any sector at all.
If you want to try the Skype for Business App SDK Preview, just click on the link.
