Last spring Skype launched Skype for Windows 4.2 with support for HD (720p) video calling at up to 22 fps using one of two Skype-certified HD webcams with an embedded H.264 processor to offload the video processing from the user’s PC.  However, it turned out the calling experience ranged from excellent (for example, the call referenced in the post linked above) to erratic depending on the endpoints’ network conditions and CPU load. In fact, support of the embedded H.264 processor quietly disappeared in the initial releases of Skype 5 for Windows; under the correct conditions you could still have HD video calls happening but using the legacy VP71 codec that used the processor (CPU) on the caller’s PC.

This week Skype released a Skype for Windows 5 update that, amongst other issues, restored support for the H.264 processor on these two webcams and provides other improvements to the Skype video calling experience. However, it also requires a firmware upgrade on the TALK-7140 FREETALK Everyman webcam and the FaceVsion Touchcam N1.

In my limited experience, to date, with these updates, the first change I noticed was that the webcam would open up much more quickly on launching a video call. A second change is the significantly improved stability of the High Quality Video mode (640 x 480 @ >24 fps) when conditions are not appropriate for HD resolution. And, most importantly, Skype no longer crashes arbitrarily during a call. Overall a much more stable, robust and reliable video calling experience, at both High Quality Video and HD resolutions, is the outcome.

The updated FAQ for the FREETALK Everyman webcam also includes some useful information on the requirements for HD video calling:

Make sure both sender and receiver have installed the latest version of Skype for Windows; HD video is only supported by Skype for Windows 4.2 or later.[Ed.: It’s Skype for Windows 5.0.0.156 that is required to take advantage of all the upgrades.]

HD video (720p or 1280 x 720) requires an Internet connection with a minimum upload speed of 1.2 Mbps. Where there is insufficient network upload speed the Skype program will set the webcam automatically to Skype’s High Quality Video (640 x 480) with a minimum upload speed requirement of 384 Kbps, which is supported by most broadband (cable, DSL) Internet services.

Also note that there is some negotiating between the Skype program and the network that occurs when you start a Skype video call. Whereas Skype takes up to a minute for a High Quality Video call to be established, it can take up to 3 or 4 minutes (but usually ~ 2 minutes) for a video call to change over to sending HD. You will know you have achieved HD video when you see that the video image aspect ratio changes from the Standard 4:3 to HD video’s 16:9 ( in effect the image width becomes much greater than its height; it appears "more rectangular").

Other factors influencing HD video include the need for at least a dual core processor on your local PC and the RAM available. Try reducing the number of programs open, especially if you have <4GB RAM on your PC.

Skype also has a "bandwidth management" feature. Skype is constantly monitoring your network connection; should conditions degrade (due to conditions beyond Skype’s control), you may see your call drop back to High Quality Video or even lower (320 x 240 or 160 x 120). But if network conditions improve again, Skype’s bandwidth management will automatically restore better resolution all the way back to restoring HD video (when you have the other requirements for HD video).

See the Call Quality Indicator (Check Settings) to right of the "Call" and "Video Call" buttons for Call Quality information. This will give an indication of the system resources available for making calls (video or audio). See Call Quality Guide for suggestions to resolve any call issue

Bottom line: So the check points are:

• Upgrade to the latest update version of Skype for Windows 5 (5.0.0.156 or later); also perform the one-time update of the supported webcam’s firmware as outlined above.
• Ensure you are  using a dual core processor PC and, if you have < 4GB RAM, minimize the number of open programs.
• To send HD video, ensure you have a broadband Internet service with a minimum 1.2 Mbps upload speed.
• To receive HD video, ensure the recipient has a minimum 1.2 Mbps download speed (not an issue for most broadband services) and is using a Skype client that supports receiving calls from a contact using the H.264 processor (Skype for Windows 4.2 or later, Skype for TV).
• Be patient: It will take from 30 seconds to 4 minutes for the HD-supported webcam to switch to HD video after launching a video call; this is observable by the change of aspect ratio from 4:3 to the more rectangular 16:9 format.
• With Skype for Windows 5, Skype launched an improved bandwidth management feature which can often recover optimum conditions after a deterioration of a network connection (including after a total call disconnect). This feature also recovers HD from High Quality Video after a network connection’s recovery from a degradation of connection conditions.
• Note that the driver for these webcams is embedded in the webcam firmware such that no driver installation is required; just plug in the webcam (and perform the one-time update of the firmware as described above, if necessary).

Hint: I would also comment that one of the most useful improvements with Skype for Windows 5.0 has been the real time Network Connection condition indicator accessed from the revamped call bar in this version of Skype for Windows.

From it you can monitor any changing network connection conditions during a video call; and it will advise you of attempts to improve conditions and/or to reconnect a lost call. This Call Quality Indicator also allows real time monitoring of other hardware associated with supporting a Skype call.

As I gain more experience with HD video calling using these upgrades, I’ll provide further reports.

Full disclosure: In Store Solutions, producer of the FREETALK line of Skype hardware sold via the Skype Store or freetalk.me website, has become a client of Denali InterConneXions, publisher of Voice On The Web, building on the author’s previous business development experience with establishing partnerships that can assist with the promotion of a primary vendor’s offerings. In Store Solutions also is responsible for the shopping cart for sale of the FaceVsion webcam on the Skype Store.

Related articles

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• CNN uses Skype group video for call-in segment; violates Skype’s Broadcast TOS (skypejournal.com)
• Skype 5 Forcing Updates (chris.pirillo.com)
• WebM Video Codec in Skype 5.0 Group Video (webmproject.org)
• Facetime for Mac: Adding Millions to the FaceTime User Base (voiceontheweb.biz)

Since the initial announcement of Skype for SIP a year ago today, with the goal of integrating some elements of Skype’s infrastructure into legacy PBX systems that support SIP, Skype has been expanding its partner base as well as incorporating its deployment into the Skype for Business program.

To repeat: the purpose and goals of Skype for SIP are:

• to allow small-to-medium businesses to reduce their international calling cost to over 180 countries through use of Skype Out business subscriptions (without the need to negotiate and manage country-specific contracts with the telcos in each country)
• to provide a free, optionally international, click-to-call inbound calling capability through Skype Online numbers
• to allow integration of these elements of Skype into legacy PBX systems that support SIP

Recalling that Skype for SIP is still at a public open beta stage, Skype participated in four announcements yesterday that expand this ecosystem and the open beta activity with a “third party” Skype for SIP certification partner and three new PBX Gateway partners:

• Skype Selects tekVizion Labs to Manage Skype for SIP Interoperability Certification Program

tekVizion Labs has been introduced to the Skype partner community as the interoperability experts to help expedite Skype for SIP interoperability testing and certification. In addition to Skype for SIP interoperability testing, tekVizion Labs can provide consulting, integration and support services to Skype’s customers and partners and the systems integrators and value added resellers they work with.

• Grandstream Achieves Skype for SIP Interoperability Certification

Interoperability with Skype for SIP gives SMBs the ability to receive inbound calls through their Grandstream GXE IP PBX or related gateways from more than 521 million registered Skype users around the world at no additional cost to the Skype user when calling through Skype. Businesses can leverage the investment in their corporate website even further by enabling Skype users to simply click on a global click-to-call button on the website to place immediate calls to sales or support via Skype. Skype calls received through the Grandstream IP PBX are handled by the PBX in the same way as other inbound calls. For outbound calling, Grandstream customers can realize significant cost savings to landlines and mobile phones around the world using Skype’s low-cost calling rates.

• Skype for SIP now Interoperable with AudioCodes Mediant 1000 Multi-Service Business Gateways

By certifying the AudioCodes Multi-Service Business Gateways with Skype for SIP, customers can benefit from interoperability with hundreds of TDM PBXs, Key Systems, and IP-PBXs that have not been able to connect to Skype so far. In addition, if a company buys and associates an online Skype number with their AudioCodes Mediant 1000 Multi-Service Business Gateway solution, it can then receive inbound calls via Skype from business contacts and customers calling from landline and mobile phones.

• VoSKY’s New PBX Gateway Is [Amongst] Industry’s First to Achieve Skype for SIP Certification

The VoSKY SSG is available in two versions, supporting either 4 or 8 channels. It offers seamless integration with Skype for SIP Open Beta with any analog PBX or key system, connecting via a conventional (FXS) analog port. It allows businesses to take advantage of Skype’s cost savings and enhanced business features without restructuring their existing communications network and infrastructure.

As a result the Skype for SIP ecosystem grows beyond the initial partnerships announced with Shoretel, SIP Foundry and Cisco. Skype for SIP Certification ensures that Skype’s partners meet established standards not only for the technology behind the implicit interoperability required but also the user experience. And these partnerships allow Skype to leverage each vendor’s existing customer base to build awareness and revenues while disintermediating and disrupting legacy long distance business models.

Bottom line: With all the various Skype for Business activities coming this year, including the launch later this spring of the FREETALK Connect PBX incorporating both Skype for SIP and Skype for Asterisk (which also supports free Skype-to-Skype calling), small-to-medium businesses will have several options to both lower their communications cost, have customer calls directed to appropriate employees and/or end points, and expand their markets through low cost communications to new international markets.

Link to a list of all Voice On The Web posts discussing Skype for SIP.

Full disclosure: In Store Solutions, producer of the FreeTalk Connect PBX, has become a client of Denali InterConneXions, publisher of Voice On The Web, building on the author’s previous business development experience with establishing partnerships that can assist with the promotion of a primary vendor’s offerings. A more complete statement will follow shortly.

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Pardon my exuberance but I am about to write about a product that I have been beta testing for the past few months. Seven months ago I knew very little about small business PBX’s other than to know they had big $$$ signs associated with their operation.

Back in 1992 my employer of the day paid $28,000 for a PBX that would service our local Canadian office of six to ten employees – and all the extensions had to be physically in the same office. Of course we would also be paying significant long distance charges, especially for out-of-country calls. The same employer was paying about $10,000 per month for a T1 line between California and their European office in Ireland. The economics of worldwide communications has changed somewhat since then; today’s announcement from In Store Solutions of the FREETALK Connect small business PBX takes small businesses further down that path.

About six weeks ago, while visiting In Store Solutions head office in Spain, using Skype for iPhone in a WiFi zone at my hotel room, I called a SkypeID that gave me the options to press 1 for Jim, 2 for another person and 3 for another person. I pressed 1 and a few seconds later my BlackBerry was ringing me back in Spain, But the PBX was at my home near Toronto, Canada as was an attached Linksys VoIP phone that the PBX also rang simultaneously with my BlackBerry in Spain. Had I answered my BlackBerry the only charge would have been my voice roaming package $1.25 per minute. Had somebody else originated that call in the way I did, I also would have had the option to answer the call, with no resulting charges for either party, on my PC’s Skype client which at the time was also in my hotel room in Spain¹.

Bottom line: any Skype user worldwide could have reached me via this PBX on a “local” or “remote” phone, a mobile smartphone or my Skype client with minimal, if any, costs for the call. And, in practice, geography as a factor to Find Me or Follow Me was not in the equation.

Today In Store Solutions announced FREETALK Connect, a small business PBX that changes the algorithm and business model for small business voice communications. With FREETALK Connect a business can benefit from:

• accepting inbound calls made via Skype, a Skype Online number, a SIP client, Asterisk (IAX2) or the PSTN, via either an analog line or a VoIP service provider.
  • incorporating Find Me, Follow Me features
• accept calls on local analog phone lines, local or remote VoIP phones, mobile phones anywhere or remote PSTN-accessed phones – all provisioned within the PBX.
• placing outbound calls over Skype, SkypeOut, a SIP-connected VoIP service or an analog PSTN line.
• managed voice mail including consolidation of voice mail and email into one mailbox

As I experienced the different communications paths this product opened up, I realized that this box can revolutionize how small business communicates with their suppliers, customers and business partners – worldwide.

The press release lists all the services that will be on board the FREETALK Connect when it becomes available for purchase by U.S. registered Skype users in March on the Skype Store:

Some of the key features from the Jazinga platform found in the FREETALK Connect include:

• Callback / Dial-around
• Access to Skype Buddy lists
• Auto Attendant / IVR
• Paging
• Call Parking
• Remote Extensions
• Music on Hold
• Conferencing

The FREETALK Connect also has an easily configured and updated:

• Managing routes to users, telephone services, and applications
• Providing SIP/Skype telephone service management
• Router management (networking, port forwarding, DNS, DHCP)

“Jazinga’s products consistently ensure call integrity by integrating quality of service and prioritizing voice traffic on the network into an affordable, simple product,” said In Store Solutions COO Craig Smith. “There was no question that FREETALK wanted to partner with Jazinga to develop the FREETALK Connect, because it continues our goal of working with the best providers to distribute outstanding products around the world.”

“FREETALK Connect is designed for small businesses with between 2 and 49 users, an undersold market that desperately needs UC functionality,” said Randy Busch, CEO of Jazinga Inc. “As a result of our partnership with In Store Solutions, the telecom technology playing field is much more level between larger enterprises and their smaller competitors.”

In terms of the technology within FREETALK Connect it incorporates both Skype for SIP and Skype for Asterisk to provide an optimum level of Skype-based services but at the same time providing inbound calling flexibility and optimizing outbound calling expenses, all combined with the call integrity features quoted above.

FREETALK Connect will requires users to have a Skype for Business account, available through the Skype Business Control Panel, associated with each unit. More on this aspect of FREETALK Connect is the subject of a future post.

Bottom line: Targeted at small businesses with 2 to 25 employees and/or business partners with its wide range of inbound and outbound calling options, an attractive price point, incorporation of Skype for Business infrastructure and the ability to self-configure via wizards, FREETALK Connect represents a game changer in the small business communications market. Lots more will be written about this product as the applications experiences evolve.

¹In this situation I could not have the Skype client answering option since I was using my Skype account to originate the call.

Full disclosure: In Store Solutions has become a client of Denali InterConneXions, publisher of Voice On The Web, building on the author’s previous business development experience with establishing partnerships that can assist with the promotion of a primary vendor’s offerings. A more complete statement will follow shortly.

Other posts:

Saunderslog: FREETALK Connect, the worlds first Skype-enabled Unified Communications system.

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Yamaha launches their PSG-01S Microphone Speaker for Skype to be sold via the In Store Solutions shop on the Skype Store.

During my recent European trip I had my first ever encounter, after several decades of traveling on Air Canada, with their baggage scales and new weight limits: 23 kg per checked luggage piece and 10 kg per carry-on item. As a result my wife and I had to reorganize our luggage at the airport to comply with these limits. Given that I would also be on RyanAir for a couple of trips while in Europe – with 15 kg checked baggage and 10 kg carry-on limits, it made me much more conscious of what I would be carrying in my laptop briefcase. Out went the spare battery (Air Canada has laptop power outlets at the seats); I was also reduced to carrying one book along with my laptop. If I want a printer while traveling I can simply fax a document to the hotel fax using PamFax. So when it comes to adding complementary devices for a laptop, such as a device to support audio, I look at not only the feature set but also the weight and “bulk”.

Prior to my trip on RyanAir to eComm Europe in Amsterdam I was given a Yamaha SoundGadget USB Microphone Speaker to determine where I could find user experiences that facilitated my business travel; in addition I arranged to have several units sent out to bloggers for their feedback over the past couple of weeks.

So why would one want this audio device in a market that has many speakerphone offerings?

It’s the combination of size and feature set. It’s not “just a speakerphone”. At about 200 grams in a very portable 12 cm x 4 cm x 5 cm package, the recently released Yamaha USB Microphone Speaker is a personal microphone/speakerphone combination that allows one to combine Skype calling, wideband audio recording and music or podcast listening into a compact, yet feature rich, device. Some of the other features on which feedback came:

• Sound quality: supporting a 300 Hz to 20KHz audio bandwidth for both local (voice and music) recording and listening, the sound quality in such a small size package was the first feature always commented on. While it’s definitely not the boom box that one would have at home, the consensus appears to be that, for its size, sound quality is excellent for voice calls and listening to music or podcasts in a hotel room or small office environment.
• Skype calling: With its Skype client that supports all three of Windows XP/Vista/7, one can use the buttons on the device to answer and end calls as well as manage the speakerphone volume. To date it appears to be the only Skype speakerphone that has the appropriate client for all three versions of Windows and, in particular, Windows 7. (And yes, while the Mac will recognize it as an audio device for Skype calls, a request has been made to Yamaha for a Mac client that would achieve full integration with Skype.)
  • Note, for audio quality purposes, that the microphone supports Skype calling up to 7Khz – sufficient to take advantage of Skype’s wideband SILK codec feature; however, this limitation is removed for “local” voice or music recording.
• 360 degree “around-the-table” pickup: unique in a Microphone Speaker is its four microphone array on the top complemented by the internal echo cancellation and background noise reduction firmware. As a result several people can be positioned, say, around a small office table and all parties heard equally well instead of having everyone facing the device from one side.
• Tilt for (stereo) listening: while vertical it supports Skype calling and recording in mono mode; tilt it to a horizontal position and the two speakers go into a stereo mode for listening. Not much physical separation but then I see a lot of iPod devices out there where the two speakers are combined into one unit.

My experience: it came in very handy during my trip, for instance, my wife and I could participate in calls back home together while sitting across a table; in one case, it was beneficial where a person in the room only spoke Spanish but I had a translator as the called party. When horizontal, it came in handy in my lodging as a speaker for the iTunes media player on my laptop – much better audio quality than the embedded laptop speakers.

As a result, it appears to be the ideal complement to the laptop for road warriors and for use in a personal office. And it could be considered as a holiday gift for the laptop addict amongst your family members or colleagues.

However, as outlined in the full disclosure below, I am probably considered to be a bit biased, although I did a fair bit of research on speakerphones in coming up with this post. I will either add to the end of this post or, in a couple of weeks, put up a post pointing to blogger and Twitter feedback. Update: as I wrote this, the first blogger feedback has appeared from Jonathan Jensen on “The Really Mobile Project”.

But the real test comes if users have a chance to experience it and use it for themselves; perceived audio quality tends to be a very personal experience. So here’s the deal: Normally priced at US$219/£199/€199 – including delivery and VAT/Sales taxes, until December 31, 2009 pricing has been reduced to US$199.90/£179.90/€179.90 – including delivery and VAT/sales taxes. It’s available at any of the Skype Stores that Yamaha has shown on their website for this product. And where’s the value-add? Being able to take advantage of the inherent audio enhancement feature set while traveling, but not paying those €20 per kilogram overweight charges on RyanAir or €5 per kg on Lufthansa.

But you also need assurance that you will have a positive and satisfying personal experience with it. Should you buy the Yamaha SoundGadget USB Microphone Speaker during this promotional period and then decide – for any reason, “no questions asked” – that this device does not meet your expectations, simply return it to In Store Solutions, shipping prepaid, by January 31 and a full credit will be issued. The timing on this return policy is such that you can gift it to a family member, friend or business colleague during this holiday season and still give them enough time to decide if they like it.

Full disclosure: In Store Solutions has become a client of Denali InterConneXions, publisher of Voice On The Web, building on the author’s previous business development experience with establishing partnerships that can assist with the promotion of a primary vendor’s offerings. A more complete statement will follow shortly.

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Note: Denali InterConneXions, publisher of Voice On The Web, has taken on In Store Solutions as a business development client; see the more complete disclosure at the end of this post.

Over my three years of following Skype as a blogger there have been many ups and downs in the availability of Skype Certified hardware. In my October 2007 Skype Primer series, published at the time Skype had announced a search for a new President, I had stated in Skype Hardware – If and When Available:

Having been involved for several years in the hardware distribution channel, the formula is not that difficult:

• Skype, as the real time conversations service provider and royalty recipient from the hardware vendors, not only needs to set the engineering standards for these phones, in particular via the firmware (and they do this quite well), but also needs to execute a significant “Skype Sanctioned” marketing campaign to generate awareness and “pull” (à la “Intel Inside” for PC’s).
• At the same time hardware vendors, many of whom already have distributor relationships, need to incorporate standard distribution marketing practices, such as market development funds and appropriate promotional packaging, into their cost models as the hardware vendor is ultimately responsible for the “push”.

These criteria apply even in these days of electronic purchasing via e-commerce sites.

With the recent launch of the FREETALK^® Everyman Headset, Skype has partnered with long-time hardware distribution partner In Store Solutions to provide the first in a new line of hardware specifically designed to address issues with improving the Skype calling experience.

Two years ago at CeBit I was introduced to In Store Solutions as a distributor of Skype Certified hardware. Having had over 20 years experience working with PC distribution channels I was impressed with how COO Craig Smith approached the retailing of hardware, especially in terms of packaging and building distribution networks. In the interim I have had some dealings with In Store Solutions where customer service and ensuring that customers were satisfied with their purchases was definitely a priority. For the past twenty months my primary headset for Skype calls has been the FREETALK^® Wireless Stereo Headset for which a second generation version was recently released.

My previous experience with PC hardware distribution within North America was relatively “simple”. I dealt with two countries (Canada and U.S.) and two currencies (US$ and C$) along with any associated federal and provincial/state taxes; systems were set up to provide rapid delivery while dealing with (sales and value-added) taxes in different jurisdictions. And customs clearance along with warehousing logistics were also distribution issues.

However, to be successful across Skype’s worldwide market geography, Skype Certified hardware needs to be distributed to over 180 countries, to deal with a maze of local tax issues, to execute transactions in at least 40 currencies and, at the same time, to be marketed in at least the 28 languages supported by Skype. Add to this the issue of increasing sales of hardware via e-commerce platforms while getting stocked with inventory at various retail operations.

At this point, In Store Solutions has developed:

• Key product supply relationships with Skype Certified hardware manufacturers
• A strategic partnership relationship with Skype involving not only the design and distribution of Skype Certified hardware but also its marketing
• An e-commerce engine that is currently operating, via the Skype Store, in 67 countries covering 40 currencies and multiple languages
• A forthcoming line of hardware that will address leading edge requirements for headsets, Skype phones, webcams and business products.
• A worldwide network of distribution warehouses to minimize delivery times and customs clearance issues within specific countries
• Retail distribution via WalMart, Sears and Synnex in the U.S., Staples and Maplin in the U.K. as well as retailers in Europe and Australia
• Customer support that includes a “no questions asked” return policy to ensure user satisfaction

Over the next few months In Store Solutions will be not only launching additional FREETALK^® products but also distributing Skype Certified products from other hardware manufacturers. It’s not simply about the e-commerce platform but rather the inclusion of logistics infrastructure and back office transaction-related issues such as payments handling, currency, order tracking and fulfillment along with customer support that are required to build a worldwide online commercial operation.

PayPal operates as an “uber-bank” supporting payments in 18 currencies across 190 markets linking back to banks and credit card services worldwide. Skype operates as an “uber-communications” infrastructure supporting conversations worldwide, independent of underlying carriers or service providers. In a similar vein Store Solutions is developing a “uber-store” capability that ensures Skype hardware products can be purchased worldwide at low cost while addressing country-specific issues such as currency and delivery times.

Full disclosure: In Store Solutions has become a client of Denali InterConneXions, publisher of Voice On The Web, building on the author’s previous business development experience with establishing partnerships that can assist with the promotion of a primary vendor’s offerings. A more complete statement will follow shortly.

PamConsult launches PamFax 2.0 as an obligation-free hosted fax service that supports sending and receiving faxes worldwide with no capital expenses, no usage contract requirements and lower “per page” costs.

The process of sending and receiving faxes involves:

• a document source: whether physical or a computer file
• physical document scanning
• a cover page
• transmission of the fax (originally over a phone line)
  • often at expensive long distance rates and/or hotel service charges
• receipt of the fax (over a phone line)
• printing the received document
• logging the transmission and archiving the document

In the early 80’s the original fax machines were huge (at least the size of a bulky floor model photocopier), expensive and rare. However, a former medical practitioner customer was impressed that he could fax electrocardiograms to obtain diagnosis assistance with, say, a remote cardiology specialist, providing an initial level of value in time-critical circumstances.

As we moved through the 80’s fax devices became less expensive, more pervasive and somewhat smaller such that they fit on a table top; the biggest issue was finding or installing a nearby fax-dedicated phone line. In 1985 GammaLink introduced the first Fax PC board; a fax modem became common in PC’s throughout the subsequent 15 years. In the early 90’s there were various attempts to develop fax software for PC’s; the most widely remembered program was WinFax, which was sold to Symantec in 1995 and discontinued by Symantec at the end of 2006. But, while WinFax certainly could send and receive faxes, it did not exactly provide the simplest user experience for sending and managing faxes. Over this period several Internet-hosted fax services became available and contributed to the demise of WinFax.

Certainly, with Internet email and various file transfer services the volume of faxes has dropped off. However, they are still essential for (i) convenience of sending and receiving faxes via a dedicated device and (ii) exchanging executed legal documents, real estate papers and other business requirements which are suited to having a hard copy.

In many circumstances recipients still simply like to have a piece of hardcopy paper in their hands. As a result the real challenge for any new service is to offer a simple, easy-to-understand and easy-to-use fax services experience at lower costs yet that take advantage of the Internet’s cloud infrastructure and worldwide accessibility.

Fast forward to late 2007 when Ethernet ports had replaced modems on PC’s; PamConsult launched PamFax 1.0, a fax sending service that significantly simplified sending a fax from your desktop or laptop PC to any fax number worldwide. PamFax 1.0 was solely a Windows application that featured:

• sourcing documents from either a computer file or a scanned image
  • compatible with all recent scanners, including multi-function printers
• five or six steps to send a document:
  • select the document source
  • (optionally) scan in a paper document
  • enter the destination recipient and fax number
  • (optionally) add a cover page
  • pay via Skype Credits or PayPal
  • send the document
• integration with Skype for fax confirmation notification and payment using Skype Credits
• an infrastructure that handled the payment transaction and sent the fax to any destination worldwide
• a Windows printer driver capability
• a minimum cost of ~$0.20/€0.14 per page
• a web-based PamFax portal to report on usage and archive sent faxes

But PamFax 1.0 lacked the ability to receive faxes and was not available for Mac PC’s. Yet PamFax usage has grown constantly; this past weekend PamFax 1.0 downloads passed the 200,000 mark, confirming the demand for easy-to-use fax services available wherever one finds a PC and Internet connection. It sure came in handy when on the road in a hotel room – at a much lower cost and no need to go to the front desk to send a fax.

According to PamConsult CEO Dick Schiferli, 58% of PamFax 1.0 downloads resulted in at least one additional paid page being sent; the average paying customer sends 6.5 pages. Overall month-to-month volume growth is currently running at 10% per month.

Today PamConsult is launching PamFax 2.0, elevating PamFax to a complete send/receive fax service on both Windows and Mac PC’s at lower costs. PamFax 2.0 features:

• Support for both Windows and Mac OSX
• Fax-in numbers available in 27 countries
• A complete redesign incorporating new user interface
• “Per page” pricing reduced by ~40% to $0.12/€0.09 page for on-demand service and $0.08/€0.06 page for volume subscriptions
• Several additional destination countries moved into the lowest cost zone 1.
• No requirement for Skype although Skype integration adds notification and payment options
• Ongoing support for Facebook and Salesforce.com integration
• A Vista sidebar widget

Much like Calliflower which takes a user through the entire conference call business process from invitations to archiving, PamFax 2.0 is a complete service that takes you through the entire fax generation and transmission process from the initial document sourcing requirement through to logging and archiving your fax activity.

The ground rules for pricing include:

• On Demand/Pay-as-You-Go or Prepaid?
• destination country (seven zones covering the world)?
• Fax-in number required?
• currency (select from 15 options)?

While PamFax can be used as an obligation-free “On Demand” service for sending faxes (at €0.09/£0.085/US$0.125 per page to Zone 1 countries) , PamConsult is offering volume bundles that reduce per page costs even further. For receiving faxes a monthly or annual subscription is required for the associated fax-in number.

PamFax Professional, a monthly or annual subscription, includes:

• Fax-in number for the subscription period (select one of 27 countries)
• Unlimited fax reception
• 33% discount on “per page” prices, starting at €0.06/£0.06/US$0.08 to Zone 1 countries
• Monthly: €3,95/£3.75/US$5.50 (subject to fluctuation with exchange rates)
• Annual: €47,40/£45.00/US$66.00 (subject to fluctuation with exchange rates)

PamFax Credit Packs add credits to your account at the €10, €30, €50 (with 5% bonus credit), €100 (10% bonus credit) and higher levels with increasing bonus credits.]

PamFax also offers a “business control panel” from which a business’s administrator can create a group account, assign and manage PamFax credit and track employee fax activity.

I have used PamFax 1.0 successfully on many occasions over the past 18 months and have tested PamFax 2.0 with success on both a MacBook and a Dell Inspiron laptop.

As a next step, address book integration and scheduled sending would be useful features to incorporate into future releases of PamFax.

Bottom line: PamFax 2.0 is another disruptive service within the Skype ecosystem as it eliminates several costs associated with faxing documents:

• country and international long distance charges
• hotel and airport kiosk fax service charges
• charges associated with having a fax-dedicated physical phone line
• cost and overhead of a dedicated fax machine

and results in turning your desktop or laptop PC into a fully featured fax machine. Laptop users have the convenience of being able to take their PamFax-enabled “fax machine” anywhere they may travel and find Internet access. Basically PamFax 2.0 allows you to disconnect your fax-dedicated phone line and to throw away your dedicated fax machine while having fax services available not only at the home office but also on the road.

Give it a try and report on your experience in the Comments.

Update: Alec Saunders: PamFax – no strings attached PC FAX

Previous PamFax posts:

• PamFax: Sending Faxes via Skype
• The Dawn of the Mashup World II: And the European Mashup Competition Winner Is…
• Mashup Champion PamFax Becomes a Full Fax Sending Solution
• PamFax Receive Skype Certification, Grows Usage
• PamFax – Adding Click-to-Fax
• PamFax Update: Lower Rates, Volume Plans and Improved Perfomance

At CES 2009 COO Scott Durchslag spoke about “liquid communications” and “Skype Wherever, Whenever”. InnerPass has developed a business-class hosted document management system; they have been marketing it via private label to over 3000 businesses or project teams on several continents.Over the past year the InnerPass team has developed a Skype Extra application that introduces real time communications, and serves as an interface, into this system.  From their website:

InnerPass helps companies control their business critical files from anywhere and anytime. Our applications are delivered thru various Software as a Service (SaaS) offerings that are entirely web-based. InnerPass primarily offers its applications to end users through a network of partners who can private label and embed the software service into their own solutions or provide as a stand alone service.

InnerPass Share and Collaborate Home Page

InnerPass starts out its communications enhanced service, called InnerPass Share and Collaborate, by building persistent document “meeting rooms” that store mission critical documents such as FDA filings, engineering and architectural drawings, legal agreements, real estate papers and other business documents which require:

• access across a geographically dispersed team of project stakeholders
• persistent storage for asynchronous 24/7/365 access
• version management

amongst other features. InnerPass has taken their document management service experience and gone a step further to support file sharing, collaboration and real time communications. They embed, within their own Skype Extra client, the ability to launch and hold real time voice and/or chat conversations, whether informal ad hoc sessions or scheduled conference calls, to discuss the underlying projects, sales meetings or other business team activity.

Using InnerPass Share and Collaborate, a user can set up a “meeting room”, store documents, launch conversations and share a designated screen for presentations or demonstrations. The room’s host can designate and invite team members from amongst his/her Skype contact list, grant permission to their team members to contribute or modify room content. From anywhere in the client, any team member has the ability to schedule and launch conference calls or group chats using the integrated Skype services.

InnerPass offers three levels of their collaboration service. A free service supports up to 3 meeting rooms with a maximum of 3 participants and 1GB of file storage (max 25MB per file). Offering perpetual file storage, the Professional Plan at $4.95/month supports 10 meeting rooms and up to 10 participants in each. The Business plan, at $12.95/month, allows up to 40 rooms and 40 people per room. Their last plan, launching in March,  is designed for the SMB (Small to Medium Size Business) will offer additional features including access to their hosted full document management service. Update (May 2009): Inner Pass also offers a “Custom” service with the potential to host a webinar with hundreds of attendees, record calls and other features.

Over the past few weeks I have experienced a few sessions using InnerPass; the InnerPass  team has been very responsive to suggestions made for improvements, especially with respect to some speed issues that are now resolved. It now works reliably with both Skype 3.8 (still Skype’s latest release for general use) and Skype 4.0 Beta 3.

Since obtaining Skype Certification and its subsequent launch last fall, InnerPass has registered over 270,000 users (as shown in the graphic) growing virally amongst Skype users with little publicity. You can download via Tools | Do More | Get Skype Extras using Skype 3.8 or Tools | Extras | Get Skype Extras under Skype 4.0 for Windows beta 3. Normally it should show up as “InnerPass Share and Collaborate” under the “Sharing” category but until a bug is resolved by the Skype Extras team, you may find it as “Share, Collaborate, Communicate”.

InnerPass CEO Steve Parsloe has written a more detailed post for Skype’s Autumn 2008 Developer Newsletter. And in early December Steve along with his colleague Bill Trail, Vice-President, Business Development discussed InnerPass as a guest on SquawkBox.

As mentioned at the beginning, InnerPass’s Share and Collaborate service is a representative example of making Skype available anywhere there is an opportunity to benefit from real time conversations. Skype has enabled InnerPass to offer real time conversations to virtual meeting rooms incorporating file and desktop (or screen) sharing. And it brings large enterprise services down to a cost level such that any individual, mobile professional or small business can afford to benefit from a collaborative document management service.

Tags: InnerPass, Skype Extras, collaboration, file sharing, Skype, Steve Parsloe

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• Stealthing Skype into Larger Businesses (voiceontheweb.biz)
• Skype for Business: Building a Case Study Repository (voiceontheweb.biz)

This is the fourth in a series of posts resulting from an interview a week ago Friday with Josh Silverman, Skype’s recently appointed President. In this post we talk about directions for the Skype platform and partner programs.

When I first attended a Skype developer event in June 2006, there was lots of enthusiasm for the Skype partner program and for its integration into various third party applications and service offerings. Several of the feature requests, such as call transfer and access to the voice stream, that had come to the surface by the time of this event, have since been implemented. In December 2006 Skype announced the Skype Extras program for which there are over 100 offerings available, mostly for the consumer user but the list also includes about ten in the small-to-medium business space. Most importantly, partners have been asking not only for a platform roadmap but also for execution on that roadmap.Skype Extras included a publishing and transaction platform, yet to date, only PamConsult has taken full advantage of these feature for its well received (and award winning) PamFax offering. On the other hand, OnState has been able to figure out how to provide a friction-free full services program for its call center customer base. However, over the past eight months market visibility of any significance for the entire Skype partner program has just not been there. Yet we see “Skype access” continue to be built into various platforms such as Ribbit and Voxeo. Skype Certification exists for only seventeen offerings. InnerPass has received Skype Certification two weeks ago (review). At IT Expo last week in Los Angeles I came across several service providers and application developers who wanted to have a Skype presence in their offerings.

On the hardware side there have been many innovative offerings; I have experienced many of them. As confirmed by 3 executives at last Thursday’s Mobilize 08 event, the Skypephone has met with phenomenal acceptance in the nine countries serviced by 3. Yet several hardware partners have drifted away to the point where we only see limited visibility for Philips, GE and IPevo dual mode (Skype and landline) phones and a few accessory products, such as the FreeTalk Wireless Stereo Headset, from InStoreSolutions (who largely address the European market). Beyond the Skype Store availability, WalMart is carrying Skype hardware in the U.S. (and I found some at Fry’s in Sunnyvale this past Saturday).

Frankly, sorting out its platform strategy and partner relationships, and giving them appropriate visibility, is perhaps one of the biggest challenges that Josh and his team face in sustaining Skype’s presence in the IP-based conversation space. In our interview with Josh it became quite apparent that these issues have not missed Josh’s scrutiny leading up to the business reorganization we have been discussing in the various posts in this series:

SJ: In your interview with Om Malik yesterday you mentioned as one of your key growth initiatives “Skype as a platform, embedding Skype as the conversation infrastructure for devices and services”. Tell use more:

JS: We’re incredibly lucky that almost everyone in the world wants to do something with us. That’s fortunate because we need to be everywhere. For Skype to be successful and to fulfill its full potential we need to be part of every device and every communications experience. and we can’t do that on our own .so we need a really robust platform that allows us to be part of other people’s experiences or devices and allow other people to be part of us. We all recognize that we have a long way to get from where we are today to there. With the relatively small program we have and small investment we have made we have 15,000 partners who have signed up for our program today. I think that’s a great indication that if we really invest behind this we can do something magical.

SJ: What would that future platform look like?

JS: What we want to do is lay out a set of principles around the platform that say:

• we want people to be able to incorporate Skype into their experience.
• It should be the full Skype stack of functionality
• it should include all of our feature set and not just hive off one piece or two pieces.
• When you use Skype you should know you’re using Skype and
• you should have a SkypeID which works across all of our experiences,

So somebody who wants to take Skype and build it into their experience but create a walled garden of “only within their experience” doesn’t build value for the greater ecosystem. If you start with Skype on one experience and then you go to another experience with another platform partner, you still need to be able to communicate. There needs to be one SkypeID that works everywhere and then it needs to hold true to some basic sense of brand principles around what the Skype brand should be. Beyond those principles we really want to allow people to innovate and use Skype and do what they will to extend the functionality for our users.

SJ: Has the architecture for this started?

JS: Right now we have created the job of GM of Platform; I hope to very soon name a GM of Platform. That person is going to have to really work on what does the architecture need to look like to support this, what are the API’s are going to be – reference UI’s, technical documentation – as well as evangelizing to the broader community forming some of our partnerships, so we have some work to do.

SJ: Is the job posted on your job board?

JS: Not yet, we have some candidates; but if there are folks in your community that are excited by this and we haven’t already filled this in the coming days [faded away but implication was to apply].

SJ: Is there a timeline?

JS: I don’t want to speculate too much. We do have a API [set] today, we do have lots of people working with the API’s so we have something to build from. I’m not an expert. I wouldn’t be able to lay out a timeline but we are going to get an expert who can lay out a timeline. … As with everything at Skype, we want to be fast but also make sure we do it well, in particular with a platform. It’s got to be well thought through so we support our partners really well. We know there’s a big responsibility in there and we take it seriously.

SJ: Would you be looking at getting the partners involved in helping designing that platform and getting some feedback on it?

JS:I think that would be essential. One of the things I’m pretty passionate about is always bringing the voice of the customer in early to anything we’re trying to do and I think that, for the platform, that would be absolutely essential.

SJ: What are you looking at to address ongoing partner communications issues with respect to the partner program?

JS: I take the partner program really seriously and we’re aware that we’ve not invested adequately behind it and want to do more. The first thing we are going to do is hire an experienced, capable leader of that organization who will pull together for me a plan for what resources do we need to invest in — engineering, partner support, evangelism, technical documentation — to make sure we build an organization that can support our partners robustly.

What I don’t want to do is over promise. Step one is, when you get somebody good in, lay out a plan and then when we’re ready to announce some more forward looking things we’ll do that.

Changes are not going to happen overnight when Skype is acquiring 300,000 new registrations per day and profitable. But, based on the strategy and principles outlined by Josh in this interview, going forward we should be looking to see within a three to six month timeframe:

• Announcements of the appointment of two key senior executives who bring along experience in building platforms and partnerships
• A platform architecture and developer roadmap
• Revamped plans for Skype’s hardware and software partner programs

It will also be most interesting to see what forums or other means Skype provides for input into the platform architecture and developer roadmap strategy. Execution is everything, especially at this stage of Skype’s growth within the IP-based conversation space.

(For background on Skype’s partner program history check out: A Primer for Skype’s Direction – Skype’s Extras Gallery and Developer Partner Program. And for an example of what attracts developers to Skype as an ecosystem check out “On Spotlight: Don Kennedy AKA TheUberOverLord”.)

Next: Markets: Business and Geographical

Becomes an Extra Premium; implements major server upgrade.

While email and VoIP technology have changed our communications patterns, it seems that faxing still has its place as a communications mode. The growth of PamFax as a worldwide fax service using Skype’s underlying Skype Extras infrastructure is demonstrable proof.

A key advantage of PamFax is that it works from a Windows-based PC on any Internet connection worldwide and can readily send a fax to any fax terminal worldwide in about five or six simple steps. Amongst its features PamFax can serve as a Windows printer. It can accept input directly from an Office document or scanner. It’s available to use any time that you may need it; there are no upfront payments, subscriptions or registration required.

Since its launch last summer (with a major feature upgrade in late December) this winner of last summer’s Skype Mashup competition has steadily increased its usage to a point that proves that sending faxes is still a robust, widely acceptable, widely used communications tool. In January I had occasion to use it to recover tickets forgotten for an event. Dick Schiferli, CEO at PamFax publisher PamConsult, has provided some interesting numbers that demonstrate the ongoing viability of fax services:

• almost 25,000 users have installed PamFax with over 1,000 new installations per week
• average fax is 1.57 pages
• 58% of users who take advantage of the initial free page offer come back to send at least one more revenue generating fax
• paid faxes are averaging 6.5 pages
• for progress notification, 88% of all faxes use Skype chat while 25% use email (both options can be selected)

Christoph Buenger, CTO at PamConsult and lead developer of PamFax, reports recently in their blog that PamFax has received the “Skype Certified” designation. “:

Now you can be sure that this add-on for Skype does what we promise and is of high quality. The certification-team at Skype did some very intense tests of PamFax and also helped us improving the add-on.

And over the past few days, PamConsult has upgraded the PamFax infrastructure and architecture such that:

• A much larger number of formats (>100) are supported
• Independent clusters are running in both Europe and North America
• Fax processing speed and server availability are improved (the 2-page PamFax referenced in the chat session above was sent out at about 8:35 a.m.)

In a PamNews.com blog post Dick states:

We are coming up to 25.000 PamFax users now and have made some decisions how to further improve the platform. In the past 9 months we have seen some issues we don’t like and which impact performance and/or system flexibility. Users have also been providing excellent and valuable feedback.

In sending the fax referenced in the chat session above to ensure the new setup is working I noticed that PamFax needs to add a time stamp to the date information associated with the fax. This would be necessary for any use by the legal profession or anyone involved in time sensitive transactions.

Much like Skype provides real time communications worldwide agnostic to service providers, HiDef Conferencing from VAPPS provides high quality audio conferencing capabilities worldwide agnostic to service providers, PamFax is growing in its provision of fax services worldwide agnostic to service providers.

Last November I reviewed Yugma Skype Edition, the only complete cross platform Skype Extra that adds desktop (and now application) sharing as a complement to Skype voice, text and video conversation sessions. Recently Yugma participated in the Skype booth at MacWorld sponsored by Skype’s Developer Program to recruit Mac developers into the program.

Last week Yugma SE Team Collaboration received Skype certification. Today Skype and Yugma announced YugmaSE’s inclusion as a certified Skype Extra resulting from Yugma’s participation in the Skype Developer Program. For Windows users, YugmaSE can be obtained and installed via Skype’s Extras Manager (Tools | Do More | Get Extras | Sharing) or at the Skype Extras website. Mac users can obtain the client via the Yugma for Skype website links here; a plug-in for Linux desktops is “coming soon”.

In addition to its previously reviewed ability to share across Windows and Mac platforms, the final release also:

• allows you to share either a single designated application or your entire desktop
• provides the option of inviting remote participants¹ to either a fully interactive session or to view (a) shared desktop(s) via a remote viewer.

The “Free Forever” Skype Extra allows the sharing of a designated desktop (as selected by the session host) with ten additional participants at no cost to the host². During the 15-day trial period you can also share mouse and keyboard control, schedule sessions, record and playback sessions and host a “shared file space”. Monthly and annual options for a Premium subscription that provides ongoing access to these features, along with email, phone and web-based technical support, are available for hosting an unlimited number of 10, 30, 100 and 500 participant sessions. Audio support can be provided via Skype conferencing (up to ten participants) or a “free” teleconferencing server for which normal long distance access charges will apply. Independent of Yugma support, HiDefCoferencing could also be used.

As many of my contacts have been acquiring Macs and MacBooks over the past eighteen months, Yugma’s Skype Edition has become a very useful tool for presentations and training sessions during the past few months.

¹ Invitations may be sent to both Skype contacts via Skype chat and participants who are not Skype contacts via email

² Note that free sessions will request all participants to register an email address and password; premium subscriptions simply request an identifier name (for the session) and an email address but no registration.

Tags: Skype, Yugma, Yugma Skype Edition, Skype Extras, Skype Developer Program

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This is the fourth post in a series summarizing the current state of Skype’s ecosystem and providing a perspective on the assets in place for a new CEO to run with.

Getting to the Present

Alec Saunders’ Voice 2.0 Manifesto talks about Applications as the value creators in a Voice 2.0 world. Once again Skype differentiates itself through a two-year-old Skype Developer Partner program as evidenced by Skype’s Extras Gallery. But getting to this point was not easy; in fact:

• Developer Partners had to be true entrepreneurs who kept their vision of a value-generating application above all the obstacles encountered in not only developing their offering but also in initially marketing it. Close communication with many players at Skype was a key to resolving many issues.
• Skype needed to develop experience with all the subtleties of a developer program from building a roadmap and a viable API set to communicating where Skype would play and where they would let their Partners play in the overall market space.
• Skype’s API set has evolved over time to the point where only over the past summer, as evidenced through the Skype Mashup competition, it provides a more complete set of developer tools, including many, such as Call Transfer, that have been clamored for by developers. (But Skype is by no means finished yet with delivering API’s.)
• Skype has also developed a publishing platform, Publishing Studio, that lets developers focus on their application while providing the infrastructure to bring the application to market and generate transactions associated with the application
• To provide standards for quality assurance, Skype is in the process of certifying its partners’ software applications.

The Voice 2.0 Challenge

The Voice 2.0 Manifesto talks about three flavors of applications:

• Voice applications such as conferencing, enhanced voice mail, audio hosting.
• Voice enabled IT applications: collaboration tools, Salesforce.com, Outlook integration, call centers — all designed to assist the knowledge worker
• The voice web: mashup of voice and the Internet. Here the combination of voice and web services offers the greatest opportunities. From the Voice 2.0 Manifesto: “Examples include: spoken word real estate descriptions from the MLS coupled with mapping, voice enabled matchmaker services, customer service coupled with inventory / ordering / availability. The mix of text, web, voice, and programmatic access to data is a heady brew.”

To date we have seen several offerings in the first two categories with initial steps taken, such as with PamFax, into the last category. However, this category’s true potential will only be realized when web services API’s are incorporated into the Skype API set. (The first one is on their recently released roadmap.) One other challenge for the SDP is to extend this program from Windows to the Mac platform.

Skype Publisher Studio

In the course of judging for the Skype Mashup Competition and checking out some newer Skype Extras, it became apparent why the Skype Publishing Studio is a valuable asset and differentiator, not only for Skype but also for, especially, the Skype Developer Partners:

• provides complete install/uninstall infrastructure
• includes Digital Rights Management that allows the publisher to determine the licensing terms for the software including free trials and offerings; tolled, monthly or annual subscriptions, etc.
• connects to a transaction processor that provides mechanisms for payments via Skype Credtis, which, in turn, can be purchased via PayPal or a credit card.

Basically the Publisher Studio relieves Extras publishers of the need to worry about overhead that would be common to them all and allowing them to focus all their resources on the actual value-creating application. Along with the Publishing Stuido, the Skype Developer program is requiring adherence to standards for usability, robustness and overall quality assurance through the Skype Software Certification program.

PamFax, worldwide winner of the recent Skype Mashup competition, demonstrates the full power of the Publishing Studio through its use of all features, including transaction handling. My quote to the Share Skype blog post about PamFax’s award:

“As I judge I found many excellent entries that demonstrate the value of various aspects of the Skype ecosystem. However, the winners have gone beyond the normal “just add Skype” and taken a broader advantage of the entire Skype ecosystem to turn their Skype Extra into a full business opportunity. For instance, PamFax demonstrates that the Skype Extra program not only provides API’s into Skype but also provides a flexible set of licensing terms and a unique means to quickly collect revenues via the Skype Extras transaction engine.”

Essential Reading: Phil’s post yesterday (Russell Shaw also thought so): Why Skype and Vonage Must Live:

Skype is still evolving how to work in the hundreds of network and compute environments in hundreds of millions of situations. Those situations are challenging and evolving on their own. How you cross firewalls, scale p2p, and adapt streams for mobile conditions aren’t ready to be locked down.

Bottom line: Along with Skype’s provision of a complete suite of real time conversation tools, the Skype Developer Partner program is the other big differentiator from other “VoIP” services. This program:

• positions Skype outside the traditional “legacy telephony replacement” space
• opens up significant sustainable revenue generation opportunities for both Skype and its Developer Partners
• brings reduced communications costs and increased productivity to its business users

And somebody must like these Extras: over 21 million downloads. Another success story: WebDialogs (publisher of Unyte) recently became a division of IBM’s Lotus SameTime Group.

Reference posts:

• Unyte’s Tale: Pioneering and Persevering as a Skype SDP
• On Being a Skype Software Business Solution Partner
• A Banner Day for Skype Development Program
• Desktop Collaboration: The Skype Ecosystem Expands
• Skype Partners Answer Jeff’s Challenge for Innovation in Voice Services
• The Dawn of the Mashup World: – Part I: Challenges, Why and Expectations

Business Solutions Extras:

• Voice Recording and Archiving Applications: Pamela, Skylook
• Voice Services: Evoca, HighSpeed Conferencing.com.
• Call Center: OnState ACD for Skype
• Collaboration: Convenos, Unyte Yugma Skype
• Animation: Crazy Talk
• Miscellaneous Utilities: MyToGo, PamFax

For Skype Journal posts on these Partners, enter the Partner’s name into Skype Journal’s Search box and you will get a list of all posts related to that Partner. The complete set of Skype Extras, including games, entertainment and personalization Extras, can be found here or by going to Tools | Do More | Get Extras on the Skype for Windows client.

Other posts in this Skype Primer Series

• A Backgrounder
• Enabling Real Time Communications
• Skype Hardware – If and When Available

Tags: Skype, Voice 2.0 Manifesto, Skype API, Skype Extras, Skype Developer Partner Program, Skype Publishing Studio, Pamela, Skylook, Evoca, HighSpeedConferencing.com, OnState ACD for Skype, Convenos, Unyte, Yugma, Crazy Talk, MyToGo, PamFax, Phil Wolff, Russell Shaw

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Providing an outline and overview of the full Skype Certification program in action, including both the technology and business aspects, was the goal of Tiit Paananen’s presentation at the eBay/Skype Developer Conference last month. The full slide presentation is here but I will add some comments that came out of the session.

From the Skype perspective, the certification process can become a “chicken-and-egg” problem in that both parties (Skype and the partner) must have a common visualization of what the end user product is and how it can bring value-add to the Skype ecosystem. As a result Skype has established a multi-phase process that facilitates preparation and communication while minimizing the number of steps to achieve Skype certification. Establishing this process involved:

• gathering requirements for the program
• establishing Skype’s criteria for acceptance
• determining the pre-certification activity required to prepare for testing
• facilitating iterative listing of products as they change once certified.

The business objectives of Skype certification are:

• help sales of partners’ products
• ensure a positive user experience
• establish quality control criteria and processes
• avoid technical issues once a product comes to market

To date Skype has the most experience with hardware certification (33 categories and counting) while they are still learning the processes and criteria required for software certification where they are still defining categories. A complete set of certification documentation (by category) is available on the website. As general guidance for software they look for:

• Solutions that make Skype better (Pamela)
• Solutions that Skype makes better (Salesforce.com)

Certification is a geographically distributed activity with most testing performed in Talinn complemented by a second test facility in Beijing while business development is managed out of London. This can create triage issues when determining the priorities for testing various submissions as partner proposals are evaluated also against Skype’s ongoing business goals.

Tiit then reviewed the certification process as highlighted in the attached slide. Some of his comments:

• The submission process does not only include the product itself but also proposed packaging and documentation.
• In working through the review criteria they find:
  • a new hardware category is created monthly
  • with software each case is unique and forms an individual category
  • the toughest question to resolve is “does the solution add value?”
• Certification fees for hardware are $800 per test round or $8,000 for a one year subscription to test. Currently there are no fees for software testing but this may change once additional experience has been developed. These fees are due prior to commencement of review and testing.

Going forward Skype is developing a “harmonized” test environment incorporating Windows, Linx and Mac OS X platforms. While there is a degree of subjectivity to some of their criteria, one goal of the new environment is to introduce more objectivity into their testing activity. In support of this goal Skype is also opening a complete audio/video laboratory which will facilitate testing of the full solution being offered:

• Documentation
• Packaging
• Installation
• Ergonomics
• Functionality.

Final comments and questions:

• Certification is version specific; individual versions of each solution must be certified
• Only 40% of devices submitted to date have passed; where minor modifications are required there is a fail/troubleshoot/pass process.
• Allow up to six weeks for testing once a submission meeting all the basic requirements have been met.
• Skype version changes must be backward compatible to certified products. (At the time there were some version 2.5 beta issues being resolved but 2.5 went “gold” immediately after the conference)
• Some certifications may expire as time passes depending on the nature of the product
• Sound device issues have now been elevated to becoming a priority 1 issue such that products cannot arbitrarily conflict with other audio applications such as Windows Media Player and SlingBox as well as with other Skype solutions
• A significant portion of failures relate to ease-of-use issues
• The number of solutions in a category is market driven

Certification has become one of the key differentiators of Skype from other VoIP communications products and services. We are starting to see hardware, such as VoIPvoice’s Cyberphone series of handsets and Multi-Link’s TeleVoIP Stick, that provide the user with a familiar user interface – i.e. a keypad-based handset – to access Skype services (sometimes transparently). The certification process is a key infrastructure component to driving mass consumer adoption of Skype as an enhanced communications service. Tiit’s presentation brought a lot of the mystique associated with Skype certification out into the open and hopefully can serve as guidance to partners considering participating in the Skype ecosystem.

And, while I will not name any names, I can attest to the fact that several uncertified products have significant ease-of-use issues. Appropriately managed and enforced Skype’s process has the potential to filter out “proof-of-concept” technology from true value-added products such that:

• Installation is smooth and straight forward; introduces no conflicts with users’ prior configurations, especially Windows Audio Devices
• The user interface is user friendly to the non-technical consumer, consistent with legacy telephony operation where feasible and intuitive in learning.
• Documentation provides clear and adequate guidance in (i) the use of the hardware and/or (ii) installation, configuration and operation of the software.
• Packaging provides both a clear overview of the product’s functionality and uses Skype’ certification branding appropriately.