Ideas & Views

Skype Journal: What's your Skype strategy?

March 29, 2005 02:23 AM

Pardon me, sir, but what's your Skype strategy? Don't you have one? I mean you're the CIO around here, and you have an email strategy, a web strategy. Hell, you even have a blog strategy (so 2004). So what's your Skype strategy? Someone on your team must be able to write up some 30/90/180 day goals. By next week.

Why bother? It's a disruptive technology, bub. You don't want to be caught with your pants around your ankles. Again.

So come up with a story, short and sweet, light on tech jargon. Say how we're going to embrace/defend/coopt the "New Microsoft of Voice," the next Ma Bell. How you're gonna use free/cheap voice over the Internet to get us closer to customers, to listen (yeah, right), to cut the cost of customer service and ... support. Kill off a legacy problem. You'll list existing systems we'll hook up to Skype to create competitive advantage.

Brainstorm 25 things you can do.

Pick six.

Do three.

You'll have something to brag about.

Pick Skype point people. A developer to read the Skype programming docs, so you know what's doable, and a manager to carry the torch.

Your Skype Strategy paints Skype with every management buzzword hard, soft, and personal.

Lead with cold logic, old friend. Cheap local numbers everywhere. Your telephone hardware budget and that VoIP project you've been putting off vs. free software. Skype's 92 million downloads and 7 billion minutes served in just two years, as the biggest and fastest pool of communicators since IM and the mobile phone.

Then warm them up with productivity:

  • knowledge management through information sharing,
  • collaboration with well timed conversations,
  • team cohesion of offshored projects using Skype presence,
  • Skype logs as a fodder for the learning organization.

Close with the small stuff: convenience, portability, configurability, fun.

philwolffgraydottedthumbnai.jpgBrag about your Skype strategy to your friends. Download Skype for your kids (if they'll let you). Brag to your suppliers. To your competitors' CIOs. To your major accounts. To your head of marketing. To your staffing director. Pass out business cards with your Skype Name on it.

And close conversations by asking, "so, what's your Skype strategy?"

Skype me when you're ready to brainstorm, prioritize, or brag.


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» What's your Skype Strategy? from The Pageman in Kabul
you have your email strategy you have your web strategy you even have a blog strategy the question is : What is your Skype Strategy? figure it out and reap the benefits I have one word for you : IP-PBX Skype Me When you're Ready to IP-PBX! [Read More]

Tracked on March 30, 2005 11:47 AM


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