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Skype Launches Networking Platform for SMBs

Microsoft's Skype team opened its online networking platform for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to the public on Thursday.

"Skype in the workspace" or SITW, has been in beta for six months and already has 500 active business users in over 140 service categories, according to Microsoft's announcement.

SITW is meant to connect SMBs with customers and partners via Skype's voice- and video-calling technology. Users can make posts promoting their services. They can also make appointments with potential clients or business partners, and schedule live Skype sessions to demo their products.

According to the company, over 280 million people communicate over Skype every month, giving SMBs on SITW a large and growing audience to market their products to.

"We aim to connect millions of small businesses with Skype in the workspace and believe that, by taking advantage of this shared network, businesses can develop the range of tools they need to grow, regardless of location or industry," said Ural Cebeci, head of SMB Marketing at Skype, in a prepared statement.

Those interested can sign up to use SITW here.

About the Author

Gladys Rama is the senior site producer for Redmondmag.com, RCPmag.com and MCPmag.com.