Case Studies

A few weeks ago, we announced the results of the Skype for Business Competition. Each week, we're sharing one of the winners stories about how they are saving time, saving money and staying ahead by using Skype in their businesses.

Here's a detailed case study about HyperOffice, the first place winner in the Americas:

When a new business prospect calls from the Middle East with a poor cell phone connection, how can a salesperson get a clear line into this initial make-or-break discussion? If they work for HyperOffice, they immediately invite the potential client to call via Skype.

Recently, a business executive development and assessment company based in the United Arab Emirates called HyperOffice because they needed a better way to share client files. After initial talking over a spotty mobile connection, HyperOffice's global sales team connected with the potential client on a Skype call to learn their key requirements. In the next two weeks, the sales team demonstrated to the company how their "Software-as-a-Service" software tools could help the business with everything from document sharing, online project collaboration, and corporate-wide communications.

"Skype helped us win a significant contract with this UAE-based client because we were able respond quickly to questions via Skype instant messaging and free Skype calls while minimizing our out of pocket investment in high-cost, international phone calls," said Shahab Kaviani, vice president, HyperOffice. "We use Skype in our international outbound marketing, which has helped us increase our worldwide business significantly this year. We expect international sales to grow to about 20 percent of our revenue in 2009, up from five percent in 2007 -- a three hundred percent increase in just two years."

HyperOffice has found Skype ideal to engage with potential clients. "In our e-mail marketing, we embed a SkypeMe icon. Our prospects receive an e-mail campaign and within minutes we have people who we never spoke to before clicking to Skype chat or call with our Internet sales department," said Kaviani.

Small companies and workgroups turn to HyperOffice for cloud computing software tools including turnkey intranet, collaboration software and business e-mail services. For a minimal monthly charge, HyperOffice creates a secure online workspace customized to match the client's look and feel. This makes it easier for growing businesses to collaborate, communicate, manage projects, share documents, schedule meetings and tasks, and manage information, anytime, from work, from home, while traveling, using any Internet connection.

Recently, a London-based public relations firm needed a client portal to seamlessly coordinate all of its project management activities. While the firm was also looking at a local London-area IT outsourcing company, they selected HyperOffice due to its responsive team.

"As we guided the PR firm through our 30-day software trial, our team addressed their questions quickly via Skype instant messaging. With just a simple glance, they always knew who was online and available because of our Skype presence and status updates. Not only did this save them time, but also it and helped us win the business," noted Kaviani. "Now, the firm is able to have individually branded client workspaces where the latest versions of press releases, brochures, timelines and more are hosted in an easy-to-find, efficient manner."

As a company, HyperOffice relies on Skype to keep its own employees connected. While many are in the company's Rockville, Maryland offices, others are scattered across the U.S. and around the world in Buenos Aires, India and the Middle East.

"We hold regular Skype conference calls and find it makes sharing links much easier with the combined instant messaging and file sharing," said Kaviani. "Since some of our team members use English as a second language, they can contribute more to the calls through instant messaging. In addition, we use instant messaging all day long for quick discussions instead of relying on e-mail."

Overall, HyperOffice has increased sales with Skype. "While we have made many improvements to HyperOffice, I would say Skype was in the top three technology investments made in the last 18 months that helped us grow our sales," concluded Kaviani.

Here's a short video demonstrating how HyperOffice integrated Skype click-to-call into their offering:

Last week, we announced the results of the Skype for Business Competition. We promised to share more details about how the winners (and other entrants) are saving time, saving money and staying ahead by using Skype in their businesses.

Here's a detailed case study about RareJob, the second place winner in Asia-Pacific:

RareJob was established in Tokyo in 2007 based on the idea of using Skype to create unique job opportunities linking Japan with other countries around the world. The inaugural project the company took on was teaching English as a second language, or ESL, employing tutors from the Philippines.

ESL instruction is a major industry in Japan, valued at ¥316.6 billion (about US$316 million) in 2007 according to Yano Research Institute Ltd. This is also a highly competitive market dominated until recently by several large nationwide chains of privately operated schools.

RareJob entered the fray armed with Skype. Gaku Nakamura, Chief Technology Officer, knew Skype well before he started the company with partner and CEO Tomohisa Kato.

"Before starting RareJob, I was involved in software development using the peer-to-peer technology at the heart of Skype. I used Skype at work everyday, so I knew its potential as a low-cost, high-quality communications tool," said Nakamura.

Great tutors without exorbitant costs
Skype enabled RareJob to build a strong base of highly qualified tutors in the Philippines, and at the same time sprint ahead of the competition by keeping operating costs down.

"All of our tutors are students or graduates of the University of the Philippines. We select tutors who have the highest English capability and most natural accents. We then help them get set up on Skype if they do not yet have an account, and train them in using Skype as an educational medium."

Unlike most of the major players in the Japanese ESL field, RareJob avoids the cost of maintaining schools in high-rent districts around train and subway stations. These areas have traditionally been the most convenient locations for busy commuters. And while the company pays competitive salaries to its Philippine tutors, labor costs are noticeably less than in Japan, and the tutors do not have to travel to Japan to do their jobs.

All this means savings to students without sacrificing profitability for RareJob.

"We use Skype for all our internal communications with tutors, as well as with our office in Manila. This lets us provide online lessons to Japanese students at ¥5,000 (US$50) per month. If a student does a 25-minute lesson everyday, that's ¥129 per lesson, about 40 times less than what the same student would pay for one-on-one lessons in a classroom."

The home advantage
What can be more convenient than studying in the comfort of your own home? RareJob users reserve time slots in advance over the web. When the reserved time arrives, one of the company's tutors calls the user, and the lesson begins. It's that easy, and another key reason for RareJob's popularity. In the economic climate since late 2008, more Japanese are going straight home from work, dining in rather than spending money outside. RareJob provides the cost-conscious Japanese with an easy, interactive means toward gaining a new skill, and perhaps contributing to future career development.

With an average of more than 2,000 ESL lessons per day and 700 registered tutors, RareJob is Japan's largest independent provider of online ESL instruction. Registered students have steadily risen, from about 1,000 in April 2008 to more than 13,000 in August 2009, and if anything the economic crisis is driving new growth.

"Other online service providers use different technologies, such as dedicated videophones the students have to lease or buy. This makes them less expensive than the classroom-style schools, but still a lot more than RareJob."

RareJob's students can also take advantage of Skype features not available with other online technologies, such as very high-quality audio and fast file sharing.

The future is video?
RareJob is only a year and a half old, but it has quickly emerged as a promising entrant in Japan's ESL market and a company with a bright future. Nakamura sees his brand of ESL instruction as continuing to evolve with Skype.

"Most of our students use voice calls for their lessons. The Philippine broadband infrastructure is not as far along as Japan's, so video calls are often impractical. But as we see Skype improving both audio and video quality while reducing the bandwidth needed, the potential of video instruction will grow. Video adds the dimension of visual aids like pictures. And students can observe the gestures that go along with different phrases and ways of speaking, leading to more natural conversation."

RareJob's mission is also only partially completed. ESL instruction is a success, but Nakamura and Kato are constantly working on new ideas for "rare jobs." Whatever the result, Skype will be there as the company's core utility.

So - this is it. Our panels of judges around the world have scrutinised your entries, reviewed them, ordered them and reordered them to arrive at our list of winners (and we thank them for their time and effort). Now, we're delighted to be able to announce the results of the Skype for Business Competition.

Continue reading "Winners announced: Skype for Business Competition" »

Thanks to Jim Courtney at Voice on the Web for his comprehensive coverage of two incredible Skype case studies - featuring a psychiatrist and a plastic surgeon whose practices have been transformed by Skype.

In an ABC news report, Dr Spero Thodorou, a plastic surgeon from New York, and Dr Loren Olson, a psychiatrist from Iowa, shared their views (Dr Olsen on a Skype video call) about how Skype has changed the way they work.

Jim Courtney says:

Psychiatrist Dr Loren Olson had started using Skype for calls to his grandchildren and then realized that he could use it (i) for routine follow up 'med-check' visits with both urban and rural patients and (ii) for clinical consultations with a team of medical providers in a rural area. Amongst his points in the interview:

• The need [for using Skype] in the cities relates to getting the 50% of mentally ill patients who do not have access to medical services to simply interact with a medical professional.
• While his calls do not have the intimacy of an office visit, there's often a question of 'this visit' vs. 'no visit'.
• Patients can become so totally absorbed and relaxed in the discussion such that the technology literally melts away. In one case a patient asked for a glass of water (says something about the realism provided by Skype's High Quality Video).
• One paranoid schizophrenic patient actually preferred using Skype for his doctor calls.

Bottom line: With the ongoing debate over rising healthcare costs, can Skype video calling contribute to solutions that not only reduce both patient and practitioner costs but also shrink travel requirements, accelerate remedial procedures and, most importantly, cut the time spent reading six-month-old magazines in the doctor's waiting room?

We'd like to think so

Get a feel for how Mark McKinney, Vice President of LuraTech makes the world smaller using Skype in his business environment by listening to his podcast interview on Takes On Tech.

He enlightens us on the following subjects:

• Avoid jetlag using conferencing on Skype
• If he does have to travel, he can keep in touch with his girlfriend via video calling
• He likes to hold interviews via Skype. If the applicant needs to download Skype and has trouble, that's got to be a sure sign they're not right for the job
• Multi-task in meetings via IM
• Board meetings across the globe, with file transfer to help get the point across

He offers some great examples of the range of Skype features on offer - it's well worth a listen.

This case study tells the story of Kukusumusu, a thriving design business based in Pamploma, Spain. Their creative director is now based in New York and communicates with his designers via Skype. Watch the video to get an insight in to the crazy world of kukusumusu and meet some unusual characters such as Mr. Testis the bull and a sheep called Beelorzia. There really is a fine line between genius and insanity.

Company background

Kukuxumusu is a thriving design business based in Pamplona, Spain. Set up in 1989 by Mikel Urmeneta, Kukuxumusu creates distinctive designs and drawings for commercial products including t-shirts, postcards, ceramics, key-holders and bags. In 1996 Kukuxumusu opened its first shop exclusively selling its own products, and in 1997 it opened its online store. The company currently employs 65 employees.

Video calling

Kukuxumusu use the free video calling function extensively to talk with colleagues, clients and suppliers around the world. Founder and Creative Director Mikel is currently based in New York and remains in regular contact with the Spanish office via video calling. The team call Mikel via Skype's video calling facility in order to talk through ideas and show him product designs. Mikel says: 'Skype video calling allows you to show thing to people very quickly, which is important in our business. The clarity you get with the webcam is incredible; the definition that you get talking to your colleagues in real time is perfect.'

Cost saving

Every member of staff at Kukuxumusu has Skype, so every department from sales to design use it to chat with one another and to contact colleagues, clients and suppliers abroad for free. Instant messaging is also used frequently. The team at Kukuxumusu liaise with contacts overseas on a daily basis, and have saved money on their calling costs by using Skype. Mikel says: 'Everybody in the business has Skype and we use it every day in every department. For us, it is much cheaper to use SkypeOut credit to call abroad as it is just like making a local call.'

Kukuxumusu also make use of the file transfer facility, so information can be securely sent and received in an instant. It also means that everyone on a conference call can be sure to have the right document in front of them at the same time.

United by Skype

Without Skype, Kukuxumusu wouldn't be able to stay in touch with their contacts around the globe as easily and as frequently as they do. Video and conference calling have enabled the team to build stronger relationships with their fellow workers, clients and suppliers, as well as allowing Mikel to remain as close to his staff as if he was actually in the office. As Mikel himself states, Kukuxumusu as a business has been 'united by Skype'.

Here is the next in our series of Skype for Business case studies. This time it is the world famous surf and fashion brand Rip Curl. Watch the video and read below to see how Rip Curl have adopted Skype as their key business communications tool. Skype video calling is used to help with the creative design process and all staff members have a Skype account which they use as their main form of communication across the company.

Company background

Rip Curl is a highly popular international surfing equipment and fashion manufacturer, with over 3,000 employees across the world. The company was founded in 1969 by Doug Warbrick and Brian Singer in Torquay, Australia, where the company still has its head office. Doug and Brian were keen surfers who wanted to support their lifestyle, and decided the best way to do so was producing surfboards. Nearly 40 years on, the company is an international success story.

International organisation bringing people closer

As Rip Curl grew across the world, it became increasingly more difficult to get hold of people from different continents and time zones. Brian Singer discovered Skype, and introduced a global company initiative for all employees to communicate using Skype for all text, voice and video communications. Standard Skype IDs were created as a matter of course for all staff, and now Skype is the sole internal communication vehicle, be it from across a room, across a beach or across the world.

Sharing and showing

Rip Curl's designers and manufacturers are often located in different parts of the world (Australia, Asia, California, France...) meaning different time zones and different languages. Skype's free video calling facility is regularly used to show designs, corrections, suggestions, patterns and ideas. Dummies and drawings are placed in front of web cams to show off new designs and to request changes, leaving no room for misinterpretation, while saving on international travel or lengthy written and verbal explanations.

Also, fast file sharing means everyone on a conference call can be sure to have the right document in front of them at the same time - and again, it's all free.

Mobility

Skype is used "on the go" by Rip Curl. Staff members attending surfing events and competitions can keep in touch with the office for free from their laptop, immediately updating their colleagues by sharing files, images and video.

Presence

As previously mentioned, Rip Curl straddles different time zones. Skype's presence means everyone can immediately see when their colleagues are logged on to their computer, meaning no wasted calls or lengthy voicemails to people who are in bed.

Creativity

Rip Curl is all about "The Search" - for the next big wave, the next cool surfing hot-spot and the newest and best way of doing things. Skype means Rip Curl can take advantage of their teams' creativity and immediacy without having to worry about complicated processes and systems.

This is the first of a series of short case study videos I will be featuring on this blog over the coming weeks. This is one of my personal favourites. It tells the story of Park Manager Luca Natale who runs the Cinque Terra National Park in eastern Liguria, Italy. Luca is somewhat of a local celebrity by the looks of it. He is a forward thinking environmentalist who has adopted Skype to help him communicate with his contacts around the world. Here he shares some profound comments on the benefits of technology to society and how it has helped his business. Watch the video, or read below to find out more.

Company background

Cinque Terre National Park is five miles of rocky coast in eastern Liguria, Italy. Recognised as a national park in 1999, Cinque Terre is visited by 2.5 million people every year and the park's tourism board employs over 250 staff.

Internal communications

The employees at Cinque Terre National Park rely heavily on Skype for their internal communications, checking their Skype messages every morning before they open their e-mails. It is standard practice for the team to start the day with a virtual meeting on Skype, and these meetings continue throughout the working day. Those working from home or away from the office can participate by simply logging on to Skype.

Bringing people closer

With 30-40 important contacts based around the world, Skype has helped to enhance Cinque Terre's global communications. Park Manager Luca Natale says: "Nowadays, geographical isolation is far less important than technological isolation. If we had to choose between building a motorway and getting broadband, we should opt for the latter."

File transfer

The staff at the national park use Skype to send files to their contacts, finding it easier and quicker than sending by e-mail. Luca Natale says: "It's definitely better to send files over Skype as you are sure to receive the information, and the person sending it can be sure than you've got it."

Mobility

Skype allows Cinque Terre employees to work from home and away from the office, offering them the ability to be part of the daily discussions and meetings even when they're not there. As Skype can be downloaded onto any computer and accessed from wherever they are, employees can be in constant contact with the Cinque Terre offices throughout the day. "That you can be at home and have a window open onto the world is of priceless value", says Luca.

Cost and time saving

By making use of Skype's free audio and video calling, Cinque Terre has saved money on its communications costs. It has also allowed staff be more productive as they spend less time sending and reading e-mails, opting to talk over Skype or use instant messaging to converse. Luca says: "Skype has become an essential tool for our work. It's an immediate way to optimise our costs and time."

On Wednesday, May 14th, the Skype for Business team is hosting an open-house showcase in the Skype Stockholm office. We are inviting our customers and anyone intersted to see how Skype can be used in a business.

Virtually the whole product range is presented and you can try the Skype certified products and get help from our staff. One of our businesss customers Lyx.com, has kindly agreed to tell how they use Skype.

This is also an opportunity for us to meet our customers and get feedback from you on how to improve our products and services. Your input is crucial in helping us help you.

Stop by Katarinavägen 5, by Slussen between 13.30 and 16.30 and say hi to the whole team!

I just read this article on [The Hollywood Reporter](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i0e7d8449d58e7ec1002a7dd65e971bc4), about CNN using a Skype Video call to conduct an interview with an analyst who was on holidays in Maui at the time.

This is a great example of Skype video calling in action. In this case all they needed was a laptop computer and a borrowed webcam to set up a live video link from his hotel in Maui. You can [read the whole article here](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i0e7d8449d58e7ec1002a7dd65e971bc4)

We are always interested in hearing interesting stories about businesses using Skype in creative ways. For instance, [see this story about Rip Curl](http://www.skype.com/intl/en/business/casestudies/ripcurl/), the global surf and snowboard brand, whose staff use Skype Video calls to collaborate on designs from opposite sides of the globe.

If you have an interesting story about a business using [Skype video calls](http://www.skype.com/intl/en/business/features/video/), or any other [Skype features](http://www.skype.com/intl/en/business/features/), please get in touch via this blog, we would love to hear your story.

We’ve just finished our first ever Skype for Business showcase. You can read about how [Skype For Business takes Lewis & Hickey architects into new world of Internet communications](http://about.skype.com/2007/01/skype_for_business_takes_lewis.html). Or even better you can watch the short video below to see the Lewis Hickey story first hand.