Skype: Phase 2 Strategy Report on Technological and Commercial Aspects

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Skype, focusing on its technological and commercial viability. It begins with a summary of Skype's current market position, highlighting its significant market share and competition within the telecommunications sector. The report then delves into a technological viability analysis, examining firm and project-related factors, and identifies areas where Skype lags behind competitors in terms of innovation and digital transformation. A commercial viability analysis follows, assessing product and market-related factors, and concluding that Skype is commercially viable due to its product offerings and market reach. The report concludes by outlining future pathways for Skype, including opportunities for growth and challenges to overcome, and concludes with a team reflection.

Skype
Phase 2
University
Word count

Executive summary
The organization considered in this paper is Skype. The phase A has already been provided in
previous paper so this is in continuity of previous discussion. First of all, the summary of
previous findings is given. After that the technological viability analysis and commercial
viability analysis is done along with summarizing the findings for each section. In the end, the
opportunities and challenges of Skype are mentioned from the perspective of future pathways. It
has been find out that Skype is technologically and commercially well placed in market, though
it has some challenges as well which need to be tackled as soon as possible. Skype is a
telecommunication giant having 17.2% market share with well established roots in the
corresponding sector.

Contents
1 Present scenario summary.......................................................................................................................4
2. Technological viability analysis................................................................................................................4
2.1 Firm related factors...........................................................................................................................4
2.2 Project related factors.......................................................................................................................6
2.3 Summary analysis..............................................................................................................................6
3. Commercial viability analysis..................................................................................................................7
3.1 Product related factors......................................................................................................................7
3.2 Market related factors.......................................................................................................................9
3.3 Summary analysis..............................................................................................................................9
4. Future pathways......................................................................................................................................9
4.1 opportunities.....................................................................................................................................9
4.2 challenges........................................................................................................................................10
4.3 Team reflection................................................................................................................................11
References.................................................................................................................................................12

1 Present scenario summary
The telecommunication giant Skype is considered in this paper which is a major communication
channel for the young age group of 18-35 years. The persons below 18 cannot use this platform
to communicate same as that of other competitors like Facebook. Skype provides video, audio
and messaging services for its users who have to get themselves registered on the platform to
avail the services (Solberg, 2017). There is facility of group messages and video calls as well
which is used by professionals for their daily use. It was started in the year 2003 and recently
purchased by Microsoft, a big corporate giant. Skype has been a successful platform competing
with international giants and able to sustain itself in the era of cut-throat competition. Skype has
wide following in Australia but it is still at third number because of intense competition in
telecommunication sector (Van der Panne et al., 2003). There are certain new developments in
the market related to new features introduced by the competitors like whatsapp has introduced
the deleting feature for message sent by mistake. There has been no such new feature in Skype
though it is well placed in market and doing well in the sector of telecommunication.
2. Technological viability analysis
2.1 Firm related factors
The telecommunication platform namely Skype is based on technology which is rapidly
changing in the modern 21st century therefore other competing rivals have been upgrading
technology with the exigencies of time (Yang et al., 2016). Such technological inventions are not
visible in Skype even after its acquisition by Microsoft. Along with this, there have been no
technological improvements within the daily working of the firm. The technology of digital
transformation has been implemented in the premises of Microsoft which has revolutionised the

way the Microsoft communicate with different stakeholders. The digital transformation has led
to better knowledge management and communication between employees of Microsoft. But,
Skype is operating on traditional technologies which have resulted in increase in administrative
cost as compared to its competitors. Skype has a market share of 17.5% in Australia which is
below other competitors like Facebook and Whatsapp (Wen & Zhu, 2019).
The technological factors which influence the firm include cost and time efficiency,
communication strategy, administrative cost, knowledge management and so on. The cost and
time efficiency is necessary for better productivity in the premises of firm which will make the
input cost lower. Skype give video calls, audio calls and messaging services free so to compete
in the market, it has to provide services at the least cost available in the market (de Bustos &
Castillo, 2019). For this purpose, the input cost must be kept lower to widen the profit margin
which will provide competitive edge. To reduce the input cost and achieve efficiency in the
working of the organization, there is need to implement the latest techniques. The latest
technology like digital transformation, as mentioned above will lead to cost and time efficiency
within the working of the organization (Setyowati, 2019). The next factor which is influenced by
technology is the communication which is necessary for efficient working in the organization.
Technological innovations have revolutionized the way the employees and other stakeholders
communicate with each other. To make every stakeholder communicate readily with each other,
technological developments are necessary in Skype’s working area.
Administrative cost has already been discussed above so to cater to needs of decreased
administrative cost, the technological developments are necessary to be used in the daily working
activities of Skype. Knowledge management has been another factor which has technological
percussions for Skype. It is necessary to maintain Intellectual Property Rights to have

competitive edge. Along with this, knowledge management is essential for every organization to
make right information reach the intended person at the right time without which the working
efficiency cannot be achieved.
2.2 Project related factors
Skype needs to implement the latest technological innovations for project management which is
necessary for every organization to achieve economies of scale. The project management is an
essential task for any organization working in the era of globalization (Palmatier & Sridhar,
2017). The project management is necessary to have better idea regarding the effect of policies
implemented in the working of the organization. The telecommunication services provided by
Skype need to be managed on random basis to make the services available for users without any
hassle. The technological innovations can play a major role in this scenario as technology is
major factor to be considered for project management. The project management skills are
improved by technology leading to cost and time efficiency which provides competitive benefit.
At the time when, Facebook and other competitors are making changes in the way they manages
themselves from the perspective of project management, Skype should also cater to modern
needs and use technical skills to better manage its projects and related services.
2.3 Summary analysis
Skype has been lacking behind from the perspective of technological inventions so it must cater
to need of innovation which is becoming anew norm in the technical world of the 21st century.
Competitors have been spending financial resources on innovation and using those innovation
for different functions associated with businesses(O'Day et al., 2016). To make Skype gain better
place in the market, though it is strongly rooted in market, it needs to change the organizational
functions using the latest technology. But it does not mean that Skype is not technically viable; it

is well placed in market. There is need to further innovate and provide new kind of facilities for
users without compromising with its basic standards. Skype has been able to maintain its market
share and regarded as one of the biggest telecommunication platform for people around the
world.
3. Commercial viability analysis
The commercial viability analysis is necessary for any organization to assess its viability in the
market on short term and long term basis(Noë et al., 2019). This becomes more necessary in the
era of cut-throat competition in which technological developments are outcompeting each other
within the span of months, if not weeks. This has made the world market unpredictable as far as
commercial viability is concerned. The commercial developments have been outpacing the
comprehendible ability of experts leading to uncertain market situations. Along with this, many
latest developments like Trade war and Brexit have impacted the business sentiments in negative
way. The latest developments have been impacting the way the commercial organizations work
and operate in the market
3.1 Product related factors
The products or better to say, services provided by Skype are commercially viable as there is
high demand and use of such platforms in the era of globalization. the business organizations
have been becoming multinational in character which has generated the demand of international
video and audio calls for the people aged 18-35 years or more. Along with this, international
migration has been increasing at a tremendous rate(Melo et al., 2019). This has led to generation
of need for migrants to communicate with their relatives at the cheaper rate. These services are
provided by Skype free for its users leading to competitive placement in the market. Despite

availability of new products in the market, Skype has been able to maintain its desirability
among end consumers leading to resounding success from the perspective of services
availability.
There are many other factors which influence the products of the organization. These factors
include operational easiness of platform, cost of services offered, features of product, design of
platform, network facility, technical facilities and so on(Lo Iacono et al., 2016). The platforms
which are easy to operate tend to attract more number of customers and provide easy to operate
technical capabilities to them. The person using Skype has to register himself on Skype along
with authenticating the email ID and phone number. This is necessary to maintain privacy but
along with this, there are many other technical complexities involved to operate Skype whereas
its competitors have simple process of operation leading to better customer rating. The cost of
services offered by Skype is at competitive rate; in fact, Skype provide many services for free
which makes it an attractive platform for every consumer. The features of services provided by
Skype have not been updated for long time which needs to be managed as per the latest needs
and expectations of customers.
The design of Skype is effective enough to incite the customers and provide valuable services to
them. The platform is attractive from the perspective of design along with providing some basic
services to customers. The network facility is also good as the services provided by Skype are
made easily manageable. In addition to this, the images and files can be sent and shared by the
users to different individuals through Skype due to effective network provided by the
platform(Lo Iacono et al., 2016). The technical facilities are also available which provide good
services to customers so from the perspective of products telecommunication platform of Skype
is commercially viable

3.2 Market related factors
The market related factors affecting the commercial viability of Skype are traditional and digital
marketing techniques which involve personal selling, poster campaigns, email marketing, social
media marketing and search engine Optimization along with various advertising campaigns.
Apart from marketing, the other factors affecting the market are strength of competitors, demand
in the market, economic viability, economic accessibility and so on (Lewis, 2015). The market
related factors play an important role to decide the success or failure in the telecommunication
sector. The market plays a very important role for commercial viability of the project along with
deciding long term sustainability of the organization.
3.3 Summary analysis
Skype is commercially viable from the perspective of product as well as market which makes
Skype competitive in market. The products and services of Skype incite customers due to its
wider accessibility in the market. Along with this, the products of Skype are available for
customers by good network system(Kim & Mauborgne, 2015). As mentioned above, Skype has
provided many services free for years to the customers so it is financially viable for end
consumers. Skype is well placed in market due to its long term sustainability and quality services
provided to customers. The services provided by Skype are commercially viable which makes its
products widely acceptable in the market though it is not at the topmost position. There is still
need to travel a lot of distance to maintain the long term viability in the market which is
continuously changing due to the latest innovation and technological developments.

4. Future pathways
4.1 opportunities
There are tremendous opportunities present for Skype which are as follows:
a) Growing market- the market of telecommunication sector is continuously growing as
internet is reaching wider areas of market. Along with this, the population is increasing
which is increasing the opportunities for Skype to reach more number of people in future.
b) Economic stability- the world economy is table and growing from last many years. It has
come out of financial crisis of 2008 though there may be some spillover effects. The
world economy has been doing well with GDP growth reached to 2%, though it has not
crossed the mark it reached before financial crisis(Kim & Mauborgne, 2015).
c) Globalization – the growing pace of globalization has generated the need of platforms
like Skype so there are many opportunities for Skype from this perspective(Harris et al.,
2015). The globalization has improved the prospects of telecommunication platform for
long term sustainability. Globalization has changed the way the world communicate
leading to increase in market for telecommunication companies
d) Growing demand- the demand of telecommunication platform has been increasing due to
better market penetration of internet, though some areas are still devoid of internet
facilities (Gehman & Höllerer, 2019). As mentioned above, globalization and
international migration has increased the need of telecommunication platforms
4.2 challenges
a) Strong competitors

The competitors of Skype are big corporate giants with technical and financial might. The
competitors are giving tough competition to Skype which has resulted in Skype maintaining the
third position. The market share of competitors is more than 17.2% share of Skype
b) New entrants
There are many new entrants which may increase the competition in future. New entrants are a
big threat to Skype with many entering with the latest technologies(Berkhout et al., 2010). This
has placed the Skype in stiff competition from the perspective of innovative products and ideas
along with innovative services in the telecommunication sector.
c) Economic and political uncertainties
The world is full of uncertainties in today’s market which has led to rapidly changing economic
and political scenarios like the recent development related to trade war placed the clouds of
uncertainty on the world economy. So it is a big challenge for Skype
d) Innovative products and services
It is already mentioned above that rapidly changing technologies have been outcompeting each
other with innovative products entering the market(Berkhout & Rietdijk, 2010). This has placed
the Skype in vulnerable position which may impact its long term sustainability.
4.3 Team reflection
The Skype team strives to achieve excellencies in its work with good work culture in its premises. The
team is well-managed and executes its task with utmost care. The customer feedback has also been
good regarding the team work in Skype which manages its users on priority basis. The team has been

striving hard to make the telecommunication platform maintain its sustainability for long term. The
team Skype has been considered one of the well prepared team to deal with exigencies.
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