Businesses and entrepreneurs using Office 365 may now gain access to a preview of new Skype for Business features, including broadcast meetings, as well as voice dial-in options.

Skype for Business was released on March as a technical preview, but its evolution began long before that. In November 2014, Microsoft announced that it will be reinventing Skype's Lync messaging platform and optimizing it for office and business use. Today, new beta features have been released, which users can make use of in improving their productivity through Skype messaging.

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One of the most prominent new features is the Skype Meeting Broadcast, which is basically a platform where businesses could hold large-scale meetings over the web. Each broadcast video feed can be accessible to up to 10,000 people using various web browsers. Meeting participants who don't have speaking roles don't even need a plugin to log and start listening in on the meeting. Live back-channel feedback is provided by the Yammer and Bing Pulse systems.

PTSN conferencing allows Skype for Business users to invite people in on meetings or conference sessions through landlines or mobile phones. Of course, the invitees may also participate through their PC or smartphone. Nevertheless, the landline option is excellent for people who travel a lot and find themselves unable to get their hands on a gadget with good video or internet connectivity in time for the meeting.

Cloud PBX with PTSN Calling, available to U.S. customers, allow users to receive and send traditional phone calls within the Skype for Business system. The handy app features the conventional phone options like hold, transfer, resume, and forward. An article by ComputerWorld also claims that a future upgrade will even support on-premises phone lines.

It's important to note that to date, these features are only available for the Office 365 enterprise as well as the Skype for Business Plan 2. Microsoft will release the features on a more global scale sometime this year. While Cloud PBX and PTSN Conferencing are only available to U.S. customers as of today, the Meeting Broadcasting service is already open for global use. Moreover, businesses using Skpe for Business may use Azure Expressroute for Office 365 sometime this year.

TagsSkype, Skype for Business, meetings