Microsoft enables Skype for Business integration in iOS, Android apps

Microsoft has announced in its Office blog that Skype for Business App SDK Preview is now available for download. This new SDK will help developers integrate instant messaging, audio and video into their custom iOS and Android applications. At Build 2016, Microsoft previewed the Skype for Business App SDK and had spoken about the ease of integration into native mobile and tablet applications powered by Skype for Business. Microsoft cites the example of MDLIVE - a provider of online and on-demand healthcare delivery services and software - that connects patients and physicians via mobile deveices. “Skype for Business will provide MDLIVE with a much more scalable architecture, so we can accommodate even higher volumes of video consults daily,” said Randy Parker, founder and CEO of MDLIVE. Microsoft says that the initial focus of the SDK Preview is to power remote advisor type of solutions that enable consumer mobile and tablet applications to communicate with Skype for Business organisations. “Businesses can leverage the power of their existing Skype for Business Server and Skype for Business Online infrastructure—including the familiar native clients they use today—to reach customers never before possible,” says James Skay, senior product marketing manager for the Skype for Business team in its blog. The company adds it has made it easy for developers to add voice, video or chat functionality into a new or existing application. Microsoft shares that this is an important step in their Skype Developer Platform roadmap to combine cloud voice, meetings and messaging with new cloud APIs and SDKs that work across a range of web and device platforms,