I am sure by now that most of you have heard of the term “skype”.  Sometimes it is used as a verb, “to skype”, and sometimes it is used as a noun.  But what exactly is it?  Skype is an Internet-based voice-over-IP service than can replace your local telephone company for your small business.

The basic Skype service is free and allows you to make voice and video calls with excellent call quality to any other Skype user, anywhere in the world.  Think of it as an interactive email or instant message.  Skype allows you to conduct conference calls with three or more Skype users for free as well.  There are more features available for those who are willing to pay a nominal fee.      

For a small fee each month ($2.95 USD as of this writing) you can get a Skype-In telephone number.  This will allow regular telephone users to dial a number and reach you via Skype.  Not only can you accept incoming calls from regular telephone numbers, but you can also make outgoing calls to regular telephone numbers as a Skype-In subscriber.  This could eliminate the need for you to get a dedicated telephone service for your home-based Internet business.  Telephone service through traditional providers can be expensive and come with contracts and early termination fees.  Skype is a no-hassle and inexpensive service as an alternative to traditional telephone service for your Internet-based business.  A great benefit of being a Skype-In subscriber is the availability of using your Skype number with various other services and devices.

As a Skype-In subscriber, you can forward your Google Voice number to your Skype number.  That way you can still take advantage of Google Voice’s features (i.e. voicemail transcription, SMS to email, conference calls, personalized greetings and more) while using Skype.   For those of you on the go, Skype has a killer iPhone app that makes free calls over a 3G network.  There are also apps available for Blackberry and Android devices that make it easier to do business remotely.  The Skype apps are definitely some of the best cloud apps available.

Home-based Internet businesses would greatly benefit from using Skype.  You can set up accounts for your employees, make international calls without worrying about the price per minute, enhance your conversations with video capability, integrate existing telecommunication services and mobile devices, perform conference calls, and more all for a nominal monthly fee. 

If you have not already, take a few moments and sign up for a Skype account to see how your business can benefit from its endless features.  You can do so by clicking on the Skype logo to the right. 

For those of you who do use Skype, what do think about it?  Do you use it for personal purposes, business purposes, or both?  How has your business been impacted by using Skype?  Have you used Skype with Google Voice or used any of the mobile apps?

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