Last Friday, at Harnessing the Power of Technology and Social Media, a free event at the O2 workshop, Ural Cebeci, Product Marketing Manager from Skype highlighted some of the business features of both paid and free Skype accounts. He had me scribbling furiously as I learnt more about Skype in those 45 minutes than in my three years of using the service!

Skype is best known for free video calling. I first starting using Skype regularly when I lived in Spain (2008-9), and the number of active users were around 10 million then. Today almost 23 million users use the service at any one time.

But there is more to Skype then making calls to friends and family abroad and it can be a powerful and cost effective way of running your business. Here are some of the great features, both free and paid for, that make Skype worth taking seriously.

1. Group Video Calling

With Group Video Calling you can host team meetings, collaborate on projects, or even conduct group coaching sessions, without leaving your front room. Group video calling is only available on a Premium Subscription but only one member of the group needs to have a subscription to host a group video conference. . Premium Subscriptions can be bought for 12 / 6 / 3 month periods and you can even buy a Day Pass.

You can take a free 7 day trial to see how Group Video Calling works for your business.

2. Screen and File Sharing

Ever been on a call with a client and wished you could demo something on your website / desktop? Well, with Screen Sharing you can and it’s available on the free Skype account.

To share your screen during a call, click the Share button in the Call window. Your colleague will see exactly what’s on your desktop/screen. Great for sharing presentations or supporting a client with a task, you can choose to share your entire screen or a selected window.

You can also share documents with callers by dragging and dropping the file into the Chat Box during the call – a great way to save time instead of having to remember to follow up later.

3. Online Number

If you work virtually or travel a lot in your business, an Online Number could be the perfect way for clients and colleagues to contact you as they pay the same as a local call no matter where you are in the world. If you don’t have a fixed office, it can be helpful if you don’t want to use your mobile number as your main contact number.

When someone calls your Online Number you pick up on Skype. If you are not online, they can leave a voicemail that you pick up next time you are online. You can also forward calls to any mobile or landline. Online Number is available from £10 for 3 months.

4. Skype on Your Mobile

Skype has apps for the iPhone, iPad and Android phones so you can make video calls when you are away from your PC. I use this extensively when I am travelling to stay in touch and it works brilliantly with a good wifi connection.

5. Skype WiFi

A new addition to the Skype family, Skype WiFi allows you to use your Skype Credit to get online at 1 million WiFi Hotspots worldwide. Just download the app to your smart phone or Sign in to Skype and select an available public access WiFi network on your laptop.

How do you use Skype for business? Are there any better alternatives out there?