Microsoft made the Skype for Business Operations Framework (SOF) a required qualification and certification for your enterprise’s Microsoft communication competency. You may now ask, what is it? What does it help me for?

Well, to put it in a nut shell: It’s a rich repository based of best practices and guides for structuring Microsoft Skype for Business projects from planning to operations. It supports you in structuring a project and make it more successfully SFB project from the start on.

Larger enterprises with an enterprise and IT architecture may already utilize a certain framework (or more) for analyzing, planning, delivering, operations, governance, change management etc. However, the SOF might add value here because it is dedicated to Skype for Business and probably let you add or merge it with your existing architecture framework elements and methods to leverage on the one hand what’s recommended by Microsoft and one the other hand make it fit your enterprises’ needs. So you could combine it and profit from Skype for Business best practices and approaches from the field to succeed from the beginning.

It’s really helpful if you are aiming the Microsoft Cloud First Path with Skype for Business. Unfortunately, it does not yet really include any focus on the Skype for Business Server. i.e. it’s intended to migrate from on premise to or start in the cloud. Take a look >>here<< on what The Skype for Business Insider Blog writes. There you’ll find further links to the official Microsoft pages and announcements to the competency requirements for communications.

You’ll find further details on Microsoft’s Skype for Business Operations Framework page. Due to the fact that SOF is not static and continuously enhanced you I recommend you to take a regular look on the page. I, for myself, added the website to my RSS reader that I’ll be up-to-date as soon as something new is released.

To get started you can start on the SOF page or find some recordings and videos on YouTube, e.g. Get to know the Skype Operations Framework. Let’s start!