Case study analysis and findings

Skype Case Study

While the temptation to use a phone / communication service that is virtually cost free or of minimum monthly rate, there are other issues involved especially when it come to sensitive information and the ability to trust the medium. Skype certainly has the ability to connect people around the world for minimal or no cost to the consumer, but can businesses really afford the luxury? In this case study of a small accounting firm that is non-global and whose lion share of business is tax accounting work and preparation in a local or two possibly two state environment the executives have asked for analysis to the value of using Skype as their primary communications network.

In this scenario, since the accounting firm is a local company there is an unlimited U.S. And Canada Skype for $2.95 per month, (Skype) which will be chose for a comparison. TW Telecom has also been used as the current communication provider pricing. (TW Telecom) We will also assume that the company has a network server in place to provide other forms of communication (Windows Small business Server) and has created its own network as well as Exchange server for Outlook and E-mail communication with proper security feature for the industry.

While glancing at our decision tree shows that Skype is certainly the most cost-effective solution for the company, there are some other non-monetary issues that must be considered. As the author of the Economist article points out there is no way for the user to know that the Skype security protocols are good, and since they can affect your network system it is a major consideration.

There could even be a "backdoor" to the software, of which the people at Skype itself might be unaware. When a network provider says, effectively, "Trust us -- everything's fine," you would have to be naive not to have at least some reservations. ("tossing the Phone")

However, as long as the it director has security measure to help prevent this, Skype would seem to be the choice for this particle company. Not only is there a substantial monthly provider savings but there is also a reduction in the need for an it person to work on the phone systems. While their web site says not it tech needed, (Skype) there is always some tweaking to be done and a moderate yearly ongoing cost has been built in as well as initial assistance with the setup in the first year of implementation.