Enterprise Nation

Skype savings

Ian Robin is the Director of Business for Skype. This morning I met Ian and his colleagues Shane and Jackie who together are great ambassadors for the company. Ian delivered a presentation that showed the savings to be made by using this little tech tool.

Save money

• 95% of customers have saved money by using Skype
• 1/3 of users have cut their phone bill by more than 50%
• 62% of people use Skype to better communicate with customers

There is plenty of free stuff that comes with Skype, including:

• Voice
• Video
• Sending files
• Chat
• Conferencing
• Business Control Panel

The bit that costs is making calls to non Skype numbers. But the deals on what you do have to pay for are very competitive.

- For £1.95 per month have unlimited calls to UK landlines

- For £2.95 per month extend this coverage to 20 European countries

- For £6.95 per month extend this as unlimited to the world ie call anyone, anywhere on their land line for less than £7 per month

Save time

Skype helps you to save time through:

• using video, not travel
• using instant messaging, not email
• sending files immediately

If all this weren't enough to persuade you to take a look at the Skype offer, I was particularly interested this morning in the applications that can help home business owners gain a competitive edge and earn money. Features like a call button that you can add to your site and start offering expert advice. A cost-effective way to use technology to set yourself up as an expert in your field.

We'll watch with interest as the business package from Skype develops. They're working on some interesting ideas that will only benefit those of us who start and grow businesses from home.

I also met another Skype-lovin' home business owner, Karen Hollands of Toniks who we'll be profiling on the site soon. - Emma Jones

• Skype