How to Connect with External Contacts in Skype for Business

A Step-by-Step ‘How to’ guide connecting with your external contacts in Skype for Business

I receive many questions daily regarding the Office 365 suite of services, but one request I see quite often is in regards to Skype for Business and the ability to connect with external contacts. Now external contacts can come in two flavors; Skype for Business and Skype (consumer). Setting up your tenant to be able to communicate with Skype for Business is quite simple. The consumer version however can be a mixed bag of results ranging from very easy, to hair balding infuriating. I will highlight below the steps provided by Microsoft, and what I have seen work in past instances.

Turning on Settings within Skype for Business Admin Center:

• Have a Global Administrator of your tenant log into your Office 365 Admin Center.
• Scroll down the pane on the left to Admin Centers.

• Select Skype for Business.
• Select Organization on the left-side pane.

• Select the External Communications tab.

There will now be a few different options you can select for your external access settings. Each one having different overall results for setup.

• Off completely: Self-explanatory, you will not be able to communicate outside your organization.
• On except for blocked domains: External communication has been enabled in your tenant. You will be able to communicate with all domains, except for select domains you choose to block. Those blocked domains can be added into the blocked or allowed domains
• On only for allowed domains: External communication has been enabled in your tenant. You will not be able to communicate with any domains, except for select domain you choose to allow. Those allowed domains can be added into the blocked or allowed domains