
In the first phase of its partnership with Avaya, U.S. In recent months, however, Skype has stepped up its efforts to crack the business market and the Avaya deal will help that effort.

Skype's focus has traditionally been on the consumer market in which Skype registered users call each other free-of-charge. The VoIP calling company, which has more than 600 registered users, has served notice that is planning an IPO. The announcement also served to scotch reports that Cisco is considering acquiring Skype for $5 billion. solutions scheduled to get underway in a year.

Announced Wednesday, the partnership is scheduled to rollout in two phases - the first a go-to-market campaign to begin almost immediately and the second phase, for Skype-Avaya U.S.

Avaya and Skype announced a strategic partnership aimed at boosting their business communications through a closer collaboration of their respective services.
