Chapter 28. Planning for Lync Online and Hybrid Deployments

Whether Lync Online was purchased as a separate service or as part of the Office 365 suite, the planning process for a Lync Online deployment is very different from that of an on-premise deployment, and includes some unique requirements. Microsoft has recently released an update to the Office 365 online suite which is based on the 2013 versions of the products, including Lync Online. With this new version of Lync Online/Office 365, hybrid deployments that blend the Lync cloud offering with an on-premise deployment have become an option for the first time. A hybrid deployment will have its own unique requirements, and will involve additional upfront planning to ensure a seamless unified communications experience for Lync users. This chapter provides a preview of the steps involved in planning for both cloud-only and hybrid installations.