Summary:
The aim of this thesis is to examine and analyze the strategy followed by Skype Communications company which made the company a leader in the telecommunications area by the use of Voip communication protocols, that allow performing real time voice calls practically with no cost.
In the first chapter, we focus on the analysis of the concept of business strategy, in an attempt to identify all the factors that a company has to take into account, in order to be able not only to survive in its field, but mostly to strengthen and distinguish in it.
In the second chapter, are being examined factors in the external environment, both in the boarder macro environment and in the competitive micro environment of the company, which can influence the company in shaping its strategy. In the third chapter, we study relevant factors associated with the internal environment of the enterprise.
In the fourth chapter, an analysis of the telecommunications and information technology sector, in which Skype operates, is provided with special emphasis on the pressures that particularly in the recent years are observed due to the global economic instability and recession, while Skype doesn’t seem to be affected by them.
So, having these facts in mind and while the ICT sector and especially the telecommunications in the traditional sense are going through a recession, in the fifth chapter we emphasize on the strategy model that Skype followed, which enabled the company to become a leader in telecommunications industry and how this model has been shaped and enriched over time allowing Skype to remain in this place.
Finally, in the sixth chapter, a brief assessment is provided along with an acknowledgement of key findings, resulted from the market orientation in the field of telecommunication, proving that the Skype company not only has become a leader in telecommunications, but constantly forming and adjusting its strategy in accordance with the data, has managed to establish itself in this position.
Keywords:
Strategy, Business Model, External – Internal business environment, Telecommunications & Information Technologies, Voip Services