When Microsoft acquired Skype for a whopping $8.5 billion, there were concerns about how Skype's IM, voice and video calling features can be integrated with Microsoft's Outlook and Lync products.

But for Windows' users the more important question is how will Skype fit in with the current enterprise license? Will Microsoft users have to pay for Skype even if they don't use it?

IT buyers will have to pay a bundled program set with their enterprise agreement. Like Microsoft's acquisition of Softricity in 2006 which resulted in App-V, an application virtualization technology that was rolled into MDOP (Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack). Users who didn't want to use MDOP still had to pay for it and they have to speak directly with Microsoft to unbundle it.

The Skype acquisition is the result of Microsoft's push into the mobile and communications platforms with a goal of unifying these programs into the Windows Phone 7 and Lync. Customers might experience an overlap with Skype and existing platforms like Cisco. They will have to ask if they can unbundle it from their client access license, which will not be an easy task.

Skype will likely continue to be free for private consumers and other small businesses but for bigger enterprises Skype could be snuck into a more expensive CAL. A big business with a lot of desktops could soon find that the license agreement costs could become bigger than what they had anticipated.

Skype's popularity with consumers won't save it from being another way for Microsoft to make more money from its enterprise agreement. Customers should review their EA's and discard any programs they won't need to save money. Businesses should also be aware that they can use the free testing and quality assurance services that are available to them if they are part of the MSDN or TechNet programs.