You can't log into Skype using a (free tier) Office 365 account, right?

[pete]

Or am I Doing It Wrong?

[AngryTechnician]

Correct.

 

You can only log into Skype using Office 365 accounts that are part of Office 365 Home Premium or Office 365 University accounts. This is because those accounts use the consumer Microsoft account system (formerly Windows Live) to authenticate. Business and Education Office 365 accounts use Windows Azure AD as the backend, which Skype doesn't connect to.

[pete]

Yeah, I thought it was unlikely. Curses, that would've been handy.

[jamesbmarshall]

Business and Education Office 365 accounts use Windows Azure AD as the backend, which Skype doesn't connect to.

 

To extend the answer further, it is possible for users to sign-up for a Microsoft Account with their Office 365 ID (i.e. so that they look identical, but are technically separate) in the same way you can sign up for an MSA with a Yahoo, Google, other, account. The caveat here is that you, as an institution, cannot manage the MSA, only the Office 365 ID.

 

Worth noting: Lync Online can talk to Skype.