isabella232 / skype-for-business-connector

An SDK written in JavaScript Node.js that speeds up the integration of Skype For Business Server in your application

Skype Connector UCWA

Let bots developed by any chat-based API connect to Skype For Business Server (Lync) on premise version 2013. Use UCWA API.

Author

Tuan DUNG HOANG Orange IMT/OLS/CCMB/SPRINT/WRP.

Status of the code

What it does?

The current code (as found in the "POC" directory) is a proof of concept. It shows whether or not it can connect a chatbot to the Skype for Business Server (Lync 2013) on premise instance in Orange. It does. The code has been demonstrated using my own Lync 2013 account and another account I borrowed from Lync 2013 maintainer team in Orange (for security reasons, I can't share these credentials with you).

In this demo, I used specific tools branded by Orange, but feel free to use yours:

• Chatbot API: Smartly, commercialized under Orange ODIN brand.
• Database cloud service: Flexible Datasync, which is a NOSQL database on the cloud with publish/subscribe feature.

The services I listed above can bill you if you surpass a certain level of quota.

Documentation

The code doesn't have yet a documentation telling step by step to understand what to do to take over this code. While waiting, you can follow the following guides - these guides have been used by me to develop this code, so you should be fine as long as your on premise instance of Skype is Lync 2013:

• Smartly chatbot API, commercialized under Orange ODIN brand
• How to create the first batch of API requests to create an application (a concept in Skype). Backup link.
• What is an "application"?
• How to send a message. Backup link.
• How to receive a message. Backup link

Flaws

The flaw of this code is that in order to initiate a conversation between an user and a chatbot, the only available method as of now is to let the chatbot initiate a conversation with the user - with condition: the bot should know that user's email (Eg. [email protected] in my case) beforehand. The desired behavior should instead be: Any user can search for the bot in Skype's contact list (you must know the bot's Skype contact beforehand), send it a message, and voilà, the bot is awaken and it will talk back to you!

TODO's

• Add step-by-step documentation to help people understand how to use this code. Estimated September.
• Develop missing features: initiate conversation properly (as seen in Flaws section).