Collaboration
Most organizations that planned to move to Teams Only are already there, which means cleaning up the old Skype for Business on-prem footprint is now on the to-do list rather than the roadmap. If you are ready to start tearing down your topology without getting blocked by dependency errors, this practical order of operations will help.
Before you start your Skype for Business Decom
This is not a full decommissioning guide, but a focused sequence to keep Topology Builder from complaining about lingering dependencies (for example: “The following services depend on this pool. Remove the dependencies before you delete the pool.”). Use it alongside Microsoft’s official “Step 4. Remove your on-premises Skype for Business deployment” documentation. Every environment is different, so if you do not see one of the components in your deployment, simply skip that step and move on.
You can work site by site. If you have six sites in your topology, you do not have to update all six before moving to the next high-level step, although you can if that is easier for your change plan.
Recommended order of operations
Follow this sequence per site to minimize dependency issues in Topology Builder.
- Remove Front End pool associations
- Remove associated backup pools.
- Remove Edge pool associations used for media components.
- Remove Office Web Apps Server associations.
- Delete trunks
- If you have multiple trunks per gateway, delete the extra trunks first.
- The auto-created trunk that came with the gateway can only be deleted when you remove the gateway itself.
- Delete PSTN gateways
- Delete Mediation Pools
- Delete Edge Pools
- Delete Director Pools
- Delete Office Web Apps Servers
- Delete Trusted Application Servers
- Delete non-CMS Front End Pools
- If you are following Microsoft’s full decommissioning guidance, you will retain at least one Front End pool to complete publishing and final cleanup.
- Handle file stores and SQL stores
- When prompted, confirm Yes to delete the file store.
- Delete any remaining file stores that are still marked as pending.
- Delete the related SQL store.
- Final site cleanup
- Confirm that the site has no remaining configuration.
- Delete the site.
Using this for change control
This sequence is meant to make your change documentation and approvals faster and clearer, so you spend less time wrestling with Topology Builder and more time on work that matters. If you encounter additional dependencies that are not listed here, capture them in your own runbook so future changes are even smoother.
Need a partner to fully retire Skype and go all-in on Teams?
If you are looking beyond “just” tearing down Skype and want to modernize voice, simplify your topology, or prepare for Copilot and future Microsoft cloud services, you do not have to figure it out alone.
Cloud Revolution lives and breathes Microsoft Teams and Copilot, from complex voice and hybrid migrations to end-to-end planning, implementation, and adoption. As a multi-year Microsoft Partner of the Year finalist, Cloud Revolution is trusted by organizations to reduce project friction, standardize communications, and maximize ROI on their Microsoft 365 investments.
If you want expert guidance to finish your Skype for Business decommissioning and move confidently into a modern, Teams-first architecture, book a call with Cloud Revolution and let our team handle the hard parts while yours focuses on the outcomes.
Cloud Revolution helps organizations unlock the full potential of Microsoft Teams and Copilot—guiding you from planning through adoption with seamless, outcome-driven solutions. As Microsoft Partner of the Year 2023 and a finalist in 2022 and 2024, we’re trusted worldwide to simplify collaboration and maximize ROI.
