Microsoft announced that Skype will be shutting down officially on the date specified. Skype was a revolutionary calling and messaging system which disrupted the traditional telecoms.
Microsoft encourages users to switch to Teams, its new application. The platform is 21 years old and will stop operating on May 5.
Skype’s dominance, gained in the 2000s, when it offered free voice and video calls over the internet, has waned in the cloud and mobile era.
Skype was not able to recover its fortunes after the pandemic. Instead, competitors such as Zoom, WhatsApp and Microsoft Teams took over.
Microsoft shifts focus to Teams
Jeff Teper said, in an interview given to CNBC, that Microsoft 365 has evolved over seven or eight years.
We felt that now was the right time to focus on Teamwork, because it would simplify things for us, our customers, and the market. It will also help us deliver innovation more quickly.
Microsoft is allowing users to log into Teams with their Skype credentials in preparation for shutting down. Contacts and chat history will be transferred automatically.
Skype credit holders can use their credits in Teams.
Skype: A legacy of disruption, reinvention and innovation
Skype, a peer-to-peer files-sharing system founded by Janus Zennstrom and Niklas Friis in Estonia in 2003, was the result of their collaboration.
Sky Peer to Peer is the short name of this platform, which allows users to call each other for free over the Internet.
Skype’s popularity grew rapidly. In 2004, Skype had over 11 million users.
Skype was 54 million strong when eBay purchased the company in 2005 for $2.6 Billion.
Skype was supposed to enhance eBay by providing seamless communication between sellers and buyers.
This vision was never realized, however, as in 2009 eBay sold Skype for $2.75 Billion to an investor consortium led by Silver Lake.
Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011 for $8.5 Billion.
Skype was integrated into the company’s ecosystem including Windows, Xbox and enterprise communication tools.
Skype has struggled with the rapidly changing competition despite its initial success.
Skype is declining and rivals are rising
Skype began losing users in the early 2010s as FaceTime from Apple, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp became more popular.
Microsoft Teams was introduced in 2016 as an office collaboration tool. This marked the end of Skype’s priority status.
Skype has also been criticized for its multiple redesigns, which alienated many longtime users.
Platforms like Zoom gained in popularity when the COVID-19 epidemic forced remote working and video calling.
Microsoft recognized the momentum of Teams and invested heavily into its development, rather than trying to revive Skype.
Skype’s importance continued to diminish as Teams gained in popularity, reaching over 320 millions users by 2023.
Microsoft’s Satya Nadella mentioned Skype for the last time in a 2017 earnings call.
Skype users will have decreased to 36 millions by 2023 from 40,000,000 in March of 2020.
The post Microsoft shuts down Skype: How Zoom and Microsoft Teams signaled its demise may change as new information becomes available.
