Microsoft to end Skype service after 20+ yrs; focus shifts to Teams

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
Today 13:20

Microsoft will shut down its internet calling service in May, as it shifts focus to Teams, which revolutionized the landline industry.

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This photo shows the icon for Microsoft's Skype app on a smartphone in New York, April 9, 2016. (AP)

Microsoft will retire Skype on May 5, bringing an end to the two-decade-old internet calling service that once revolutionized global communication.

The decision to shut down Skype is aimed at helping Microsoft focus on its homegrown Teams service, simplifying its communication offerings, the company announced on Friday.

Founded in 2003, Skype disrupted the landline industry with its audio and video calls, quickly becoming a household name and reaching hundreds of millions of users at its peak. However, it struggled to stay competitive in recent years, facing stiff competition from more user-friendly and reliable platforms like Zoom and Salesforce’s Slack, with Skype's underlying technology increasingly unsuitable for the smartphone era.

When the pandemic fueled a surge in online business calls, Microsoft shifted focus to Teams, integrating it aggressively with other Office apps to attract corporate users—once a core audience for Skype. Online video communication was primarily dominated by Skype before FaceTime, Zoom, and Google Hangouts emerged as major players.

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Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion, outbidding Google and Facebook in its largest deal at the time. At that point, Skype had 150 million monthly users. By 2020, that number had dwindled to around 23 million, despite a temporary resurgence during the pandemic.

Over time, Microsoft struggled to fully integrate Skype into its suite of tools and failed to keep pace with competitors like Apple’s FaceTime and Google's communications apps. When Teams launched in 2017, it quickly became the company's priority.

“We are honored to have been part of the journey,” Microsoft said on Friday. “Skype has been an integral part of shaping modern communications.”

To ease the transition, Skype users will be able to log into Teams for free with their existing credentials, and their chats and contacts will automatically migrate.

Some might be surprised that Skype has continued to operate, given Microsoft's long-standing deprioritization of the platform. Now, Skype joins the ranks of other defunct communication tools, such as Google Duo and AOL Instant Messenger.

Microsoft declined to provide the latest Skype user figures but confirmed that Teams has approximately 320 million monthly active users. The company also stated that there would be no job cuts associated with the move.