Skype, a service that was once started to call friends and family around the world and is going to be shut down on May 5, 2021 as Microsoft is focusing more on Teams. The tech giant said that ending Skype will enable it to better align its communication apps and increase linking with its Office products.
Launched in 2003, Skype broke the rules of the landline company by providing free voice and video communication across the world. At its highest level, the site had hundreds of millions of users and was one of the most famous online communication platforms to the point that to ‘skype’ someone meant to video call them. But Skype did not manage to catch up for the smartphone generation, and was outcompeted by other services like Zoom, Google Meet and Apple’s FaceTime.
Microsoft bought Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion, but just as with other products, the service lost its appeal and by 2020, the number of users dropped to 23 million. One more reason for the app’s decline is the appearance of Microsoft Teams, which was released in 2017 and was incorporated into corporations’ workflows.
Microsoft has stated that the Skype users can easily shift to Teams with their current login credentials and all the contacts and chat history will be preserved. The company also assured its clients that there will be no layoffs owing to the change of strategy, while at the same time, it announced that Teams has 320 million monthly active users.
Although some people may be shocked that Skype is still active, it’s retirement brings an end to an generation. The platform also continues the trend of other now defunct communication services such as Google Duo and AOL Instant Messenger while leaving a mark on the history of changing the way of communication via digital networks.
