On Friday, February 28, Microsoft announced that it will be shutting down Skype, a calling and messaging service that has been running for 21 years, starting on May 5. The company encourages Skype users to transition to the free Microsoft Teams application.
Microsoft stated that closing Skype will help them simplify their communication products and focus on the Microsoft Teams service.
Many still remember that in the 2000s, Skype provided people with a way to make calls without having to pay traditional phone companies, which garnered attention. However, in recent years, with the increasing presence of competitors, Skype has been struggling. The emergence of many other chat and call tools has led some to completely forget about Skype.
Jeff Teper, the Corporate Vice President of Microsoft 365 Collaboration Applications and Platforms, mentioned in an interview with CNBC, “We have learned a lot from Skype over the years and have incorporated those learnings into Teams over the past seven to eight years of its development.”
“We believe now is the time to close Skype because we can make it simpler for the market, for our customer base, and by focusing solely on Teams, we can innovate faster,” says Teper.
In the days to come, Microsoft will begin allowing users to sign into Teams using their Skype credentials, and Skype contacts and chat history will be migrated accordingly. Users will also be able to export Skype data. Microsoft will cease selling monthly Skype subscriptions, and Skype users with credits can continue to use them in Teams.
“For us, this is obviously a significant, significant moment, and we are very appreciative in many ways,” Teper said. “Skype paved the way for many in the realm of network audio and video calls.”
Skype is one of the longest-standing digital brands. The decline in performance is partly due to Skype’s underlying technology no longer being suitable for the smartphone era.
With the Covid pandemic and the rise in demand for online business calls due to remote work, Microsoft has successfully integrated Teams with other Office applications, capturing enterprise users for Teams. Previously, these enterprise users were a significant user group for Skype.
Microsoft noted that in 2023, Skype had 36 million daily active users, a decrease from 40 million users in March 2020.