Microsoft is discontinuing Skype, the video-calling service it acquired for $8.5 billion in 2011, a platform that revolutionized online communication. The tech giant announced on Friday that it will be retiring Skype in May and migrating some of its services to Microsoft Teams, its premier video conferencing and team collaboration platform. Skype users will be able to use their existing accounts to access Teams.
Skype was launched in 2003 by a pair of Swedish entrepreneurs. Skype became a leader in the online communication field, allowing users to make video calls, send instant messages, and share files. It also challenged traditional telecom companies as it offered free or inexpensive calls.
“You had to be a deal maker to have a conference call with a few contacts,” said Chris Messina, a product designer who helped popularize the hashtag, which is used to label topics on social media platforms. “It created a lot of access to communication.”
The push to integrate external communications through team collaboration platforms was initially a challenge, but it became a critical feature that enabled remote work.
“You could easily have phone calls, conference calls, that were very short or very interactive,” Messina said. As with some other communication services, advertisers also took advantage of the platform.
When Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011, Skype had more than 660 million registered users, according to an analysis from the research firm, The Information. “The Skype platform has undergone a great shift,” said The Information editor. “Skype has focused less on providing for personal and group video calls.”
“The Skype platform has provided great value, especially those video and calling features,” said another source.
Skype was originally designed to be a disruptive technology in providing video and voice calls, and its features enabled workers and others who worked in various fields to communicate more effectively.
“We can easily see how to communicate more using group calls, video or other collaboration tools. That’s one of the core features of the evolution of Microsoft Teams.” Messina explained. “Ultimately, this was a change in focus for the company to use conferencing in a better way, which Skype did.”
