Microsoft is discontinuing its Skype video-calling service, a move that marks the end of an era for a platform that once revolutionized online communication. The tech giant announced on Friday that it will retire Skype in May and transition some of its features to Microsoft Teams, its primary platform for video conferencing and team collaboration. Skype users will be able to use their existing accounts to access Teams.
For years, Microsoft has prioritized Teams over Skype, aligning with its strategy to streamline its core communications application. Skype, founded in 2003 by engineers in Tallinn, Estonia, was a pioneer in internet-based telephone calls using VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology. The service was later acquired by online retailer eBay in 2005, and video calls were added.
“You no longer had to be a senior manager in a Fortune 500 company to have a good quality video call with someone else,” said Barbara Larson, a management professor at Northeastern University who studies the history of virtual and remote work. “It brought a lot of people around the world closer.”
Skype’s ability to bypass expensive international phone calls was a significant benefit for startups and individuals alike. “You could suddenly have long calls, frequent calls, that were either free or very inexpensive,” Larson noted. However, the platform also became a target for scammers.
When Microsoft acquired Skype from eBay in 2011, then-CEO Steve Ballmer stated that the platform had approximately 170 million users worldwide. “The Skype brand has become a verb, nearly synonymous with video and voice communications,” Ballmer said at the time.
Skype continued to be used and considered a high-tech platform. In 2017, the administration of then-President Donald Trump used it to field questions from journalists outside the White House. Microsoft launched Teams the following month to meet the growing demand for workplace chat services, responding to competition from companies like Slack Technologies. Both Slack and Teams, along with newer platforms like Zoom, experienced considerable growth during the COVID-19 pandemic as companies, families, and friends searched for new tools for remote collaboration and virtual gatherings.
Though Skype’s impact diminished, it had already established the foundation for strengthening remote connections. “Higher-quality media can really deepen relationships and make people able to work through complex problems much better,” Larson said. “Suddenly, this was available to anyone with a decent internet connection. And that was the real sort of revolutionary role that Skype had.”
