Microsoft Officially Shuts Down Skype
Skype, the video-calling service that was once so popular it became a verb, has officially shut down. Purchased by Microsoft in 2011 for $8.5 billion, Skype was a pioneer in making telephone calls using the internet instead of landlines.
The decision to retire Skype reflects Microsoft’s strategy to prioritize Teams, its flagship videoconferencing and team applications platform. In February, Microsoft announced that Skype would officially shut down on May 5 and shift some of its services to Microsoft Teams. Skype users will be able to use their existing accounts to log into Teams.
Skype was founded in 2003 by a group of engineers in Tallinn, Estonia. It relied on VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) technology that converts audio into a digital signal transmitted online. Skype added video calls after online retailer eBay bought the service in 2005.
“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.”
The ability to bypass expensive international phone calls to connect with far-flung coworkers was a boon for startups, but also for people outside the business world. “You could suddenly have long calls, frequent calls, that were either free or very inexpensive,” Larson added.
At its peak in 2011, Skype had about 170 million users worldwide. However, with the rise of newer platforms like Slack, Zoom, and Microsoft’s own Teams, Skype’s popularity waned. Teams was launched in 2017 in an attempt to catch up with the growing demand for workplace chatting services.
The shutdown of Skype marks the end of an era for many who used the service for both personal and professional purposes. While it’s being retired, Skype paved the way for modern videoconferencing tools that became essential during the COVID-19 pandemic.
