Popular internet calling service Skype will shut down forever on May 5 as its owner Microsoft has decided to retire it.
Microsoft says that by ending Skype, the company will be able to focus more on its in-house service Teams, which are already fully integrated with other Office apps for corporate users.
Introduced in 2003, Skype quickly became a popular platform and its audio and video calls have severely affected the landline industry.
The platform, which once had millions of users, could not compete with modern rival apps such as Zoom and Slack, which provide more convenient and faster services.
A major reason for Skype’s decline was that its underlying technology was not well suited to the smartphone era.
As the demand for online meetings increased during the coronavirus pandemic, Microsoft turned its attention to Teams, making it the best solution for the business world, which was previously a stronghold of Skype.
Microsoft explained that existing Skype users will be able to log in to Teams using their existing credentials and all their chat data and contacts will be automatically transferred.
Skype’s demise joins a list of Microsoft projects that have lost their usefulness over time, such as Internet Explorer and Windows Phone. Other major technology companies have also faced difficulties with online communication tools, including failed attempts like Google’s Hangouts and DevOps.
Microsoft bought Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion, when it was competing with Google and Facebook. Skype had 150 million monthly users at the time, which had fallen to just 23 million by 2020, although it saw a slight increase during the pandemic.
Microsoft confirmed that no employees would be laid off as a result of the decision. According to the company, Teams has reached 320 million monthly active users. “Skype has played a significant role in shaping modern communications,” Microsoft said in a statement.
