May 3 (UPI) — Skype debuted in 2003 and was an early disruptor in online communications, but Microsoft says it’s time to close Skype and focus on its Teams video conferencing platform.
“With teams, users have access to many of the same core features they use in Skype, such as one-on-one calls and group calls, messaging and file sharing,” Jeff Teper, president of Microsoft’s Collaborative Apps and Platforms division, said in a Feb. 28 announcement.
Teper announced Microsoft would end Skype in May, which will happen on Monday.
Microsoft Teams offers features Skype did not, such as hosting meetings, calendars and creating and joining communities.
Teams is free, which helps make it one of the most popular virtual conferencing and communications platforms.
Hundreds of millions of people use Teams, Teper said, and the total number of minutes people spent using it has quadrupled over the past two years.
Microsoft Teams launched on March 14, 2017, and Skype’s user base eroded for years.
Skype initially was a viable competitor to smartphones and utilized voice over internet protocol and peer-to-peer network technology, which enabled users to save money on international phone calls.
Its user base topped 400 million in 2008 and was one of the most in-demand apps around the globe.
Luxembourg-based Skype Technologies created Skype and sold its majority ownership to eBay in 2005 for $2.5 billion.
Private investors bought out eBay’s majority holding in 2009 and two years later sold the entire business to Microsoft for $8.5 billion.
Many other apps now include those features that initially made Skype an industry leader in VOIP and P2P communications.
Subsequent and frequent changes to Skype eroded its ease of use and popularity as more competitors offered similar communications apps.
When the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns occurred, Skype did not see a large jump in users.
Instead, Zoom became a popular app due to its relative simplicity as Skype continued its slide into obsolescence.
Meanwhile, Microsoft continued developing its Teams app, which has led to Skype going dark on Monday.