Almost twenty-two years ago a little program was released which allowed us to easily make video calls to friends, just like in those science fiction movies. Skype, Born out of Estonia it wasn’t the first video communication platform, but it was the first to do it well and with ease and that took it to global success.
So successful it was, that eBay bought it for $2.6 billion in 2005, then by 2011 it was in the hands of Microsoft after an $8.5 billion purchase. And those are US dollar numbers.
Just two years ago Microsoft themselves quoted the daily user base at 36 million people using it for phone calls and chats, heck TV stations around the world have used it for remote live interviews.
During Covid Skype lost it’s shine as the go-to platform, with Zoom becoming all the rage. Innovative multi-user features and again – ease of use – made it the must have first choice.
Microsoft battled to bring their “Teams” software to the same level and through their own corporate deals with enterprises that used the Microsoft Suite of software were able to make Teams the default for millions of businesses.
With Zoom and Teams battling, Skype just kept plugging away, until today.
Microsoft has announced it’s the end of the road for Skype.
Having stripped the business for all it’s IP and technology, Skype is being discontinued in just a matter of months.
A seamless transition to Microsoft Teams is planned and even demonstrated:
So in theory no user will be left without communications, however, you can’t help but be a bit sad about the demise of a pioneering internet brand.
It was a sad sign-off for Skype users in the email sent out by team Skype
We want to express our deepest gratitude for your support over the years. Skype has been an integral part of countless meaningful moments, and we are honored to have been part of your journey. Learn more about Skype retirement here.
With gratitude,
The Skype Team
Trev is a Technology Commentator, Dad, Speaker and Rev Head.
He produces and hosts two popular podcasts, EFTM and Two Blokes Talking Tech. He also appears on over 50 radio stations across Australia weekly, and is the resident Tech Expert on Channel 9’s Today Show each day and appears regularly on A Current Affair.
Father of three, he is often found down in his Man Cave.
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