Microsoft says Skype group chats would remain intact in transition to Teams

 

Microsoft says Skype group chats would remain intact in transition to Teams

Microsoft on Friday announced it was retiring Skype, the online voice and video call pioneer that the tech titan acquired in 2011.

 “Starting in May 2025, Skype will no longer be available,” said a post from Skype support on X, directing users to sign into Microsoft’s Teams platform for further use of its services.

 Skype was founded in 2003 by Scandinavians Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis in Estonia, revolutionizing internet communication by offering free voice calls between computers and affordable rates for calls to landlines and mobile phones.

 Over the years, and as internet speeds improved, Skype evolved to include video calls, instant messaging, file sharing and group communication features.

 By 2005, Skype had already reached 50 million registered users, demonstrating its rapid global adoption.

 In 2005, the online auction site eBay bought Skype for about $2.6 billion. However, the anticipated synergies did not materialize, and in 2009, eBay sold a majority stake to a group of investors, who then sold it to Microsoft. In recent years, especially after the rise of the smartphone, Skype failed to hold onto its place against new rivals such as Meta-owned WhatsApp and Zoom, as well as Microsoft’s own Teams.

 Jeff Teper, president of Microsoft 365 collaborative apps and platforms, stated to CNBC, "We've learned a lot from Skype... as we've evolved Teams over the last seven to eight years." "However, we felt like now was the right time because we can be simpler for the market and our customer base and deliver more innovation more quickly by focusing on Teams," the company stated. Microsoft said that Skype group chats would remain intact in the transition to Teams and that during a 60-day window, messages on Microsoft and Teams will be interoperable so you can message contacts from Teams and those messages will be delivered to friends still using Skype.

 In one big change, Microsoft is removing Skype’s telephony features, meaning you’ll no longer be able to call regular phone numbers, cell phones, or make international calls through the service.

 According to Microsoft's statement to The Verge, in today's communication environment, where mobile data plans are less expensive, these features are no longer as important. The name “Skype” derived from “Sky peer-to-peer,” the technology that was fundamental to Skype’s original architecture.

 The peer-to-peer aspect was crucial as it distributed the network demands across users’ computers rather than relying solely on centralized servers, which was a key innovation that allowed Skype to scale rapidly during its early years.

Bye, bye Skype! Microsoft to push Teams after retiring call pioneer

SAN FRANCISCO: Microsoft has announced it was retiring Skype, the online voice and video call pioneer that the tech titan acquired in 2011.

 “Starting in May 2025, Skype will no longer be available,”

said a post from Skype support on X, directing users to sign into Microsoft’s Teams platform for further use of its services.

 The software company said on Friday that Skype will be shut down on May 5 to help Microsoft focus on its in-house Teams service and simplify its communication offerings. In 2003, Scandinavians Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis founded Skype in Estonia.

The company revolutionized internet communication by providing inexpensive rates for calls to landlines and mobile phones as well as free voice calls between computers.  Over the years, and as internet speeds improved, Skype evolved to include video calls, instant messaging, file sharing and group communication features.

 Skype had already attracted 50 million registered users by 2005, indicating its widespread adoption. In 2005, the online auction site eBay bought Skype for about $2.6 billion.  However, the anticipated synergies did not materialize, and in 2009, eBay sold a majority stake to a group of investors, who then sold it to Microsoft.

In recent years, especially after the rise of the smartphone, Skype failed to hold onto its place against new rivals such as Meta-owned WhatsApp and Zoom, as well as Microsoft’s own Teams.

 "We've learned a lot from Skype... as we've evolved Teams over the last seven to eight years," stated Jeff Teper, president of Microsoft 365 collaborative apps and platforms, in an interview with CNBC. “But we felt like now is the time because we can be simpler for the market, for our customer base, and we can deliver more innovation faster just by being focused on Teams.”