On May 5, the company's owner, Microsoft, will shut down Skype, a two-decade-old internet calling service that revolutionised cross-border communication.

Microsoft announced on Friday that by streamlining its communication options, the shutdown of Skype will allow the company to concentrate on its in-house Teams service.

Features that Make Skype Unique 

Skype, which was founded in 2003, became a household name with hundreds of millions of users at its height after rapidly upending the landline market in the early 2000s with its audio and video calls.

The platform has, however, found it difficult to compete with more dependable and user-friendly competitors like Zoom and Salesforce's Slack in recent years, partly due to Skype's core technology being less appropriate for the smartphone era.

Microsoft actively integrated Teams with other Office products to reach corporate customers, which were formerly a significant foundation for Skype, as the pandemic and work-from-home increased demand for online business calls.

Before FaceTime, Zoom, and Google Hangouts took over, Skype was the only app available for online video communication. Skype was one of the first tech products to become so commonplace that it was used as a verb. In the same way that people Google something, they would “Skype” someone.

Despite a brief comeback during the pandemic, Skype's monthly user base had dropped to about 23 million by 2020. In 2011, Microsoft outbid Google and Facebook to acquire the service for $8.5 billion, its largest acquisition to date.

Integrating Skype with Microsoft's Ecosystem 

Microsoft had a difficult time incorporating Skype into its toolkit over the years, and it was unable to catch up as Apple's FaceTime and Google's several attempts at communications apps started to compete with the company.

Additionally, when Microsoft released Teams, a communication tool, in 2017, it immediately became the top priority.

"We are honoured to have been a part of the journey," Microsoft stated on Friday. "Skype has been an integral part of shaping modern communications."

Users will be able to access Teams for free on any compatible device with their current login credentials, with chats and contacts automatically transferring, to facilitate the platform's transition.

Given that the firm has deprioritized the platform for years, some people might be surprised that Skype was still in use. For many of the large digital companies, including Google, launching effective communication tools has proven difficult. Now, Skype will be buried beside Duo and AOL Instant Messenger in the communication tool cemetery.

Eventually, Microsoft stated that no job cutbacks would result from the relocation and declined to provide the most recent Skype user statistics. Teams had over 320 million monthly active users, it added.

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