Microsoft announced on February 28, 2025, that it will terminate Skype, its once-dominant communication platform, beginning in May 2025.
Microsoft Teams has multiplied, especially during the COVID-19 epidemic; thus, this choice consolidates its communication services under it.
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Why Skype is being retired
Since its inception in 2003, Skype has revolutionised online communication by providing free voice and video interactions.
After Zoom, Slack, and WhatsApp, its popularity fell. To integrate Skype into its ecosystem, Microsoft paid $8.5 billion in 2011, but Skype’s technology faltered on mobile.
Jeff Teper, president of Microsoft 365 collaborative apps and platforms, noted, “We’ve learned a lot from Skype over the years that we’ve put into Teams. But we felt like now is the time because we can be simpler for the market and our customer base, and we can deliver more innovation faster just by being focused on Teams”.
Skype’s fall is partially due to Microsoft’s focus on Teams, which now businesses and consumers prefer. By mid-2024, Teams had 300 million monthly active users, dwarfing Skype’s declining base.
Skype’s retirement underscores consumer shifts towards texting and video conversations, where competitors dominate.
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Transitioning to Microsoft teams
Microsoft will let Skype users sign into Teams with credentials to smooth the transfer. Contacts and conversation history migrate automatically, minimising disturbance. Skype credits will stay in Teams, but monthly subscriptions will end.
Users will receive notifications guiding them through the migration process, and they can export their data before Skype is officially shut down.
Amit Fulay, Microsoft’s vice president of product, highlighted the readiness of the backend infrastructure to support a seamless transition, stating, “If they opt to join Teams, the initial setup is quite swift because we have already prepared the backend to their contacts message history and call logs”.
Skype will run until May 5, 2025, giving users 60 days to migrate to Microsoft Teams or export their data.