Microsoft is shifting its focus to Teams, and Skype will shut down in May

Microsoft has advised users to switch to Microsoft Teams for communication as Skype will formally close in May.

Microsoft has revealed that Skype, which has hundreds of millions of users and was once a major force in video calling, will shut down in May.

The service significantly contributed to the rise in popularity of online voice communication by enabling free computer-to-computer calls throughout the world.

Despite not being the first to provide these services, Skype’s accessibility makes it one of the most widely used platforms globally.

Skype told customers in a post on X that they may sign into Microsoft Teams using their current credentials to carry on their discussions. When approached by BBC News, Microsoft has not yet released a separate statement on the subject.

Skype, which was first introduced in 2003, was purchased by Microsoft in 2011 for $8.5 billion (£6.1 billion), which at the time was its largest acquisition. Later, the platform was incorporated into Windows and Xbox devices as well as Microsoft’s ecosystem.

Skype was considered a major use of the contemporary internet at its height. When a two-day global outage affected communications globally in 2010, tech expert Om Malik emphasized its importance.

Longtime users expressed their feelings once Skype’s demise was announced. One individual thought, “I have a lot of happy memories with my best friend on Skype. I feel like I’m losing another piece of my adolescent on this depressing day. Louise, another user, described how she and her spouse used Skype during their long-distance relationship and termed it a “exciting invention” prior to the widespread use of cellphones and WhatsApp calls.

Skype had hundreds of millions of users and over a billion downloads at the time of Microsoft’s acquisition. Steve Ballmer, the CEO of Microsoft at the time, had said, “Together we will create the future of real-time communications.” However, Skype’s importance decreased as rivals like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp gained traction.

Users reacted negatively to a significant overhaul in 2017 that included Snapchat-like features. “People are annoyed by this update to the Skype app because it’s fixing something that was never broken to begin with,” wrote tech reporter Rachel Kaser at the time.

When Microsoft revealed in 2021 that Windows 11 would incorporate Microsoft Teams by default, leaving out Skype for the first time in years, rumors regarding Skype’s future began to circulate. During the Covid epidemic, teams were increasingly popular as both individuals and corporations depended on virtual meetings.

Jeff Teper, Microsoft’s president of collaborative apps and platforms, wrote in a blog post after the closure news that the firm wants to simplify its free communication services around Teams.

“With Teams, users can access many of the same essential features they use with Skype, including file sharing, messaging, and one-on-one and group calls,” he said. “Teams also provides improved features like calendar management, meeting hosting, and free community building and joining.”

Before the shutdown, Skype customers can now export their call logs, contacts, and chat history, or switch to Teams.