Skype to Shut 14 Years After Microsoft's $8.5 Billion Purchase

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Bloomberg

February 28, 2025 at 9:00 AM EST


Microsoft Corp. is signaling the end of the line for Skype, the iconic internet calling and chat service it bought almost 14 years ago.

Once a byword for digital calls that bypassed long-distance charges, Skype was surpassed in recent years by smartphone-native communication apps and Zoom video calls. When Microsoft tried to stretch the Skype brand into the workplace, it lost out to Slack Technologies Inc.

Microsoft’s response was to start from scratch and build Teams, a chat, voice and video communication service for the workplace, which gained ground as part of its software bundle. The Redmond, Washington-based company will offer Skype users the option of migrating to Teams, which is now its strongest rival to Salesforce Inc.-owned Slack, before it shuts down in May.

“I’ve been at Microsoft for over 30 years, and there’s a lot of software that we’ve done that was incredibly valuable in its era, and then the next era came and it was the foundation,” said Jeff Teper, a Microsoft president who oversees communications and collaboration tools.

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-28/microsoft-msft-to-shut-down-skype-as-zoom-teams-dominate-video-calls

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No paywall (gift)

[Oopsie Daisy]

1. Next: Microsoft Teams?

[Gore1FL]

3. That'll never go away. It's integrated with Sharepoint and Office. nt

[catrose]

8. Anybody else hate Teams as much as I do?

[Oopsie Daisy]

9. Absolutely!

[Intractable]

2. I was a user of Skype. Then Microsoft bought it.

They drastically changed it to make it chatty.

I couldn't easily figure out the new screens. So, I decided I wouldn't bother to figure it out.

MS knows how to ruin good things.

[Archae]

4. I am on Skype just about daily.

I talk with a guy in Georgia and one in New Mexico.

I wonder exactly how this really will affect us.

[BumRushDaShow]

6. The OP article mentions this -

The Redmond, Washington-based company will offer Skype users the option of migrating to Teams, which is now its strongest rival to Salesforce Inc.-owned Slack, before it shuts down in May.

You may want to try out some other apps (or use Teams if you have it) before they shut down. Sometimes they will claim "this will shut down by (fill in the blank date) " and that gets delayed. Still... always good to have a backup. I know I, my sisters, cousins, some nieces/nephews, and even an uncle and some aunts (participating every once in awhile) have used Zoom for various "family gatherings".

[dickthegrouch]

11. FaceTime (Apple only) and Signal are good alternatives

Though I haven’t figured out video in signal from my iPhone, works well in desktop though.
signal is end to end encrypted.

[Martin68]

5. Microsot's "Touch of Death."

[FakeNoose]

7. Not enough "young folks" are using Skype

They do everything on their cellphones, and that's not going to change.

Skype is convenient for "old folks" and people who prefer two-person calling, which is me, most of the time. The only time I do a Zoomer is when my entire family of 12 (or more ) people who are across 4 time zones are included in the call. In other words, not very often.

Also I prefer making calls from a home environment as opposed to out anywhere in public. Yeah, I'm old.

[LPBBEAR]

10. The three E's

Embrace Extend Extinguish

The Microsoft tradition continues.

(Just switch to Linux people and be done with the "upgrade" reach in your pocket merry-go-round)