Skype is coming to an end

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - International Service: Microsoft announced that its Skype internet calling service will be permanently shut down on May 5, 2025, ending its two-decade-long operation.

 

According to Reuters, Microsoft said in a statement that the closure of Skype will help the company focus more on its Teams service by simplifying its communication options.

 

Skype was founded in 2003 and quickly transformed the voice and video calling industry. At its peak, the service had hundreds of millions of users and was one of the most popular communication platforms. However, in recent years, its popularity has declined with the emergence of competitors such as Zoom and Slack (a subsidiary of Salesforce).

 

One of the reasons for the decline of the software was its underlying technology, which was not optimized for the mobile era. During the Corona pandemic and the increased need for online business calls, Microsoft tried to maintain its position in the market by integrating "Teams" into the Office suite. This was while Skype was once considered Microsoft's main communication platform.

 

Automatic transfer of users to "Teams"

Microsoft has announced that Skype users will be able to log in to "Teams" for free from any device where their information is stored. Also, users' chats and contact numbers will be automatically transferred to the platform.

 

With the decision, Skype becomes another failed project from Microsoft that was poorly managed, similar to the Internet Explorer browser and Windows Phone. Big tech companies continue to compete in the field of online communication tools; for example, Google has repeatedly tried to consolidate its position in this market with services like "Hangouts" and "Do".

 

Microsoft declined to disclose Skype user figures but stressed that the decision would not result in any layoffs. The company also said that Teams has about 320 million monthly active users.