Throughout Covid, my household struggled with Zoom conferences—some had cameras in awkward locations, others couldn’t get their mics working.
At the moment, I had been utilizing Zoom for some work conferences and a few broadcasting. I used to be additionally nonetheless utilizing Microsoft Groups for sure conferences (most of which had been with precise Microsoft workers), and I had a number of colleagues who insisted on utilizing Google Hangouts, a now-defunct product that by no means made a significant mark.
Throughout that interval, nevertheless, Zoom turned the default video conferencing model for quite a lot of causes which will by no means have come available it not been for the pandemic forcing faculties, households, and different non-business customers to want a video conferencing answer.
I even had one weekly assembly, a recording session for a podcast, that occurred over Skype, Microsoft’s second-tier videoconferencing system behind the rising Groups.
You would argue that, of all of the platforms named above, Skype was the most important loser throughout the pandemic, because it was a client product, not solely a enterprise one, like Groups and even Zoom earlier than it advanced.
“At the beginning of 2020, Skype controlled 32.4% of the market compared to Zoom’s 26.4%. But, by the following year, Skype dropped to only 6.6%,” reported the Verticals podcast.
Covid might not have immediately killed Skype, however it actually put a number of bullets into its facet because it died a gradual loss of life.
Zoom helped kill Skype
“Zoom’s success wasn’t merely a matter of timing. A number of key components helped it outpace opponents like Microsoft Groups, Google Meet, and Skype, in accordance with the Instances of Eire.
- Simplicity: Zoom’s consumer interface was clear and intuitive. No sophisticated logins or software program installations had been required—customers might be a part of a gathering by way of an internet hyperlink with no technical data.
- Reliability: Zoom’s infrastructure dealt with video and audio higher than most opponents, particularly underneath heavy hundreds. It tailored to various bandwidths and delivered constantly robust efficiency.
- Freemium Mannequin: Providing free 40-minute conferences made Zoom immediately accessible. Faculties, households, and non-profits might use the service with out upfront prices.
- Scalability: Whether or not you had been working a one-on-one interview or internet hosting a 1,000-person webinar, Zoom might adapt.
- Model Id: Very like “Google” turned synonymous with web search, “Zoom” turned shorthand for on-line conferences. Few platforms achieved this branding triumph.
Skype was closed in 2025.
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Microsoft’s $8.5 billion mistake
Microsoft truly has a historical past of expensive errors, with the most important arguably being its try to tackle Apple’s iPhone.
- Nokia’s Cell Telephone Enterprise (2013-2015): Microsoft purchased Nokia’s handset enterprise for $7.2 billion (plus $1.6 billion for patent licensing) in hopes of boosting its smartphone presence, Microsoft shared in a press launch.
End result: The acquisition didn’t revive Home windows Telephone, market share continued to break down, and Microsoft wrote off almost your entire buy and laid off hundreds of workers, Medium reported.“It was a mistake to begin with,” mentioned Jack Gold, principal analyst at J. Gold Associates. “A monumental mistake. Microsoft had no enterprise being within the cut-throat, low-margin cellphone enterprise. Who’s earning money in telephones apart from Apple?” Jack Gold, principal analyst at J. Gold Associates, informed Computerworld.
The Skype buy, which value the corporate $8.5 billion, is extensively thought-about a misstep relative to Microsoft Groups’ success
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Microsoft, you possibly can argue, was simply as culpable as Zoom in killing Skype, as a result of it clearly selected Groups as its greatest wager in videoconferencing.
“But Microsoft wanted — and still wants — [Teams] to be a Thing People Want To Use, which ultimately led to Skype taking a back seat as its features were gradually cannibalized to improve Teams. In fact, now that Skype has officially been taken out back with a shotgun, Microsoft is actively encouraging users to port their accounts over to Teams,” TechRadar’s Christian Guyton wrote.
Microsoft closed Skype in 2025
Microsoft shared a shutdown plan for Skye on its help pages earlier this yr.
- As of Could 5, 2025, Skype is retired. This modification will impression each free and paid Skype customers, however not Skype for Enterprise.
- Skype customers can transfer to Microsoft Groups Free, which provides lots of the identical core options and extra.
Register to Microsoft Groups Free on any supported machine utilizing your Skype credentials and your contacts and chats will mechanically be transferred. Additionally, you will obtain a notification within the Skype app prompting you to take motion emigrate your information. - If you happen to do not need to use Microsoft Groups Free, you possibly can export your Skype information.
- Current calling and Skype Quantity subscriptions will proceed to mechanically renew till April 3, 2025.
The Skype Dial Pad is obtainable to remaining paid customers from the Skype internet portal and inside Groups Free. To switch your Skype Quantity, contact your new service or study extra right here.
A quick historical past of Microsoft proudly owning Skype
- In Could 2011, Microsoft introduced it will purchase Skype for $8.5 billion in money, bringing Skype’s international video and voice communications platform into the Microsoft household, in accordance with an SEC submitting.
- Microsoft later accomplished the acquisition of Skype, integrating it into key Microsoft merchandise and increasing real-time communications throughout providers together with Outlook, Xbox, and Home windows, in accordance with Microsoft.
- In 2025, Microsoft retired the Skype client service and inspired customers to transition to Microsoft Groups, signaling a strategic shift to give attention to Groups’ broader communication and collaboration options, Microsoft shared.
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