Telephone service Skype is before the end

Once a synonym for digital calls, in which there are no fees for long-distance conversations, Skype has been overtaken by smartphone-based communication applications and zoom video calls in recent years. When Microsoft tried to extend the Skype brand to the workplace, the company lost against Slack Technologies.

Microsoft then reacted with the development of teams, a chat, language and video communication service for the workplace, which prevailed as part of his software package. The company in Redmond, Washington, Skype users will offer the opportunity to migrate to teams, which is now the strongest competitor in Slack.

« I've been with Microsoft for over 30 years, and there is a lot of software that we have made that was incredibly valuable in their era, and then the next era came and it was the basis, » said Jeff Teper, a Microsoft president, the communication and collaboration tool.

According to Microsoft, there were more than 300 million monthly Skype users in 2016, but the number of daily users had shrunk to 36 million in 2023. In comparison, the number of monthly users from teams has increased to 320 million.

Not developed as hoped

The Skype company, founded by Scandinavian entrepreneurs in 2003, was once owned by Ebay and was in the hands of a consortium led by private equity when Steve Ballmer knocked. The then Microsoft boss was atypical to the market leader for online calls and paid $ 8.5 billion, Which corresponded to a surcharge of 40 percent on the internal rating of Skype. The takeover in May 2011 was the largest acquisition of Microsoft, and Skype became a key element of his strategy for the emerging mobile age.

It didn't develop as Ballmer was hoping. Newcomers such as Telegram, Snapchat, Wechat and WhatsApp solved problems that Skype could not solve. Microsoft's focus on company software finally got involved in the office department, which was given the order to develop tools that are aimed at both a job and a consumer audience.

When Slack stepped on the plan, the Skype users complained that elements of the core program no longer worked. They referred to missed calls or phantom calls and problems with the synchronization of information on various devices. The company worked on improving the reliability of the service, but some loyal users were deterred from the frequent redesign, including a short -lived attempt to design Skype based on the model of Snapchat.

No layoffs

Microsoft, the takeover of the Nokia Oyj mobile phone business, also failed, is by no means the only company that is confronted with rejection by a fickle consumer market. Google has undergone several iterations and brands for its online communication tools, which are now known as chat and Meet. And this month Amazon.com announced that Chime, the video and language call service, which it tried to sell with little success to corporate customers.

The Windows manufacturer hires Skype to focus on developing new functions for teams, including tools for artificial intelligence, says Teper. The company is working on incorporating artificial intelligence into its product range, but at the same time relegonents with expenses that are not part of these efforts. Teper added that the company was transferred to other business areas and not released anyone.

Teams are going well and this is a step to double it, « said Teper, adding that Microsoft Skype wanted to run until it is confident that the team version is completely finished for individual users. » It is by far the most successful product in its category, « he said.