AAlmost 23 years of connections around the world, Microsoft has officially ended Skype today. This service, formerly a pioneer in internet calls and videoconference, is now replaced by Microsoft Teams. Users can go to Teams or export their data to another video call service.
Skype was founded in 2003 in Tallinn, Estonia, and quickly gained popularity worldwide by allowing free voice and video calls via the Internet. The name of the software originated from ‘Sky Peer-to-Peer’, which was then abbreviated in ‘Skyper’. As some domain names ‘Skyper’ were already taken, the final letter ‘R’ was deleted, which gave ‘Skype’.
In 2011, Microsoft bought the platform for $ 8.5 billion. At its peak, in 2016, Skype had more than 300 million monthly users. However, the emergence of competitors like Zoom, WhatsApp and Microsoft Teams has led to a gradual decline in the number of users. In 2023, Skype only had 36 million daily users.
Focus sur Microsoft Teams
Faced with this significant drop, Microsoft has chosen to focus fully on Teams, which now has 320 million monthly users. Teams offers more extensive features for collaboration and communication, both for professional and personal use.
The end of Skype does not mean the loss of data and user contacts. The latter have the possibility of migrating them to Teams or exporting them before the end of the year. After this period, the data will be deleted.
Alternatives to Skype
Although Microsoft Teams is the direct replacement, other platforms also allow video calls:
- Zoom : Excellent for virtual meetings and webinaries, with features such as rooms in small groups and screen sharing.
- Google Meet : Free with a Google account, integrated into Gmail and Google Agenda, and supports up to 100 participants per meeting.
- Signal : Emphasizes confidentiality with end -to -end encryption for messages and calls.
- Slack : A communication platform that allows effective collaboration via channels, private messages and integrations with other tools.
- Discord : Popular with gamers, but also adapted to communities and small teams, with text, vocal and video messaging functions.
Skype played a major role in the evolution of digital communication. Although it has lost relevance, it remains a symbol of the beginnings of internet telephony. Users are recommended to act quickly to keep their data or go to an appropriate alternative.
