Microsoft finally closed down Skype for good on Monday, marking the final chapter for a platform that once revolutionised and defined internet calling.
Previously flagged in February to warn users ahead of schedule, Skype was officially shuttered this week, 22 years after it first launched and 14 years after Microsoft bought the platform for $8.5 billion in 2011.
RIP to a Real One
Launched in 2003, Skype was a trailblazer in internet-based communication, pioneering free voice and video calls long before UC became mainstream. By 2011, it had reached its zenith with approximately 150 million monthly active users, positioning itself as a dominant player in digital collaboration.
Over the following decade, however, Skype experienced a steady decline. A wave of newer, more agile platforms, such as Zoom, WhatsApp, and Apple’s FaceTime, captured market share by delivering sleeker user experiences and superior mobile performance. Skype, in contrast, struggled to adapt to the mobile-first era, with persistent reliability and usability issues that eroded user trust.
Microsoft… Teams, is it? Is That What the Other Platform is Called?
When the market shift became more pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic, as demand for scalable, enterprise-grade virtual collaboration tools surged, Microsoft responded by doubling down on an obscure, little-known alternative Microsoft platform called Teams, tightly embedding it within the Office 365 ecosystem. This strategic pivot enabled Teams to soar to over 320 million monthly active users, effectively leaving Skype behind as a legacy tool rather than a core collaboration platform.
With Skype’s shuttering, Microsoft has unequivocally shifted its UC focus toward its flagship UC and collaboration service and is encouraging Skype users to make the switch. Microsoft has updated the Skype mobile apps to be non-functional if a user tries to install the update, and the Skype app now directs any user to Microsoft Teams.
To streamline the migration process, Microsoft has been enabling users to sign into Teams via their existing Skype credentials. User contacts and chat histories have automatically carried over, ensuring continuity with minimal disruption.
What Does This Mean for Enterprises — and What Does it Tell Us About Microsoft’s Long-Term Strategy?
This change presents both an opportunity and a mandate for IT and UC leaders. Teams offers a richer set of features, from persistent chat and file sharing to meeting integration and extensibility through Microsoft 365, which can centralise workflows and reduce reliance on disparate tools.
However, the loss of Skype’s native calling functionality may require some enterprises to reassess their telephony strategy, especially if they haven’t yet implemented Microsoft Teams Phone or a Direct Routing solution.
As Microsoft invests heavily in AI, particularly through Copilot integrations across its 365 ecosystem, Teams’ position as Microsoft’s central strategic hub is reinforced.
By migrating Skype users into Teams, Microsoft simplifies its product portfolio while aiming to ensure that more users are engaging with its AI capabilities. Teams is already tightly integrated with Microsoft Copilot, which allows users to generate meeting summaries, action items, and intelligent chat assistance in real time. These features underpin Microsoft’s vision for a modern workplace propelled by automation, data, and context-aware computing.
For enterprises, this underscores Microsoft’s ambition to phase out legacy solutions in favour of platforms that support deeper analytics, automation, and user personalisation.
For those looking to make the big transition to Microsoft Teams, view our Ultimate Guide here.
