Video calling platform Skype has officially shut down after nearly 22 years.
Its parent company, Microsoft, confirmed that Monday, June 5th, would be the platform’s final day of operation as it continued to struggle to retain its place as the global powerhouse in its industry.
Apps like Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, and FaceTime quickly began competing with and overtaking Skype, which was bought by eBay in 2005 for $2.6 billion.
Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion. Five years later, 300 million people were making Skype calls every month.
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However, Zoom replicated this user number daily by the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Microsoft had rolled out Teams in 2017 and began to focus on it more as Skype lagged behind.
In February 2023, Microsoft announced that it would close Skype.
“Skype has been an integral part of shaping modern communications and supporting countless meaningful moments, and we are honored to have been part of the journey,” said a post from Jeff Teper, president of collaborative apps and platforms at Microsoft.
Users of the platform can now migrate their contacts and chat data to Microsoft Teams.
Alternatively, they can download their data from the app and move to another video calling service.
SOURCE: GBCGHANAONLINE
