For some years, Skype was popular for connecting people via voice and video, but its journey is ending. Yesterday, Microsoft announced that Skype will be replaced by Microsoft Teams in May 2025.
14 years after its acquisition by Microsoft, the company has announced plans to discontinue Skype in favour of Teams which has been growing in prominance since 2017. According to Jeff Teper, President of Collaborative Apps and Platforms at Microsoft, the decision to discontinue Skype is will allow the company to better meet customers’ needs and focus on Teams, which has more advanced features can capabilities. He revealed that Teams has most of Skype’s features in addition to features like “hosting meetings, managing calendars, and building and joining communities for free.”
Teper further revealed that “hundreds of millions” of users rely on teams to stay connected at work, home and school. He also highlighted that users now spend more time on Teams than ever; the number of minutes spent in the app has increased fourfold over the last few years.
Before Skype is eventually discontinued in May, users who wish to migrate to Teams can download and log into it using their Skype credentials. This will ensure that they get to keep their chats and contacts on Teams. On the other hand, those who prefer not to move to Teams can choose to export their Skype data (chats, contacts, and call history) before the service is disabled.
Teper also announced that Microsoft will no longer make paid features like calls and Skype credit available to new customers.
While acknowledging the difficulty with this change, Teper revealed that Microsoft will provide Skype users with a detailed guide to aid in the migration to Teams and better utilise its features.