Teams Won’t Replace Skype Just Yet

After Microsoft announced it would deliver Teams for consumers, some worried the news sounded the death knell for Skype. Those worries appear unfounded, at least for now....
Teams Won’t Replace Skype Just Yet
Written by Matt Milano
  • After Microsoft announced it would deliver Teams for consumers, some worried the news sounded the death knell for Skype. Those worries appear unfounded, at least for now.

    Microsoft created the confusion and concern when they announced Skype’s recent pandemic-fueled growth. The platform has passed 40 million daily users, representing a 70% month-over-month growth rate. Meanwhile, Skype-to-Skype calling was up 220%. Under normal circumstances, no one would dream of Skype being end-of-lifed (EOL) with those growth numbers. Yet when Microsoft announced they would be bringing Teams to consumers, they made a point of saying that users could continue to use Skype for their personal communication “in the meantime.”

    According to VentureBeat, however, that doesn’t mean Skype is reaching EOL. A Microsoft spokesperson told VentureBeat that “for now, Skype will remain a great option for customers who love it and want to connect with basic chat and video calling capabilities,” a Microsoft spokesperson told VentureBeat in March. “With the new features in the Microsoft Teams mobile app, we see Teams as an all-in-one hub for your work and life that integrates chat, video calling, [and the] ability to assign and share tasks, store and share important data with your group, [and] share your location with family and friends, whereas Skype is predominantly a chat and a video calling app platform. We have nothing more to share.”

    The company went even further, with Microsoft 365 CVP Jeff Teper assuring VentureBeat that, while Microsoft believes people may naturally gravitate toward Teams, the company is “not going to be heavy-handed about this. People love Skype. And so, we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves here.”

    This is good news for people who love Skype and want to continue using it for the foreseeable future.

    Get the WebProNews newsletter delivered to your inbox

    Get the free daily newsletter read by decision makers

    Subscribe
    Advertise with Us

    Ready to get started?

    Get our media kit