From this Monday, May 5, Skype ceased to be definitively available for free usersmarking the closure of an era in digital communication.
Microsoft, owner of the service since 2011, confirmed that Your bet on the future will be Teamsthe platform that now assumes the central role in calls, messaging and online collaboration.
The technology company offered Skype users a term until this Monday to complete the transition to Teams. To facilitate the process, the use of the same credentials and the automatic migration of contacts and chats was enabled, provided that a session in a compatible device would begin. The intention, according to Microsoft, is to allow a fluid continuity in the user experience.
Launched in 2003, Skype was one of the first platforms to offer free calls onlinegaining popularity among millions of people worldwide. In 2011, Microsoft acquired it for 8,500 million dollars, and for years it was one of the most used applications for personal and professional communication. However, the rise of platforms such as Zoom, Google Meet and Teams itself was displacing its use in the current digital environment.
-Teams, which reached the market in 2017, integrates many of Skype’s traditional functions, such as video calls, instant messaging, file sharing and integration with calendars.
Although initially it was oriented to corporate environments, its free version now allows the former Skype users to continue connected from a more robust environment and with greater collaborative capabilities.
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Skype’s definitive closure only affects the free version. Microsoft clarified that Skype business users can still use the servicealthough the company has made it clear that the main focus of its communication ecosystem is now completely focused on Teams.
