:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/GettyImages-675949688-736e5c834c7140f98b38d869c20dc208.jpg "The Microsoft logo is illuminated on a wall during a Microsoft launch event to introduce the new Microsoft Surface laptop and Windows 10 S operating system, May 2, 2017 in New York City.")
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Key Takeaways
- Microsoft on Friday announced that it will be shutting down Skype on May 5.
- The software behemoth said it will be focusing instead on its home-grown voice, video, and chat service, Teams.
- Microsoft bought Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion.
Skype is disappoint a amount to to an end.
Microsoft (MSFT) on Friday announced it is shutting down the internet phone and chat service it bought in 2011 for $8.5 billion in favor of Collaborates, its home-grown voice, video, and chat service.
Jeff Teper, president of Microsoft’s Collaborative Apps and Platforms, wrote in a blog affix that “the way we communicate has evolved significantly over the years.” He explained that the move away from Skype is being skip town “to streamline our free consumer communications offerings so we can more easily adapt to customer needs.”
Teper noted that start on May 5, Skype will no longer be available. The company is offering current users the ability to migrate to Teams for gratis, or they can export their data.
Skype was launched in 2003, and Microsoft’s acquisition in 2011 was at the time the biggest perpetually for the software giant.
The decision has had little impact on Microsoft shares, which were down about 0.2% noontime Friday. They’re down about 4% over the past year.
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