Despite Skype rising to prominence in 2020 as the go-to app for online business meetings, Skype has been there holding the hands of home workers for year now. Don’t fancy Zoom? Why not just use Skype Business Onl… oh, wait. Wait, hold on. No, actually don’t do that because Microsoft has announced that the business centric part of the its video chat platform is being taken out behind the shed and shot.
In a blog post today, Microsoft announced that Skype Business was closing down for good in the next six months. The company is in the process of migrating all its users to Microsoft Teams to fill the void of Skype Business. Which isn’t all that surprising given that most people have already adopted Teams as their primary means of staying in contact for most of lockdown.
Pour one out for Skype Business
Microsoft also announced the process to automatically migrate select users. “Some Skype for Business Online customers will be eligible for automated upgrades to Microsoft Teams. This program was designed to assist customers with the technical elements of upgrading a Skype for Business Online tenant to Teams Only. Customers scheduled for automated upgrades will receive notifications in both the Teams admin center, as well as the Microsoft 365 Message Center, at least three months before their upgrade date to allow time for technical and user readiness,” reads the blog post.
Microsoft hasn’t really provided a reason as to why the app’s subsection has closed its doors. One has to imagine that with most people already using teams, the upkeep on Skype is an unnecessary cost. Zoom probably also played a role in diminishing the Skype numbers as the video chat app saw a massive spike in users over the 2020 lockdown and still being used in 2021.