Dec 11th 2020
The End of Skype for Business - Why and who’s next?
We are living a time where online-courses, online-meetings and online-hangouts are a part of our everyday life. We have to limit our physical contact from every occasion and thus have found the world of online video-call platforms like never before. It is not only a thing to do with people overseas but people next door and it is needless to say, that companies that have been or have wanted to be a part of this business communication family, or the online video-call family overall, have really had their window during the past year.
When Microsoft released the news in 2019, that Skype for Business is coming to its end, that was the first time I had heard of Skype in a very, very long time. I had a conversation with my father, who has been using business communication platforms such as Teams and Webex for many years for professional reasons, about this post and his response was ”What do you mean Skype for Business? I didn’t even know that was a thing.” This sentence felt quite alarming, since Skype as a platform used to rule the game during the time even before FaceTime and all these other platforms.
Skype for Business was released 22nd of September in 2015 and its designated end-date is on 31st of July in 2021. After this date, it will fade into and under the platform of Microsoft Teams and Microsoft has stated, that everything included in Skype for Business will be available in Teams, in addition to many other features that Skype for Business did not include. If you google Skype for Business now, it will automatically take you to a site, that helps you step by step on how to download and join Microsoft Teams. This announcement was made in 2019, so that means two years before the end of Skype for Business. Two years seems like a good amount of time for companies to adjust to the new Teams but still some companies and people have been mad about the change. But what would change be without a little opposition? Even though Teams has made it as easy as possible to Skype for Business- users to change to Teams, I bet, many Skype for Business- users will basically rebel and thus not choose Teams for their next platform of business communication.
And even though this is going to be the end of their Business platform, it is needless to say that it has raised the question of Skype’s whole destiny. It is fairly alarming that during a time like this, I have not seen or heard of Skype or Skype for Business other than in articles talking about their journey which could be ending for good. If something so once-known has already become something so unknown, I don’t see a way for them to increase their position, while they are not only competing with business communication platforms but also with basic online video-call platforms such as FaceTime on iPhones and WhatsApp/Messenger, which are already most likely downloaded on people’s phones more often than Skype is. However, maybe this is a change that will only affect professional users. Or maybe it is the beginning of an end. That makes me wonder, will there someday be only one huge platform, containing all the features of all social apps? I believe, that at least something very close to that. Could it be possible, that one app would contain every feature from every personal social app? And for professional users, one app, containing every single feature for professional communication use? At least the competition is heading to such massive levels that not everyone is going to survive. Some will be at the top and some will fall behind, and maybe for Skype, it is time.


Related Stories
Facebook Pixel and iOS 14.5 with Geeklab
With Apple's iOS 14 and its privacy updates, the F... Read More
Step by Step - Artificial Intelligence
Step by step is a series in which complex subjects are ex... Read More
Mobile Operating Systems - Harmony OS 2.0 influencing a new era?
Android OS and iOS were both released over 10 years ago, ... Read More
Instagram vs. TikTok
TikTok as an app was released back in 2016 where as Insta... Read More
6 hidden features in popular apps
Many people use apps everyday not knowing they contain fe... Read More
Popular TV-shows' and movies' influence on people's shopping behaviour
The variety of available TV-shows and movies today could ... Read More
Gradients and their hype
You have probably noticed how gradient colors have been r... Read More
Top 5 Apps in January - All categories
To continue the series, next up is the first one of 2021!... Read More
Step by step - How to protect your app and understand copyright, trademark, patent and agreements
Step by step is a series i... Read More
When working on your mobile strategy: Mobile App or Mobile Website?
Coming up with a mobile strategy can seem like a never en... Read More
Why should you update your app often enough?
Today is the 22nd of January, so Christmas was almost a m... Read More
Gaming communities and friendship
These times have put us all in a situation we have never ... Read More
Questions to go through before developing an app for your company
Making an app seems like a good investment in a world whe... Read More
WhatsApp vs. Signal: Who rocks its security game better?
The comparison between WhatsApp and Signal has people buz... Read More
Top 5 Apps in December - Games
Let’s continue the series of Top 5! This is such a fun ... Read More
ASO in 2021: Secure user journey and overall creativity
This year has been crazy for the whole world and from so ... Read More
App icons - Has iOS 14 made them worthless?
In the past, companies haven’t had the need to update t... Read More
Travel Apps and COVID-19
Living through a time for ... Read More
ASO Guide: 11 ASO Mistakes
ASO is a very new thing to many companies and thus, there... Read More
Push notifications - How to use them efficiently
Have you ever wondered the core reason of push notificati... Read More
ASO vs. Influencer Marketing
Approximately 10 years ago, digimarketing started using t... Read More
Colors and their effect on us - Part 2: Secondary colors
In Part 1 I examined the primary colors; blue, red and ye... Read More
Colors and their effect on us - Part 1: Primary Colors
Coloring is an essential part of the branding process, si... Read More
Suomalaiset opiskeluapplikaatiot ja niiden kehityskohdat
Ajat joita elämme, on laittanut kaikki meistä tilanteis... Read More
How many people have installed iOS 14?
iOS 14 adaptation rates are coming in fast. After just a ... Read More
Top 5 Apps in August - Business
Welcome back to analyzing the Top 5 of the month. In this... Read More
How to validate your marketability with Facebook campaigns!
Setting up campaigns can seem to be an overwhelming techn... Read More
How to setup an ASO Facebook Campaign!
Setting up campaigns can seem to be an overwhelming techn... Read More
Top 5 Apps in July - Education
To continue the Top 5 series, next up is Education! This ... Read More
Top 5 Apps in July - Lifestyle
To continue the Top 5 seri... Read More
Top 5 Apps in July - Action Games
In this new series, I am going to analyze different App c... Read More
ASO Guide: Vocabulary - First steps in becoming an ASO Specialist
ASO
App Store Optimization, improving seve... Read More
Make it stand out - How to make an App: Part 3
In order to make your App ... Read More
Screenshot Trends - What is next?
Screenshots are an essential part of alluring users in do... Read More
Set your goal and brainstorm - How to make an App: Part 1
Today Apps vary from so many categories to another. You c... Read More
Apple WWDC 2020: ASO recap
Due to the current situation, Apple kicked off its annual... Read More
Am I a gamer?
I scrolled through my iPhone's screen time the other day ... Read More
Perfecting the Finished Product: Why A/B Testing is a Vital Step for Your Digital Marketing
Today's digital marketplace can be an overwhelming experi... Read More
Custom Details Page (CDP) by Google Play. What will it change?
Regardless of the number of ads you run, in most cases, t... Read More
Mobile Apps: What are the next industries to benefit by shifting their operations to apps?
Everyday, we are taking more and more steps towards mobil... Read More
Case Study: How Rovio decreased their user acquisition cost by 20%
Rovio has been using Geeklab for both ASO A/B te... Read More
The Ultimate App Submission marketing guideline 2020
Screenshots come in multiple sizes. Big and small, portra... Read More
Improve marketability, save millions
At its core, improving marketability m... Read More
Why and how to add a Facebook Pixel to Geeklab
Facebook pixel is a tool that allows external application... Read More
3 production phases to run ASO in 2020!
App Store Optimization is crucial, but... Read More
Why you need to focus on your icon!
The one single element that follows you through the entir... Read More
App Store Optimisation, what and why?
Imagine if Coca-Cola had the opportunity to single-handed... Read More

