Microsoft Skype to bid farewell on May 5

A few months back, Microsoft announced that it is retiring its video-calling platform, Skype. The company stated that Skype will no longer be available after May 5.

Now that we have entered the month, we think it is a good time to give Skype the farewell it deserves. When the news broke, we called it "end of an era.".

Launched in 2003, Skype was among the most popular video-calling platforms. While its tenure lasted for over two decades, it struggled to keep up with the cut-throat competition.

Microsoft's decision to discontinue Skype forms part of a broader strategy to consolidate its consumer communication platforms and concentrate efforts on Microsoft Teams a transition the company has been steadily making since Teams was first introduced.

As Skype nears the end of its journey, here's everything you need to know: the key reasons behind its retirement, what existing users can expect, how to make the switch to Microsoft Teams, the fate of Skype's paid services, and other important details.