Will Microsoft Stop Investing In Skype After the Success Of Microsoft Teams? Company Responds To Concerns

Microsoft's video conferencing app Teams has been witnessing an impressive growth but will it completely replace Skype? The company has responded to the concerns.

Representational Image

New Delhi: Microsoft's video conferencing app 'Microsoft Teams' has been witnessing growing popularity as Covid-19 continues to keep people indoors. On March 31,  Microsoft Teams recorded a new daily record of 2.7 billion meeting minutes in a single day which was an increase of 200 percent from their last highest benchmark - 900 million on March 16. The success of the app, however, has led to doubts being raised over the sustainability of Skype, which is a very popular platform of Microsoft in the same space. The company had purchased Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion but it has failed to keep up with competition over the years, especially when a huge opportunity arrived for all video conferencing app when Coronavirus restrictions across the world made people conduct meetings, classes and communicate through web-based platforms. Video conferencing app Zoom became the most popular choice despite Skype being a much older and familiar brand name in the field. However, Zoom's popularity soon invited scrutiny with applications' glaring security issues becoming a subject of controversy. But despite the backlash, skype did not become the more popular option. So as concerns regarding Skype rose,  Microsoft has clarified it would continue to invest in the platform and bring in new features. "As Teams lands with consumers and does more things, I think people will pick Teams. But we're not going to be heavy-handed about this. People love Skype. And so, we're not going to get ahead of ourselves here," Jeff Teper, CVP for Microsoft 365, was quoted as saying. Teams' mobile users have grown more than 300 percent from early February to March. Meanwhile, according to Microsoft, Skype usage has gone up by 70 percent every month. The company also revealed that calling minutes on Skype increased up to 220 percent during the times of Covid-19. The update may bring relief to Skype users who haven't already gone on to use Microsoft Teams. Meanwhile, the web-based platforms have received an overwhelming increase in usage as people continue to work or study from home. The users too have an amazing range of alternatives to choose from, other than Zoom and the Microsoft applications - these include Google Meet, Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp, etc. (With agency inputs) WATCH: What Makes Zoom App An 'Unsafe' Video Calling Platform?