• Skype is a free video-calling platform that Microsoft acquired for $8.5 billion over a decade ago.
• Skype was once the go-to video-calling app and telecommunications industry disruptor.
• But now, Skype has faded out of popular usage in favor of platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams.

Skype, a telecommunications platform currently owned by Microsoft, became ubiquitous in the early 2000s, at one point accounting for up to 40% of all international calls.

While Skype has since lost some of its audience to Microsoft Teams — particularly in the business context — and a significant portion of its market share to Zoom, it still maintained an average of 40 million daily users as of 2020.

Founded in 2003 by Swedish entrepreneur Niklas Zennström and Danish entrepreneur Janus Friis, Skype held its first public trial in August of that year. By 2005, the company was acquired by eBay for $2.5 billion. In 2009, a portion of Skype was resold to Silver Lake, Andreessen Horowitz, and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board for $1.9 billion, giving the company a market valuation of $2.75 billion.

Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion, making it a division of Microsoft with its former CEO Tony Bates reporting to then-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

Following the acquisition, Microsoft integrated Skype into its product lineup, discontinuing Windows Messenger in favor of the Skype client, which became the default messaging service in Windows 8.1. By 2013, Skype was available across multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, iPadOS, iOS, Android, and BlackBerry.

Skype was once a telecommunications industry disruptor

By offering free voice and video calls between Skype users globally, it effectively undercut traditional telecommunications providers that charged hefty fees for international calls. This disruptive technology approach that Skype took paid dividends in terms of the platform's immense popularity, especially in regions where long-distance calling was prohibitively expensive.

Instead of paying telecommunications companies long-distance rates, the only fee you'd incur would be the internet data that Skype used for your audio or video call. Skype also offered low rates for calls to landlines and cellphones.

Through its North American subscription plan, you could get 2,000 minutes of calling for $5.94/month – or the equivalent of about 0.297 cents per minute; if you go over 2,000 minutes, the rate goes to $0.35/minute. For US only calls, a 2,000 minute plan costs just $2.54 with extra time costing only $0.15/minute.

Skype's advantages and disadvantages

Despite no longer being the industry leader in terms of market share, Skype is still a capable free solution for video and audio calls.

Unlike the free version of Zoom, Skype doesn't have a 30 minute time limit. Additionally, in 2023 Microsoft integrated Bing AI with Skype, allowing users to converse with it in a private chat or mention it in group chats and ask it questions; you can even ask it to help plan vacation destinations or generate jokes.

However, Microsoft has clearly prioritized other tech like Microsoft Teams at the expense of Skype over the years.

In 2015, Skype for Business replaced Lync as Microsoft's business communication solution. In 2017, Microsoft announced plans to replace Skype for Business with Microsoft Teams, with its official retirement occurring in July 2021.

Where Zoom and Teams pull away from Skype is less in the one-on-one context and more in business centric contexts where you might have more than 50 people – the maximum size Skype supports – on a single call. Skype also does not have breakout room functionality like what you see with Zoom.

How to use Skype

Once you've downloaded Skype to your computer or mobile device, you can make a new Skype call through desktop or mobile by opening the Skype app and clicking New call or Start a call.

You can add contacts to Skype or invite people to join Skype by navigating to the Contacts tab and clicking New Contact and searching for the person via their Skype name, phone number, email, or full name.

How to delete your Skype account

If you, too, are gravitating towards platforms like Zoom or Teams rather than Skype, you might be wondering how to delete your Skype account.

Since your Skype account is tied into your Microsoft account, it is not possible to close your Skype account without closing your entire Microsoft account. If you want to proceed, you can close your Microsoft account by visiting the Microsoft account closure page, signing in, and selecting either 30 or 60 days from the dropdown, clicking Next, and following Microsoft's prompts.

How to change your Skype name

Your Skype name itself cannot be changed, however, you change your account's display name.

Start by clicking on your Skype profile picture, then select Skype profile and click the pencil icon to edit the display name and make your changes.

• Microsoft certifications can help demonstrate your skills for jobs like IT or software engineering.
• Microsoft offers a variety of certifications in its products like Azure, Windows, or Microsoft 365.
• Microsoft offers free, self-paced training, and you can pay to take an exam and become certified.

Microsoft certifications are recognized industry-wide, and are a way for professionals to tangibly demonstrate that they have expertise in a given subject area.

Microsoft certifications are geared towards those entering tech-related fields like IT, software development, data science, and more. The certifications focus on a variety of Microsoft products like Azure, Dynamics, Microsoft 365, and more.

Tech jobs — whether it's an IT role at a mid-sized business or a job at Microsoft itself — are known for being highly competitive. Given the prevalence of Microsoft products in the business world, these certifications shouldn't be overlooked as a way to both show your knowledge and demonstrate your proficiency with Microsoft products.

How Microsoft certifications work

If you're interested in a Microsoft certification, you have a few routes you can take to learn the material: you can pay for instructor-led training from Microsoft itself or from a Microsoft-partnered training organization, or you can take free, self-paced training provided by Microsoft.

To actually become certified, you'll need to pay to take an exam. Most of the exams are online proctored exams that you can do from your own home and computer, but you also have the option to schedule your exam at a test center if you wish.

If you're doing the online version, know that you'll be assigned a proctor to monitor you during the exam, and you'll have to submit photos of your ID and the room you're taking the exam in.

With some exceptions, most Microsoft certifications are good for 12 months, after which they must be renewed. The good news is that renewals are free and just require you to pass an online assessment that is shorter than the original exam. The assessments are also un-proctored and open book. But be warned: you have only six months to complete this or you'll have to retake the original exam.

How much do Microsoft certifications cost?

Exam and training costs can vary significantly depending on the Microsoft certification, and depending on where you're located. Instructor-led courses typically cost the most — some courses in the US can total thousands of dollars — but you have the benefit of a human instructor who can answer your questions and offer tips on the material and exam.

If you go the self-paced training route through Microsoft, your only cost is the exam, which typically costs between $99 and $165, depending on the certification and your location.

What are the most valuable Microsoft certifications?

What Microsoft certifications you should get boils down to your personal interests, and what certifications are most in demand and correlate with high-earning jobs. This can fluctuate over time.

With the prevalence of cloud computing these days, Azure-based certifications are in high demand and jobs like network engineer pay quite well. And amid the ongoing AI arms race that has taken the tech world by storm, a certification in machine learning or generative AI solutions could give you a competitive edge in the job market.

Cybersecurity skills are also in high demand, and Microsoft offers a certification for cybersecurity solutions using Microsoft technologies.

Microsoft's website allows you to browse credentials and filter the various Microsoft certifications based on what type of role you're seeking, such as DevOps engineer or database administrator, or what type of product you want to specialize in, like Microsoft Fabric, Windows, Power BI, or Copilot.

Microsoft certifications for beginners

While intermediate and senior certifications generally correlate with the highest annual salaries, the material is complex and advanced, and they're not necessarily the first certifications you should look for if you're new to the IT field, cloud computing, or to Microsoft technology.

Microsoft certifications are categorized into levels, and labeled as beginner, intermediate, or advanced. You can always start with beginner certifications like Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals (also known as AZ-900) that teaches you the fundamentals of Azure.

Even if you don't take the fundamentals exam and are aiming for a higher-level certification, it can still be worth going through the free self-paced training documentation for the fundamentals courses to help bring yourself up to speed. Everyone starts with different knowledge baselines.