Are Skype’s Days Numbered?

Skype, like a lot of products and services from Microsoft, has been subjected to more than its fair share of criticism in recent years. Read Skype amazing tips and tips which will surely help you.

One of the latest moves Microsoft has done is to move away from its MSN Messenger platform, once the global leader in instant messaging but since rendered almost desolate thanks to the growth of social media, and focus solely on Skype.

However, despite Microsoft retaining a lot of clout in the technology industry, even this forward thinking approach has not seen them move into pole position in terms of online communications, both from laptop and desktop devices across to mobile.

 

Skype’s Days Numbered?

Competition

The latest competition to enter this market is Telefonica, the telecoms giant that owns O2 and is the fifth-biggest mobile network on the planet. They have launched their own instant messaging application that they hope will rival Skype, as well as the other applications that crowd what is a competitive marketplace.

Telefonica, who have produced the app for use on Apple and Android devices, have marketed it in a similar way to Skype, in that you can sign in on any device and make calls from your own account.

While there are many industry analysts who have questioned whether such an App is necessary, its similarities to Skype mean that it is a question that will also be carefully considered among researchers and developers at Microsoft.

One of the biggest problems for Skype is that a look at App Stores and Marketplaces will tell you that it isn’t a particularly well liked product among consumers, both as a mobile application as well as a program on a laptop or desktop PC.

 

Phone Developments

Smartphones and tablets are now being developed with front facing cameras as standard, while phone tariffs are become more favorable for consumers than ever before.

Owners of an iOS product can send an iMessage from one device to another via their iCloud account without using any ‘credit,’ BlackBerry Messenger does not cost a lot of money to include in even a pay as you go deal, while most mobile tariffs offer unlimited SMS messages in the modern day in any case.

The way we use e-mail has also changed, too. Today, almost everyone has an e-mail account, and communicating via this platform is free anyway, and can replicate everything that we find in instant messaging.

 

What Can Microsoft Do?

Unfortunately, Microsoft find themselves in a familiar position regarding Skype. They have a product that was once innovative and ground-breaking, but technology has caught up and overtook their service while they have added little, and basically stood still in terms of their product development.

Rather than looking to reinvent Skype, Microsoft would be best served to instead focus on developing their next generation of products and services that will hopefully bring back some of the ‘wow factor’ they enjoyed before Apple and Google exploded into business giants.

Skype’s days appear to be numbered, in equal part down to the evolution of technology which has left it behind, as well as the huge range of communications options available to modern consumers and businesses.