Core Points - Microsoft will retire Skype on May 5, focusing on its Teams service to simplify communication offerings [1] - Skype, founded in 2003, disrupted the landline industry and reached hundreds of millions of users at its peak [2][3] - The platform struggled against competitors like Zoom and Slack, partly due to its technology not adapting to smartphones [3] - Microsoft integrated Teams with Office apps to attract corporate users, allowing Skype users to transition to Teams with existing credentials [4] - Skype's shutdown is part of a series of Microsoft’s mishandled ventures, including Internet Explorer and Windows Phone [5][7] - Teams currently has about 320 million monthly active users, while Skype's user base fell from 150 million in 2011 to approximately 23 million by 2020 [8]