Especially a certain online auction company called eBay, who dished out $2.6 billion for Skype in 2007. In fact, it was so efficient that some countries eventually banned Skype altogether.Įventually, videocalls boosted the software’s popularity even more, and the company was beginning to attract possible buyers. Regular land and mobile phone users could call a Skype account, known as SkypeIn.Īll for cheaper rates. Skype’s recipe was very attractive: calls within Skype were free, which was great! But also, Skype users could call land and mobile lines, known as SkypeOut. By mid-2006, Skype had over 115 million Skype customers and was recognized as the fastest-growing internet community at the time. One month after the launch, one million people had downloaded the software. The team was so confident that Jaanus Friis was quoted as saying: We hope that one day, instead of saying 'I'll call you', people will say 'I'll skype you'”. When Skype came out, its model seemed promising: lower call costs all around. No central server meant less infrastructure, which was a cost-effective business model. Actually, it existed for years so, what was new? Well, based on the software from Kazaa, Skype used peer-to-peer, which meant data didn’t have to be processed by a central server. This software turns the user’s voice into data, then sends it as digital data packages over the internet.īut VoIP wasn’t new.
The idea? Free calls over the internet, using a Voice Over IP (VoIP for short). In fact, it was even in the name, originally conceived as S ky Peer to Peer, then it was reduced to Skyper, but trademark issues forced them to eliminate the r. Initially, because later, it would be a hindrance. In fact, the peer-to-peer foundation that made Kazaa successful would be essential for Skype. These guys also created Kazaa, which helped many of us “acquire” movies and games in the early 2000s. Estonian developers Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu, and Jaan Tallin created the software. Janus Friis and Niklas Zennström founded the company in 2003. The team behind Skype was talented, to say the least. What happened? We’ll tell you, in this Company Forensics. It’s safe to say that, if all of this happened, say, in 2010, we would’ve been Skyping.īut now, we’re doing anything but Skyping. A name, mind you, that no so long ago was the go-to program for video calls. Online is the new normal and will be for a while.įortunately, there are plenty of options, Zoom, Meet, and Microsoft’s own Teams.īut, there’s a name that seems to have disappeared. From university classes and business meetings to birthdays and yoga. All of a sudden, video calls have become a part of our daily lives.
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