I must confess that I knew of Microsoft Skype before Zoom. I started using Skype before Zoom since Skype started way back in 2003 while Zoom was founded in 2011.
However nowadays all I hear is Zoom and it seems that nobody thinks of Skype anymore when you want to do a business conference; at least with the people I hang out with. So what happened?
Let’s start by getting to know more about these two conferencing apps.
Skype
Skype, a voice over IP (VoIP) service, was first released in 2003 as a way to make free computer-to-computer calls, or reduced-rate calls from a computer to telephones. Skype, the company, was founded by Janus Friis from Denmark and Niklas Zennström from Sweden.
eBay acquired Skype in September 2005 and in April 2009 announced plans to spin it off in a 2010 Initial Public Offering (IPO). In September 2009, Silver Lake, Andreessen Horowitz and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board announced the acquisition of 65% of Skype for $1.9 billion from eBay, valuing the business at $2.75 billion. Skype was acquired by Microsoft in May 2011 for $8.5 billion.
Skype the app, can be used for video chats, calls and instant messaging. It is compatible with Android and iOS, Windows, iPadOS, web browser, Alexa and Xbox. It is free and it offers subscriptions plans if you want to call someone’s cellphone or landline.
Skype can handle 50 people at once on a video call and calls can be recorded for later listening or viewing. Skype has file-sharing capabilities, caller ID, voicemail, a split view mode to keep conversations separate and screenshare on mobile.
Zoom
Zoom was founded in 2011 by Eric Yuan, a lead engineer from Cisco Systems and its collaboration business unit WebEx. Yuan emigrated from China to Silicon Valley in 1997 at age 27.
The service started in January 2013, and by May 2013 it claimed one million participants. By June 2014, Zoom had 10 million users. In February 2015 the number of participants utilizing Zoom Video Communication’s chief product, Zoom Meetings, reached 40 million individuals, with 65,000 organizations subscribed. The company had hosted a total of 1 billion meeting minutes since it was established.
Zoom is free for up to 100 participants with a 40-minute time limit. It offers paid subscriptions to allow more participants, increase the time limit, and more advanced features.
Comparison between Zoom and Skype
Having used and compared both solutions, I would say that both solutions are good for conferencing and remote working.
Personally, I am still used to Skype for business because I started with it. Zoom seems to be a bit complicated with a bit more information to digest before you can start using it.
Also Skype is already an integral part of Microsoft Office and Microsoft teams. This means that the integration with Microsoft further expands Skype’s already broad capabilities. For instance, if you subscribe to Office 365, you’ll get added features like Microsoft Excel, Powerpoint, and Word.
My choice: Skype – If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
