Remember when Skype was the way to make video calls? When its ringtone was as familiar as a Nokia message alert? Well, after 21 years, Microsoft is shutting it down.

Not fading into obscurity. Not pivoting. Gone.

It’s a stark reminder that even giants can fall.

The Graveyard of Invincible Brands

Skype joins a long list of once-dominant names that failed to evolve:

Kodak – The company that literally invented digital photography… but ignored it.
BlackBerry – The ultimate business phone until the iPhone and Android wiped it out.
Yahoo – A search engine, a portal, an email giant… now a shadow of itself.
MySpace – The pre-Facebook social media king. Enough said.
Blockbuster – Laughed off Netflix. Now, it’s a nostalgic meme.

Each of these brands had dominance. Recognition. Power. And then? Irrelevance.

Why Did Skype Fall?

It had the advantage. The brand recognition. The trust.

But somewhere along the way, it stopped being essential.

Enter Zoom. Microsoft Teams. Google Meet. WhatsApp video calls. They did it better, smoother, and more seamlessly integrated. Skype felt… clunky. Unnecessary. Forgotten.

Microsoft had already moved on. Now, so has the world.

The Lesson: Complacency Kills

Success can be your biggest weakness. The moment you assume you’re untouchable, you start losing.

You stop innovating.
You focus on protecting what you have, rather than creating what’s next.
You think brand loyalty is enough. It never is.

Skype didn’t die because video calls went out of fashion. It died because it stopped being the best way to do them.

So, What Do We Do?

Challenge yourself before the market does. The biggest threats aren’t always external. Sometimes, the biggest risk is staying still.

Reinvent constantly. What made you successful yesterday won’t keep you relevant tomorrow.

Kill your own best products—before someone else does. Innovate before disruption forces your hand.

Ask: If we were starting from scratch today, what would we build? And why isn’t that what we’re doing now?

The Future Won’t Wait

Skype had 21 years. Some brands last longer. Others, far less. The one constant?

If you don’t evolve, you will disappear.

So—what’s the one thing you’re doing today to make sure you’re not next?

Drop it in the comments. Let’s build the future—before someone else does.

For more on the history and demise of Skype listen to my on-air chat with Hong Kong Radio 3’s Phil Whelan (16 minutes 14 seconds):

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