Back in 2011, when I used Skype every day to chat with Maru whilst we were doing long distance, it was the number one video calling app. It had more than 100 million users, and I assumed its dominance was unassailable.
That same year, Zoom was founded.
Pre-pandemic, Skype had fallen from its lofty heights to a mere 23 million users. This grew to 70 million during the pandemic, but that’s just a rising tide raising all boats.
Zoom, on the other hand, is far outperforming Skype. Zoom doesn’t share user level data, so it’s hard to make an exact comparison, but they grew during the pandemic from 10 million “daily meeting participants” to more than 350 million.
I’ve blogged about it before. Zoom just works. It’s easier to use, has fewer bugs. and 20+ people can appear on a single Zoom screen; that’s something Skype can’t do.
Skype, when acquired by Microsoft in 2011, arguably had a pathway to long-term, global dominance akin to Google’s Search. Yet, an upstart, a minnow, an ant, focused on the product, made it better, easier, and faster. And now, more than 300 million people vote with their feet on a daily basis for Zoom over Skype.
The giant may sit high on the perch. But the giant must never forget the perch can be a precarious place if you’re not looking down at what’s happening below.
H/T to my future father-in-law, Salvador, for this story!