Skype strategies: Case study

Thèmes abordés

Skype strategies, Europeans, Janus Friis

Résumé du document

In August 2003, Skype was created and placed on the market by two Europeans who had created the software Kazaa which allowed 400 millions of Internet users to download for free, songs and movies (illegal web site). The two creators Niklas Zennstrom from Sweden and
Janus Friis from Denmark have their headquarters in Luxembourg. At the beginning of its creation, Skype was supposed to be called "Sky peer-to-peer", then "Skyper", but finally they chose "Skype". This name is from now on synonymous of a huge success. Skype has
revolutionized the Internet telephony market.

Indeed, this software application allows people to communicate by the voice through the Internet for free. This process is called "voice over Internet Protocol" (VoIP). Instead of calling from a phone to another phone, Skype offers to call a phone from a computer or to call a computer from another computer. All services are not free. Since 2007, Skype created fee services, such as the call from the computer to a cellphone. The fees for an international phone call with Skype are much cheaper than with a regular phone company. Low prices represent an important competitive advantage for Skype. Today, Skype offers a large range of products: calls to phones, mobiles or computer, video calling, instant messaging and SMS, voicemail, exchange of files, and Skype manager with conference calling and so on.

Extraits

[...] The problem is that if I want to leave a note to a person who is not a close relative or friend, such as a teacher or an employer Comcast and Skype announce agreement to bring a new HD video calling experience to the television. Skype web site 2011. http://about.skype.com/press/partnerships/ 9 E-Business Page 12 of 19 I would prefer to use a mailbox. So, at this moment I would use another software such as Hotmail or Gmail. A mail box could also be really important for the professional segment. Their mail box will be linked with Skype. With one click they can switch from email to video conference. It will be easier for them to communicate. [...]

[...] Their market shares are increasing every year. Since its creation Skype has not stopped evolving and developing its product and brand image. On October 2005, EBay purchased Skype for US $ 2.6 billion and sold 70% of it in 2009 to several companies. On May 18th 2011, Microsoft bought Skype for US $ 8.5 billion. According to Skype figures, in 2010, the turnover was about 860 million of dollars.1 The actual CEO of Skype is Tony Bates. The competitors: In France, many direct or indirect competitors are already present on the market: Specialized software, such as Wengo, Rebtel, These are free software which allows calling each other thanks to a computer. [...]

[...] The two next followers are Hotmail with 17% and Yahoo! Mail with 13%. These 3 have 73% of the total market shares. “Data collected from 250,000,000 email recipients using our Fingerprint analysis tool. This chart shows the top 10 clients by market share. Compiled 24 February 2010.” 11 In the French market, the main mailbox providers are: Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, Hotmail, GMX, AOL Mail, LaPoste.net, Voila Mail, iFrance, iDOO, NetCourrier When individuals want to create an account with one of these mailboxes they take into account several key points, such 11 Email client market share, Litmus web site 2011 http://litmus.com/resources/email-client-stats E-Business Page 14 of 19 as the capacity, the attachment size, the consultation method and the related services activities. [...]

[...] However, Skype still has inconvenient: the computer needs to be 24/7 turned on if we want to be reached. But this is a little detail that can be improved in the future. Skype really has the will to meet with consumers needs. We hope that Skype will succeed in maintaining his leader position thanks to the disruptive technologies. [...]

[...] Sales promotions are important. We will offer 30 minutes of communication for free per person in order for them to try the fees services. The sales promotion will be effective for one month. For the professional segment, the advertising will concern Internet, print, billboards and press relations. For the Internet we want to strengthen our position on the professional networks such as LinkedIn, Viadeo and so on. For example, this strategy can benefits for people who are working from their home, or people who are looking for a job whereas they are far away from the country where they apply for a job, they can do a Skype job interview. [...]