Micro$oft recently announced that Skype—the proprietary internet calling service that changed the way we communicate—will shut down on May 5, 2025. After 23 years of connecting people worldwide, the video call service is being retired to make way for MS Teams. Techcrunch reported some time ago that “Skype users have a few weeks to decide what they want to do with their account”. But is following Microsoft’s suggested migration path to Teams really the best choice for your small/medium team/organization/NGO/company?

The truth is Skype’s shutdown is more than just the end of a popular service used by millions. It shows once again a troubling pattern with Big Tech: they control your digital infrastructure, and when their shareholders priorities shift, your team must adapt to their timeline—not yours. As a managed hosting company with a crystal clear focus in open-source solutions for mission-driven organizations like yours, we see this moment differently. Rather than a disruption to be managed, this is a perfect opportunity to reconsider your digital infrastructure strategy and align it with your organization’s values and long-term needs. When you rely on services from Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft (otherwise known as GAFAM), you’re signing up for more than just software. You’re entering relationships with significant drawbacks:

• Data Privacy Concerns: Your organization’s communications, documents, and data become part of these companies’ vast information ecosystems. This raises questions about confidentiality, especially for organizations working with sensitive information.
• Lack of Control: Features appear and disappear based on corporate priorities, not your needs. Remember Google’s long list of discontinued products or Microsoft’s frequent interface overhauls?
• Vendor Lock-in: These services are designed to work seamlessly within their own ecosystems while creating friction when you try to leave. The more you use their interconnected services, the harder migration becomes. We have blogged about this issue before here.
• Escalating Costs: What begins as free or affordable often becomes increasingly expensive over time, especially as your organization grows or as companies consolidate their market position. This is otherwise known as the freemium model.
• Misaligned Values: If your organization prioritizes social impact, privacy, or ethical technology, you may find your infrastructure provider’s business practices at odds with your mission.

When They Say ‘Jump’… You Search for Value-Alligned Alternatives.

Instead of jumping from Skype to Teams, consider this moment an opportunity to align your communications infrastructure with your organizational values through open-source alternatives hosted by value-aligned providers. The benefits?

• Cost Predictability: Open-source solutions and vendors typically offer transparent pricing without the sudden changes common with proprietary services. At least his is what we try to do.
• Sovereignty and Control: You determine when updates happen and which features to implement. Your organization isn’t at the mercy of a corporate product manager in San Francisco.
• Data Ownership: Your organization’s communications remain yours, stored according to your policies rather than being mined for insights or advertising.
• Value Alignment: Working with hosting companies that share your mission and values creates a partnership rather than a vendor relationship.
• Future-Proofing: The community-driven nature of open source means solutions evolve based on user needs, not corporate profit motives.
• Ethical Investment: Your technology budget supports a more diverse tech ecosystem rather than concentrating more power in the hands of a few large corporations.

We are aware that many organizations hesitate to leave Big Tech platforms because migration seems a bit disruptive. But here’s what’s important to understand about open-source alternatives: they’re designed for interoperability and freedom, not lock-in. We are also aware that when you use centralized digital infrastructure from Big Tech, migration is deliberately difficult—it’s a business strategy to keep you as a customer. With open-source solutions, the situation is fundamentally different for several important reasons so here is another list in case you are still reading this:

• Community Continuity: Even if the original developer stops supporting an open-source project, the community can maintain it or fork it to create continued support. When Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems, the community created LibreOffice from OpenOffice. When CentOS changed its development model, Rocky Linux and Alma Linux emerged as community-driven alternatives.
• Data Portability: Open standards and formats make moving your data between systems much more straightforward.
• License Protection: Open-source licenses ensure the code remains available regardless of what happens to any single company or organization.

Open Source Video Conferencing Alternatives?

Our team has extensive experience hosting BigBlueButton, a comprehensive open-source virtual classroom and web conferencing system designed for education, but in our experience lots of remote teams use it also as their main video call solution. It offers features like breakout rooms, shared notes, polls, and screen sharing in a package that many organizations find more intuitive than proprietary alternatives. But we’re not the only option. If BigBlueButton doesn’t meet your specific needs, consider other value-aligned hosting companies that offer BigBlueButton or managed Jitsi Meet services. Jitsi provides secure, high-quality video conferencing that works directly in your browser without requiring accounts or software installation.

The point isn’t to choose us specifically—it’s to choose an approach to technology that aligns with your organization’s needs and values. Either way, you’ll be joining a community of small and medium teams/organizations/companies committed to technological self-determination rather than corporate dependence.

We feel that with Skype closing shop, you have a perfect opportunity to make a a smooth transition rather than a rushed one. Whether you choose our BigBlueButton hosting services or another value-aligned provider’s solutions, the important thing is to use this moment to break free from the cycle of dependence on Big Tech platforms.

Your organization deserves communication tools that respect your autonomy, protect your data, and align with your values. The end of Skype doesn’t have to mean jumping to Teams—it can mean the beginning of a more intentional approach to your organization’s digital infrastructure.

Remember: In technology as in life, the path of least resistance isn’t always the path that best serves your mission. Take this opportunity to choose differently.