Skype announced on Friday that they were ending their “extras” program, which allowed 3rd party developers to market add-on components to the popular communications platform. This sparked a lot of negative commentary mainly saying “platforms win when there is a strong developer ecosystem”. I commented on the GigaOm post:
Facebook beat Myspace because of their platform for 3rd party apps. For the same reason, Apple went from zero to THE mobile platform in two years. Now RIM, Microsoft, Palm, Nokia and all the carriers are playing catch-up.
Skype needs a vibrant ecosystem of 3rd party developers to come and use their platform for new services. Services we can’t think of right now. Services that would never have occurred to the original creators of Skype. Who could have imagined 65,000 apps for iPhone?
TechCrunch said flatly: “Skype, you’re going in the wrong direction”.
Now that the dust has settled a bit, it seems our rants were a bit premature…
First, the “Extras” program is not the developer program
Companies that have built add-ons to Skype are using an API that remains alive and supported. Some of the most popular add-ons are the “Pamela” family that offer faxing and recording accessories. Scendix, the author of this software, wrote on their corporate blog: “So how does this affect Scendix/PamConsult products? The simple answer is: not very much….Pamela only uses the Skype Public API and not the Skype Extras system.”
Primarily, the Extras service offered a certification process and a front-end interface to users. In essence, it was Skype’s AppStore. But the actual plumbing to allow 3rd party software to connect with Skype is still in place.
Jim Courtney summarizes: “Skype Extras is Dead; Long live Skype APIs“, writing:
[this is] the end of a marketing program, but definitely not developer support. As an app store, the Skype Extras program was not exactly a success story; however, the underlying API’s and support for them are not going away. The smart developer partners have evolved their offerings in a way that certainly reduces or eliminates their dependence on the Skype Extras …
Jim’s post is worth reading - he spoke directly with several of the leading developers on the Skype platform for their take.
Is it about the payment system?
A secondary feature of the Extras service was that it offered a micro-payment gateway via Skype credits. For example, with PamFax installed, I pay $0.15 per page to send faxes, using my Skype account to pay. Blogger Andy Abramson postulated that Skype wanted to get rid of this feature to streamline their accounting books:
“…the revenue for extras was really more of a pass through with Skype minutes … in users accounts paying the bills to the Extra’s suppliers….really what is nothing more than a collections and payment disbursement operation.”
However, Jim’s post claims that PamFax is actually the only developer that uses that system. If that’s true, I can’t imagine that there are enough faxes being sent to impact Skype’s numbers in any material way.
Is it about saving cost?
Skype is in the process of being taken over by private investors and a number of people speculated that this move was indicative of the new owners looking to make the business more efficient. eWeek writes:
The move is yet another sign of the changes Skype is undergoing as it seeks to become more nimble.
This doesn’t seem like a satisfying explanation to me. How much money is there to be saved by removing this program? How does this make Skype more nimble?
Hopefully, clearing the way for something bigger
On Friday, a friend of mine, who is close to the Skype development team, told me off the record: “there are other shoes to drop on this topic… don’t count them out yet.” hinting at an improved API. So I was optimistic.
Finally, Skype Exec Jonathan Christensen stepped in yesterday to clear things up in an interview with TechCrunch. He didn’t give any details but stated that Skype is focusing on a next generation platform. I hope this isn’t just be a statement to calm the chatter, as I believe 3rd party developers are the key to maintaining and growing Skype’s dominance. Christopher Dean, Skype’s Chief Strategy Officer, will be speaking at next week’s VON conference and I suspect this will be the top issue on the crowd’s mind.
1 Response to “The Skype Extras Saga”