Skype at crossroads on developer program

Skype said late last week it is closing its Extras developer program, which let third-party developers add functionality to the voice-over-IP platform. Though details on future directions are scarce, the company did say, however, that it is not abandoning working with developers but shifting its focus to its next-generation VoIP platform.

The move comes as Skype in late August announced the sale of the company by eBay to a trio of venture capital firms, including one fronted by Web pioneer Marc Andreessen. That makes the timing especially odd for killing the developer program, especially as a vibrant and open developer program has been so vital for other platforms, most notably for iPhone apps.

Skype developer advocate Antoine Bertout announced the decision in a blog post, noting that “despite the incredible breadth of Extras developed for Skype, simply not enough people were using them to justify our continued support of the [program].”

That said, Bertout wrote – and other Skype executives have hinted further – that Skype is not abandoning developers altogether and is likely to revisit the creation of a more robust API in the future. “While the Extras program didn't work as well as we'd hoped, we still believe there are opportunities for third-party developers to enhance the Skype experience,” according to Bertout.

Companies that have tried to provide API-level access to telephony applications have clearly had a mixed bag of success. Several Web mashup style API players, such as Jaxtr, weren’t able to find their footing at all; others like Ribbit, purchased by BT, continue to push the API agenda. Even others, like Fonolo or Ifbyphone have at least found interesting niches, if not blockbuster acceptance. Meanwhile, incumbent telecom players like AT&T, Verizon and countless others around the globe continue to swing, miss and sometimes hit with their developer programs and API platforms.

One future direction for Skype could be to move the API to more of a service-layer rather than client layer access. Today, apps built with the Extras API need to invoke the Skype client, which adds overhead to the application; keeps Skype, rather than the developer at the center of the app; and limits the kinds of third-party apps that can be built. A service layer app would let a developer embed call controls for accessing Skype into their own applications, with Skype benefiting from network usage, particularly usage that uses Skype In/Out minutes.

Indeed, the problem, according to some analysts, is that although Extras is interesting, it hasn’t necessarily been set up strategically in a way to improve Skype’s bottom line. “The best answer I can come up with isn't that they are fleeing developers, but they are doing a major overhaul of the program, which they need to do,” said Thomas Howe, voice mashup analyst and founder of Thomas Howe Co., and who until recently was CEO of telecom API and tools company Jaduka.

“Even if nothing else drives them, carriers have to have a developer program to stay competitive.  For instance, the average developer doesn't make much on iPhone apps, yet Apple aggregates that revenue for something, but more importantly, drives the sales of their handset to galactic proportions,” Howe said. “Skype needs some sort of way of extending and integrating their network, or they'll get cooked by somebody who does - even if the money isn't the initial driver.”