Cisco Unified Communications vs Skype for Business comparison

Cisco Unified Communications

Read 6 Cisco Unified Communications reviews

883 Views
760 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Skype for Business

Read 60 Skype for Business reviews

2,758 Views
987 Comparison Views

78% willing to recommend

Cisco Unified Communications

Skype for Business

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cisco Unified Communications and Skype for Business based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about 3CX, Kamailio, Digium and others in Unified Communications.

To learn more, read our detailed Unified Communications Report (Updated: June 2024).

Buyer's Guide

Unified Communications

June 2024

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Helped 787,226 peers since 2012

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Unified Communications

Average Rating

9.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Unified Communications (4th), IP Telephony & Unified Communications (1st)

Skype for Business

Average Rating

7.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Virtual Meetings (4th)

Featured Reviews

it_user208755

Sr. Voice Engineer at a retailer with 501-1,000 employees

Jun 30, 2015

I find the ability to block incoming calls based on the originating number to be the best feature, but the reporting system needs to be more in-depth.

It would be nice if the reporting system was more in depth. I have a reporting solution sold by a third party which works very well, but the built-in solution should be better. Real Time Monitoring Tool (RTMT) - This tool allows you to monitor different systems. Call manager, Unity Connections, UCCX, CUPS and so on. Each of these systems can run slightly different versions, which can make it difficult to monitor the internment. You can only have 1 instance of RTMT on your computer, so if the versions are different you will get warnings about how some aspects may not function because of the version mis-match. I use the highest version I can, because it's typically backwards compatible, but a web interface for this functionality would be a big improvement.

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reviewer2057283

Software architect at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

Jan 5, 2023

Easy to use , with nice integration, and very scalable

Our primary use case is for meetings, online meetings, internal meetings, and with vendors The integration with Microsoft Outlook for creating and scheduling meetings is nice. I believe that this software is very much like the others, for example, Microsoft teams. I would like to see an updated…

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"We use Extension Mobility and Jabber a lot with mobile remote access. In addition to video calls with Jabber, this greatly enriched communications between coworkers."

"The Click to dial feature was one of the most important features for the customer."

"We really like the screen sharing tool. The user experience is smooth, and user-friendly."

"Skype for Business is good for meetings and instant messaging."

"I like the fact that it opens up your video conferencing, and, in many cases, the audio at the same time."

"Making calls and having meetings is easy."

"The solution is stable and scalable."

"I use the chat feature to communicate with my staff, which is very helpful."

"Our employees use this solution for a communal space to collaborate for organizational decision making."

"I think Skype for Business is scalable. However, I believe Microsoft is discontinuing the Skype platform altogether, so I don't think it's super-relevant."

More Skype for Business pros

Cons

"Some features take a lot of steps to configure, so having areas where a few clicks can configure a feature for a user would be nice."

"An improvement option could be to incorporate the Voicea solution with Communication Manager, allowing it to make a translation between different languages automatically in a conversation."

"We are looking for a more collaborative tool, not only in terms of virtual meetings but also for teams to collaborate, share a document, work together, and all those types of things."

"The solution's functionality needs to be moved to Microsoft Teams. Its technology is outdated."

"There are some issues with stability during phone calls. Sometimes the connectivity drops, and it is frustrating."

"The solution should improve the chat and add more flexibility to make a call."

"Sometimes Skype is slow, and we cannot use other elements of our devices while using the Skype solution."

"We have found that there is a lag because it cannot integrate with the internal landline."

"There are issues with the bandwidth, particularly for external meetings,"

"Skype for Business could improve the interface. It could be easier to use. Additionally, it's hard to find the people or add people you want to communicate with."

More Skype for Business cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"We have been able to save money by moving our conferencing solution to Skype for Business Conferencing."

"I am using a corporate account for which I have not made any payments."

"Previously, I did not use another solution."

"The solution is priced fairly."

"When it comes to the pricing of the solution, I rate it as a five out of ten. It falls somewhere in the middle between being cheap and expensive."

"We had a license for every one of our users to use Skype for Business. The license we used was part of an overall Microsoft license package."

"Skype for Business' pricing is reasonable."

"It may be slightly costly, but the features are awesome."

More Skype for Business pricing and cost advice

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787,226 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

11%

University

10%

Government

Educational Organization

88%

Computer Software Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

Ask a question

Earn 20 points

What do you like most about Skype for Business?

The solution’s video quality is fine.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Skype for Business?

I use the product's open-source version.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Skype for Business?

The solution has very limited features. The solution should improve the chat and add more flexibility to make a call.

See all answers

Comparisons

Fortinet FortiVoice vs Cisco Unified Communications

Compared 47% of the time

Cisco Jabber vs Cisco Unified Communications

Compared 26% of the time

Siemens OpenScape vs Cisco Unified Communications

Compared 7% of the time

Digium Asterisk vs Cisco Unified Communications

Compared 6% of the time

Kamailio SIP Server vs Cisco Unified Communications

Compared 6% of the time

More Cisco Unified Communications Competitors

Webex vs Skype for Business

Compared 28% of the time

Zoom vs Skype for Business

Compared 22% of the time

GoToMeeting vs Skype for Business

Compared 12% of the time

TeamViewer vs Skype for Business

Compared 11% of the time

BlueJeans Meetings vs Skype for Business

Compared 4% of the time

More Skype for Business Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Unified Communications

June 2024

Download Cisco Unified Communications product report

Buyer's Guide

Skype for Business

May 2024

Download Skype for Business product report

Also Known As

No data available

Skype for Business Plan 1, Skype for Business Plan 2, Lync Server

Learn More

Cisco

Microsoft

Overview

With Cisco Voice and Unified Communications, you can unify all your voice, video, data, and mobile applications for interactive collaboration.

Skype for Business offers features including presence, IM, voice and video calls, online meetings, conferencing, and telephony solutions that support enterprise-level collaboration requirements. Skype for Business Record meetings, share your screen, and annotate PowerPoint for real-time collaboration with up to 250 people and use whiteboard, polls, Q&A, and built-in IM during your business meetings to make them more productive. Skype for Business provides new client experience, Skype for Business Server provides several new features to improve manageability of on-premises servers and hybrid solutions. Skype for Business also supports the Lync client experience so that you can choose a phased upgrade approach to the new client experience for users. Skype for Business is also an integral part of Microsoft Office 365, providing PSTN Conferencing, Cloud PBX, PSTN Calling, and Skype Meeting Broadcast capabilities to Office 365 users.

Sample Customers

Afni, Allied Irish Banks, Bellevue, Came Group, Children's Hospital Colorado, Erickson Living, IDEALondon, Instituto Zaldivar, John Lewis, Linz AG, London Hydro, Lone Star College System, Lone Star College System, Mondi Group, North West Redwater, Park Nicollet, Pentana Solutions Australia, Pilatus, Pirelli, Portugal Ministry, Presidio Inc., Republic Bank & Trust Company, Saipem, SickKids Foundation, Top Right Group, Vital Images

EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Services,LA Fitness, MedcoEnergi International, Tampa General Hospital, and HopewellHoldings Limited.

Buyer's Guide

Unified Communications

June 2024

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We monitor all Unified Communications reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.