Cisco Meeting Server (discontinued) vs. Skype (discontinued)

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cisco Meeting Server (discontinued)
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
Cisco Meeting Server was a conferencing solution for allowing the user to setup a conference any time using a wide range of Cisco and Jabber devices, and third-party solutions (e.g. Skype for Business). The product has reached its end-of-life, and is discontinued.N/A
Skype (discontinued)
Score 7.1 out of 10
N/A
Skype (the personal edition or Skype free) was a web meeting, video conferencing, and VoIP software, now superseded by Microsoft Teams' free edition and unsupported from May 2025.
$2.99
per month
Pricing
Cisco Meeting Server (discontinued)Skype (discontinued)
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
United States Subscription
$2.99
per month
North America Subscription
$6.99
per month
India Subscription
$7.99
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco Meeting Server (discontinued)Skype (discontinued)
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Cisco Meeting Server (discontinued)Skype (discontinued)
Features
Cisco Meeting Server (discontinued)Skype (discontinued)
Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software
Comparison of Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Meeting Server (discontinued)
8.0
Ratings
1% above category average
Skype (discontinued)
9.4
Ratings
17% above category average
High quality audio8.60 Ratings9.70 Ratings
High quality video8.20 Ratings9.40 Ratings
Low bandwidth requirements8.30 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Mobile support7.10 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Screen Sharing
Comparison of Screen Sharing features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Meeting Server (discontinued)
7.4
Ratings
7% below category average
Skype (discontinued)
9.1
Ratings
14% above category average
Desktop sharing8.30 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Whiteboards6.50 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Online Meetings / Events
Comparison of Online Meetings / Events features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Meeting Server (discontinued)
7.4
Ratings
11% below category average
Skype (discontinued)
9.4
Ratings
13% above category average
Calendar integration7.90 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Meeting initiation8.70 Ratings9.60 Ratings
Integrates with social media5.50 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Record meetings / events6.70 Ratings9.20 Ratings
Slideshows8.40 Ratings9.80 Ratings
Online Events Collaboration
Comparison of Online Events Collaboration features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Meeting Server (discontinued)
7.5
Ratings
9% below category average
Skype (discontinued)
9.6
Ratings
16% above category average
Live chat7.90 Ratings9.60 Ratings
Audience polling7.30 Ratings9.80 Ratings
Q&A7.40 Ratings9.30 Ratings
Online Events Security
Comparison of Online Events Security features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Meeting Server (discontinued)
8.2
Ratings
1% above category average
Skype (discontinued)
9.6
Ratings
17% above category average
User authentication8.70 Ratings9.50 Ratings
Participant roles & permissions8.20 Ratings9.40 Ratings
Confidential attendee list7.70 Ratings9.80 Ratings
VoIP system collaboration
Comparison of VoIP system collaboration features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Meeting Server (discontinued)
-
Ratings
Skype (discontinued)
9.1
Ratings
14% above category average
Video conferencing00 Ratings9.60 Ratings
Audio conferencing00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Video screen sharing00 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Instant messaging00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Cisco Meeting Server (discontinued)Skype (discontinued)
Small Businesses
Intermedia AnyMeeting Pro
Intermedia AnyMeeting Pro
Score 7.1 out of 10
Intermedia AnyMeeting Pro
Intermedia AnyMeeting Pro
Score 7.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
JioMeet
JioMeet
Score 10.0 out of 10
JioMeet
JioMeet
Score 10.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Webex Meetings
Webex Meetings
Score 8.4 out of 10
Webex Meetings
Webex Meetings
Score 8.4 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Cisco Meeting Server (discontinued)Skype (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
7.9
(0 ratings)
8.7
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
5.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco Meeting Server (discontinued)Skype (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
Cisco meeting Server can be used to host meeting for a small group 2 people and also can host meeting for hundreds of people. Even if the scalability increases no compromise in the call and consistent performance can be observed. The video quality is clear and there is no noticeable latency between audio and video. The recording feature is well placed and it helps a lot in rectifying and processing the important points that might have been left out during the meeting.
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Skype is an excellent choice for phone calls, both local and international, and is also one of the most affordable solutions for business office line. It is simple to use and get started with and provides a call experience on mobile that is similar to a regular phone call. It is not the ideal tool for team chat. For text-based team communication, a separate dedicated tool is still ideal
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Pros
  • Picture and sound quality are excellent.
  • Connection is strong and reliable.
  • It allows people at home to feel apart of the meeting on site.
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  • Perfect for chatting via text. Has emojis, file sharing, audio sharing, and even video sharing capabilities.
  • Good for video chats. You can do 1 on 1 sessions with a good quality video.
  • Privacy is also another important function they have. They allow for private conversations between users.
  • Ability to delete conversations with sensitive information you may not want seen by users not authorized. Can share confidential information via Skype.
  • Customizable profiles to fit your company culture.
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Cons
  • Add some of the features which are currently only accessible by API, this will reduce intervention of support team and downtime.
  • Bring some features to foreground. Some users find it difficult to navigate to certain buttons which are embedded in menus.
  • Allow easy access to some of the controls.
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  • Skype is a RESOURCE hog. People who have limited bandwidth will have poor call quality.
  • It is hard to figure out how to use emojis and upload images in the chat.
  • The background images do not fool anybody....it is clearly not your real background.
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Likelihood to Renew
because we're satisfied of the product
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I have given this rating as this need to give more than that as it's very helpful for us and makes our work more efficient and fast.
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Usability
very easy to use and quick to learn
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Skype is not as good as Facetime in terms of ease to glance at it and figure out how it works. I think that's a result of Skype trying to be too many things at once. A lot of the menu and UI could be streamlined, and I would jettison some of the additional functions that have been tacked on over the years to simplify. That being said, while some options are slightly hard to find, they all work flawlessly once found.
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Support Rating
I never used Support
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I am not aware of the current support level for Skype for business, as I have never used even though I have the product. However, the support for Skype's personal paid users is not where it could be. Users who pay for Skype features do not have a clear path to reach out to support. So, rating 6, can be better as soon as I need to use Skype for business support and get a good experience. I will say that I will renew Skype for Business subscription, which is a significant inconsistency on my end. The explanation is that Skype for Business comes bundled with Office for Business, with no additional cost, so why not.
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Implementation Rating
No answers on this topic
It can be used on the phone via mobile application as well as on the desktop by logging in to the website. Easily installed and ready to use.
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Alternatives Considered
Apart from Cisco Meeting Server, only Poly offers full fledged on-premise meeting server. Their solution is called Polycom RealPresence
Collaboration Server. But there solutions are mostly outdated. Even though they have recently changes to subscription via Poly Clarity but servers are still very old. Whereas Cisco Meeting Server was recently updated and integrates well with WebEx and Cisco's other products.
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Selected Skype because it was the only platform that was available for such purposes for video conferencing or audio conferencing. Since Microsoft, the tech giant, backed it, it was assured that it would work great in terms of productivity, with utmost security measures for all data, conversations, work materials, and personal information.
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Return on Investment
  • Definitely cost effective if you use most of the services and are a partner
  • They are very supportive with any issues the business faces and offers great solutions
  • I would like to see a more user-friendly website
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  • Skype has contributed to increased efficiency for remote collaboration, especially now due to the ways things are and having so many remote employees. Without this tool, or any collaboration tool, business could not move forward.
  • I think Skype is the cost effective solution also between it and the other competitors out there. I'm not privy to the exact costs, but it strikes me as the cheaper option.
  • The only negative impact I would say is its lack of functionality and customization for larger organizations or groups that have employees spread out or require inter-departmental collaboration.
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ScreenShots