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Skype (the personal edition or Skype free) was a web meeting, video conferencing, and VoIP software, now superseded by Microsoft Teams' free edition and unsupported from May 2025.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
No
No
Free/Freemium Version
No
No
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No
No
Entry-level Setup Fee
No setup fee
No setup fee
Additional Details
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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 audio
8.60 Ratings
9.70 Ratings
High quality video
8.20 Ratings
9.40 Ratings
Low bandwidth requirements
8.30 Ratings
9.20 Ratings
Mobile support
7.10 Ratings
9.20 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 sharing
8.30 Ratings
9.30 Ratings
Whiteboards
6.50 Ratings
9.00 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 integration
7.90 Ratings
9.20 Ratings
Meeting initiation
8.70 Ratings
9.60 Ratings
Integrates with social media
5.50 Ratings
9.20 Ratings
Record meetings / events
6.70 Ratings
9.20 Ratings
Slideshows
8.40 Ratings
9.80 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 chat
7.90 Ratings
9.60 Ratings
Audience polling
7.30 Ratings
9.80 Ratings
Q&A
7.40 Ratings
9.30 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 authentication
8.70 Ratings
9.50 Ratings
Participant roles & permissions
8.20 Ratings
9.40 Ratings
Confidential attendee list
7.70 Ratings
9.80 Ratings
VoIP system collaboration
Comparison of VoIP system collaboration features of Product A and Product B
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.