Cisco Meeting Server (discontinued) vs. Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)

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.

Incentivized

Skype is useful for collaborations across distances, including work from home, as well as a more convenient way to communicate with a large group of people. Skype is also useful to communicate with specific parties quickly, rather than relying on cellular service in areas where not as available. Skype is less useful if the team does not use computers , tablets, smartphones, etc in daily workflow as it would rarely be used.

Incentivized

• Picture and sound quality are excellent.
• Connection is strong and reliable.
• It allows people at home to feel apart of the meeting on site.

Incentivized

• Group Chat option allows multiple people to have a conversation away from the main presentation
• Integration with Microsoft Office allows easy usage of excel, PowerPoint and other MS programs
• Easy calendar integration for Microsoft Outlook
• Mobile interface is very easy and intuitive

Incentivized

• 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.

Incentivized

• Probably the biggest area is the video element as it has historically struggled in this area.
• The need to be forced to federate with another organisation by providing yours and enabling the other organisation settings is a bit tedious but once done, allows for simple collaboration between third-parties.
• Functionality wise, as it's an older product and being superseded by MS Teams, it feels as if it's run its course but was very good for what it does/did at the time.

Incentivized

because we're satisfied of the product

Incentivized

I honestly feel that with most people using iPhone nowadays, it's easy to just call or use FaceTime if you need to be in touch with a client. Unless you need to have a conference call, there are plenty of ways to get in touch with a client otherwise besides using a somewhat inefficient program.

Incentivized

very easy to use and quick to learn

Incentivized

Very easy to use. Even though Microsoft Teams has a lot of features and integrations, as a user I feel completely comfortable on finding what I need, getting information about the app extensions and using them. It's a very comprehensive tool, intuitive design and does not make me feel tired to be using it. I am glad with the current experience.

I never used Support

Incentivized

I have only had to reach out to the Support team at Skype for Business once with an issue, and I was pleasantly surprised and encouraged by the quickness and thoroughness of their response. The wait time was short and my question was dealt with politely and clearly, so I would say the support team has it together.

Incentivized

Skpe for business is utilized company wide in regards to my company. Everyone not only uses it, but uses it often. It is an effective way of communicating. It also integrates very nicely with outlook and all conversation history is pushed to a folder within the outlook system. We also have it so that if someone misses a message, they are sent an email reminder saying that there is a message that went unread.

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams is just better for us since we were already a Microsoft productivity suite (Office) user. No additional cost when we went from traditional product license model to SaaS. Continuous integration and upgrades with MS 365 make it even easier to use and therefore stickier.

Incentivized

• 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

Incentivized

• In the move to WFH for the over 90000 employees of the firm in 13 different timezones, Skype for [Business], as the primary communication tool has been the most critical factor in ensuring there's not a communication breakdown.
• An average of 7 calls a day and around 50-60 text messages are sent via Skype for [Business]. These communications are critical for [the] continued delivery of our services.
• Video/voice calling and screen sharing features of Skype have played a great role in simulating a shared workspace scenario in the virtual mode as best as possible.