Discord vs. Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)

Discord is completely suited for any tech server needs - and a million times better than Facebook. It's still lLess suited for non-tech but for sure it's getting better and with some support from Discord that could be fixed easily (just don't dumb-it down or take away features please). I have it open all day, on a separate monitor if I'm not using that one for something else. It'd be great - and maybe I've missed this - if there was a way to have an overview of messages posted in various channels. Despite using it for years now, I've never dug deeply into notifications, so maybe it's possible already. But it should be highly customisable - ie, put all messages from chosen slow servers in the feed, but only highlights from busy ones, and no messages from certain servers etc , so it remains manageable.

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

• One to many Communications to ensure that we can quickly get messages out when we have to.
• Quick polling of questions and issues
• The ability to gate channels so we can focus on folks that we know are stakeholders gives them an added feeling of belonging and that they have a say in the direction of projects.

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

• Adding friends for DMing is a little confusing.
• Joining new servers can have some roadblocks.
• Notification setup can be difficult, some individuals were only notified if tagged.
• Archiving a channel without losing everything.
• Having to upload images before sharing instead of accessing everything in my own library.

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

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

Because it is easy to use, its fun, it has everything you need to comunicate, voice, text, screen sharing, images, emojis, gifs, stickers, and even personalized ones. It also has comunication through integrations like games and music, that i think that brings people together. It is also great for keeping records of the conversations at work

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.

There is plenty of online documentation and knowledge base articles. As well as having an open API to be able to tie it into other products makes it a really viable solution for any business. I have never had to contact support, any questions which I have need answered can be found in the documentation,

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

The vast array of free features on Discord right out of the box makes it a stand-out in pricing from other chat platform options. Discord works phenomenally if you want a chat platform that is free, quick to set up, and very flexible in the ways you can start using it. It doesn't require a complex set of logins for different servers (such as Slack) or logins that are inconveniently tied to other products (like Microsoft). If you prefer to view full conversations all in one place without them "splintering" off into branches that are missed, such as is the case with Slack, Discord works great for this. If you feel seeing everything is too overwhelming or "busy", Discord may not be right for you. Discord is great for lean organizations or startup companies, but will likely not feel "professional enough" for larger, traditional "corporate" enterprises.

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

• Very feature dense on a free-level.
• Easy to build a good sense of discourse and community.
• Generally a more casual vibe than similar platforms.
• Channels with a large number of users can be overly hectic to the point of diminishing returns.

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.