PanTerra Networks vs. Skype (discontinued)

One of the main draws of PanTerra Networks Streams is the unlimited calling, which was very enticing. We chose the platform over other models (per-call for example) because they simplified billing. While the video conferencing and messaging feel bare-bones or underdeveloped in comparison to other players in the market, the fact that the messaging is seamlessly integrated into the PBX makes it easy to use. The call routing systems are especially robust, which in the collections world is very important to be able to segment calls to different users.

Incentivized

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

Incentivized

• Attended or un-attended answering of incoming calls
• Transfer calls to appropriate person
• Integrates with cell phones for always available
• Keeps a log of phone calls
• Allows me to use messaging on my phone system and desktop
• Allows me to manage user accounts

Incentivized

• 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.

Incentivized

• Billing support is not easy to reach.
• Being online and on app is a bit confusing. You have to set each to ring or not.
• We would love if you could change the outbound caller ID faster than in settings. Like when you dial out.

Incentivized

• 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.

Incentivized

In all likelihood, we will remain Panterra customers for many years. VoIP phone and messaging is a rapidly expanding and evolving market, however, and its possible a better solution will come along, but for now, Panterra Streams offers a compelling solution combining leading features, great customer service, and affordable pricing.

Incentivized

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.

PanTerra Networks needs to make the interface more user friendly and make it easier for the users. Like saving message templates or saving phone numbers for the fax directory.

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

We have not experienced any outages or issues during business hours

Incentivized

Fantastic. Very happy!!! We love it and haven't had any issues.

Incentivized

The support team is fantastic, probably the best I have experienced with any company. If I have a question, I can quickly chat with support and they resolve the problem nearly immediately. I don't have to call a phone number and wait on the line for hours for a response. Overall, the support team is one of the main reasons we continue to utilize PanTerra Streams.

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

Everything was fantastic. Training was sufficient and everything was easy to use. It was provided on our schedule and was very clear. I did the training myself. Training person was very knowledgeable. We are very happy. Only two users. very happy very happy very happy very happy very happy very happy

Incentivized

The implementation was fast. Things were explained quite well on the onboarding call. All that was left to do was to map the extensions(they did this for us) and port over the numbers. The porting process went pretty smoothly! No complaints at all.

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

We've used Net2Phone and Segra prior to using PanTerra Networks. PanTerra Networks has been our best overall system. For Net2Phone, call quality was an issue at times and it was not easy to update the system for holidays at the time of use as well as limited data analytics. Segra had good call quality and ease of system but did not have good data analytics at the time of use. PanTerra Networks had all: Call quality, ease of customization and good data analytics.

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

We only have three phones and two users

Incentivized

• Very reliable. We make hundreds of calls outbound and there has never been a connectivity issue or otherwise
• We decreased our monthly expense for reliable service by several hundred dollars
• The onboarding support was the best we've ever experienced. They were on the phone while we hooked up every phone, tested, and got it all set up with ease.
• Any changes needed after onboarding were difficult to accomplish without a call to customer service. Some of those calls to customer service made things more confusing

Incentivized

• 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.

Incentivized