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Microsoft Powerpoint vs. Polycom RealPresence Group Series

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Microsoft Powerpoint

    Score7.9 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft PowerPoint is a presentation software designed to allow users to create slide-based presentations including video and images, as well as slide transitions and animations.

    $139.99

    Polycom RealPresence Group Series

    Score7.7 out of 10
    N/AThe Polycom RealPresence Group Series is a video conferencing codec that connects to a standards-based video conferencing infrastructure to allow users to make video conference calls. There are three products in the series – RealPresence Group 300, RealPresence Group 500, and RealPresence Group 700. It is certified to use with Office 365 and Skype for Business.N/A
    Pricing
    Microsoft PowerpointPolycom RealPresence Group Series
    Editions & Modules
    One Time Purchase
    $139.99
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Microsoft PowerpointPolycom RealPresence Group Series
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Detailsβ€”β€”
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Microsoft PowerpointPolycom RealPresence Group Series
    Considered Both Products
    Microsoft
    No answer on this topic
    Poly
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    100%
    Would buy again
    64 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    61 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    97%
    Happy with the feature set
    62 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    93%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    42 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    98%
    Implementation went as expected
    50 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Best Alternatives
    Microsoft PowerpointPolycom RealPresence Group Series
    Small Businesses
    Adobe Presenter
    Score9 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    Microsoft Powerpoint Online
    Score7 out of 10
    Cisco Room Series
    Score8.6 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Adobe Presenter
    Score9 out of 10
    Cisco Webex DX80 (discontinued)
    Score9.1 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Microsoft PowerpointPolycom RealPresence Group Series
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.4
    (63 ratings)
    9.0
    (25 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    8.9
    (10 ratings)
    9.0
    (4 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.5
    (4 ratings)
    8.3
    (4 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Microsoft PowerpointPolycom RealPresence Group Series
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Microsoft
    The learning curve with Microsoft Powerpoint is not too steep, and most everyone can create really nice-looking presentations. The thing I like most about the new advancements in Microsoft Powerpoint comes to formatting. If you are creating a newsletter, don't get bogged down by all of the annoying formatting rules and issues you would have if creating in Publisher or Word. Microsoft Powerpoint makes it very simple. You can add text boxes and move them anywhere on the page. The templates are a nice touch, but they could use more, as most of these are outdated. I believe there are many free websites for downloading more templates.
    Incentivized
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    Poly
    If you're always working in the Polycom ecosystem then the Group Series codecs are reliable and the quality of the camera and microphones are extremely good. However, the system relies heavily on either having onsite server technology and/or cloud based bridging capability. In addition, the peripherals like cameras and microphones are quite expensive. Maintenance and support costs also make the ongoing investment a costly one
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Microsoft
    • Insert Photos from my computer and from the web with ease.
    • Auto arrangement of graphics and texts is made available through suggested formatting.
    • Spell check as I type is very valuable to me. It autocorrects many words. I like for my presentation to be accurate.
    • The ability to change any font or any size of font is very valuable to me.
    • The ability to cut and past from Microsoft Word is valuable to me. It also allows me to import tables I have already created in Word.
    Incentivized
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    Poly
    • The audio and video quality can not be matched.
    • For the most part, they are rather simplistic in their use and just work. People don't usually have a hard time operating them
    • They are rather versatile in that we have been able to integrate them with other applications
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    Microsoft
    • 3D objects that can be manipulated in slideshows by presenters
    • AI tool to cleanup presentations
    • AI tool to create graphics
    • AI tool to create photo-realistic images
    • AI tool to create vector art
    • AI tool to create videos
    • Blender 3D object importer
    Incentivized
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    Poly
    • The only issue that we have experienced with Polycom RealPresence Group Series is the speed dial functionality. When attempting to use the speed dial buttons, the system occasionally sends a call through the computer system, not the phone. While the computer call option is valuable, not everyone can answer calls that way and we have had to do a manual lookup of an extension and call back when that happens.
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Poly
    We love the product and is totally integrated in our company.
    Incentivized
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    Usability
    Microsoft
    It’s great overall! I can think of a few improvements that would make it a 10, for example: better Smart Art graphs, automatic distribution of columns and rows in tables, and being able to more easily save templates for graphs. For example, if I could determine that a same brand name in all graphs would have a specific color, it would be great
    Incentivized
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    Poly
    The directory is slightly dated and unless you have a Skype for Business integration license, dialing users into a call is difficult. The Group Series Remote whilst minimalistic is actually more difficult to use than the previous HDX remote. Having to recharge the battery on the group series remote is both annoying and difficult as if you do not keep on top of it, you will be faced with a situation where the remote is not working and then have to try and find another one. Not ideal if you need to start a video call (assuming auto join has not been enabled in the admin portal).
    Incentivized
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    Reliability and Availability
    Microsoft
    I've never had any issues with its availability. As it is installed on my machine, it's ready when I need it, online or offline. Creating large slide decks with complex elements like video and audio doesn't affect its stability. The only limitation would be the capability of your own computer, as far as I can tell.
    Incentivized
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    Poly
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Microsoft
    The performance is very strong. It loads reasonably quickly. Large presentations load relatively quickly too, given their complexity, and once loaded each slide is readily available. It's easy to scroll up and down through your slide deck and go to the slide you want. Videos, pictures and music all load on demand, controllable by clicks.
    Incentivized
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    Poly
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Microsoft
    I have never had to use the actual support. Most of my questions are "how to" questions and there is a rich internet full of users sharing their tips and tricks with this application. Sometimes I find the answers on Microsoft support site but often I don't
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    Poly
    I can't say I've needed support more than a handful of times. One was for trying to connect a Polycom Conference phone and a Real Presence together. After a few months, we came to the conclusion it wasn't possible, that was the only frustrating occurance with support. Any other time if we needed to RMA a device, it was very smooth.
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    Alternatives Considered
    Microsoft
    Adobe Illustrator is an excellent software but it's not easy to use for [everyone without] having any training or previous experience in working with illustrator. Microsoft Powerpoint is very easy to use and it's fantastic as it saves time more than illustrator. Another thing is it takes small space while illustrator takes a significant amount of space in the business machine
    Incentivized
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    Poly
    Our Polycom RealPresence Group Series unit replaced a Cisco Room Series that was mounted to a mobile cart. The cart had one smaller display and the speakers\microphone at the cart. This required staff to be very close to the cart to hear and speak during the meeting. No fault of Cisco but the cart was not sufficient for the space. Polycom RealPresence Group Series was less costly when we were planning out the room.
    Incentivized
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    Scalability
    Microsoft
    Scaling up use of Microsoft Powerpoint would be a simple case of buying further licences. The software is intuitive and therefore training demands from scaling it to more departments or more individuals would be relatively straightforward. Google Slides may be easier to share among those organisations that use Google's suite of apps, however.
    Incentivized
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    Poly
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Microsoft
    • Helped reduce time we spend modifying and sharing back and forth different versions.
    • Saved us the frustration of having to work with an online program with limited functionalities.
    • Macros make it easy to share data in one excel file and automatically update presentation.
    Incentivized
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    Poly
    • Once pexip integrates Polycom/skype this will be a big win for us due to the RPTouch integrating the "one - touch join". This will increase adoption of video greatly.
    • Before the Group series with peripherals was implemented the cost of a video room was twice what it is today. Massive win.
    • Due to provisioning and automated firmware the IT involvement has been greatly reduced. No longer is there a need for manual changes to individual endpoints.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots