Asterisk is an open source toolkit for building communications applications, now owned and supported by Sangoma (acquired with Digium in 2018). Most Asterisk-based systems and solutions require additional components (e.g. IP-phones, VoIP gateways or telephony interface cards, and other hardware), and expertise.
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Webex App
Score 8.3 out of 10
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The Webex App brings together Webex Calling, Meetings, and Messaging into a single application, fostering collaboration and unlocking more productive ways to work.
Digium Asterisk is well suited for a city government as a communications solution for internal and external use. Other options like PBX are more expensive and hard to escalate. VoIP makes it easier to use the communications infrastructure instead that already exists rather than having to wire every phone when the solution is a digital or analog phone. In my city, government offices are not in the same place, which makes it harder to communicate everything together.
It can be useful for organizations which uses hybrid and work from home model. By using this application we can seamlessly connect with each and every person in the organization. Used to conduct meetings about progress of project and can be able to present our data to others by screensharing option.
The online meeting within the internal team using Webex App is always a good experience as it helps well in sharing screen, and any content for that matter.
It helps in arranging online interviews and it is also very good experience using the web version of Webex App.
It also helps in arranging online training sessions and webinars which generally involve huge number of participants generally over 200+ participants and Webex App handles it very well.
While Webex has strong adoption on the administrative side, the LTI tool for Webex is lacking some important support for teaching and learning. Therefore, faculty do not see much value in Webex and prefer to use other tools that are easier to access and more likely to benefit their students within the LMS. Webex has not been the easiest to work with for identifying pedagogical roadmap improvements, especially compared to competitors who work closely in the education space
Webex is quite usable, and it is, in fact very easy to use as well. You don't need a lot of documentation to learn how to use the app as it's mostly self-explanatory. The user interface is easy on the eyes, and people can see buttons without issues. Overall, WebEx's front-end design is great and I don't have much issue with it.
I would say every time I open it, it is there, there are times that our users have to sign out and back in to get it to work or even do a full exit as the app will disconnect from the controlling the desk phone, but some easy steps to sign-out or fully exit the app gets the user back up and running quickly.
On standalone it works fine, it used to consume a considerable amount of system resources in the past, but with updates and upgrades, this has improved quite a lot. As far as integrations with other systems, we have not come across any critical issues with the app.
Talking about Webex App technical support is talking about the quality because they are always attentive and willing to attend to our needs, and the response is immediate; every time we have needed help to solve a problem or find out a function, they have not responded quickly, Cisco has always been characterized by being efficient and deserving 10 points.
I am very satisfied with my experience with Webex App in online training. The creation of the event is very easy with the possibility of scheduling it in advance. The management of participants, organizers, and animators is complete. The invitations are automated and by simply using emails we can create all the schedules of the training session
I would rate the online training 8/10. It provided clear and well-structured content, making it easy to understand the core features of Webex. However, I believe it could have been more interactive, with practical exercises or real-life scenarios to enhance user engagement. More advanced topics or troubleshooting guides could also be helpful for deeper learning.
There was quite a bit of back and forth with TAC and Cisco Reps to get it fully up and running but we did get there. Some of which had to do with documentation was not fully understandable. But with Cisco TAC we were able to get fully up and running.
Recently I've been using Vonage Business, and while it is far more expensive and a lot less configurable than Digium, the mobility is essential for my new role. Digium is ideal for a business with both a very technical staff and a user base that is not remote. Digium was selected due to price and ability to create custom applications.
Microsoft Teams, while being built for more file sharing, completely misses the mark. I prefer Webex App which focuses on being a great chat tool, rather than trying to become something it is not. Slack is preferred over Webex App, but just barely, and it is only because Slack has a slightly more intuitive group discussion function.
Once everything is in place on the back end getting Webex on a user's PC is now very easy and with single sign-on, users are able to sign in without having to remember another password. Just make sure you have all the user settings in CUCM, CUC set right, and that they have the needed licenses in Webex Control Hub.
Comfort in switching multiple OS platforms, when there is similar UI design.
HD video quality and HD screen share, make up presentations look more professional and standardized.
Less call/meeting drops as seen in other platforms applications.
Builds a level of trust, when we connect on Cisco's application platform with customers who are having their whole communication infrastructure shifted to Cisco Webex App.
