Fuze vs. Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Fuze
Score 7.6 out of 10
Enterprise companies (1,001+ employees)
Fuze is a cloud-based unified communications platform that includes IP PBX voice service, video conferencing, and collaboration tools such as content sharing and instant messaging capabilities. It also integrates with a wide range of popular CTI, CRM, and click-to-call solutions.
$15
per month
Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams
Score 7.5 out of 10
N/A
Skype for Business was an online messaging and conferencing tool, now superseded by Microsoft Teams.N/A
Pricing
FuzeSkype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams
Editions & Modules
US Outbound
$0.02
Per Minute
Fuze Meetings
$15
Per User/Per Month
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
FuzeSkype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
FuzeSkype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams
Considered Both Products
Fuze
Chose Fuze

Skype for Business, 8x8, on-prem PBX.

Fuze has better call and video quality then other UCAS services we have evaluated and is more resilient. No equipment or cap-ex needed vs an on-prem PBX solution, and user provisioning is much easier.

Chose Fuze
WebEx seems to be a top contender against Fuze, but because it's more meeting based than for just individual calls we decided to disregard it as a solution as a replacement for our traditional phone system. Skype for Business on the other hand is also good and has the features …
Chose Fuze
Our company has used three different phone systems during my time. It began with an on-premises system from Interactive Intelligence, Inc. (I3), which is primarily a higher-end call-center product. Due to a business relationship, we were able to utilize what would have been …
Chose Fuze
They all have different usages, Fuze makes it feel like we are using a phone even if we use it from our laptops. We also wanted to have one centralized VOIP system, for example, we have Webex as our meeting system and Slack as our instant messaging system. Definitely much …
Chose Fuze
I listed Skype because Skype has very similar uses like Fuze, copies calling, inter-office chat, video chat, etc. I personally liked Fuze a lot better than Skype. Skype is a bit clunky, I am constantly having audio issues, and when it has been used for video-conferencing …
Chose Fuze
Fuze replaced Mitel for our organization. Mitel was costing us quite a bit of money and also needed to purchase physical handsets. Fuze was a lot quicker with setting up a new line. For Mitel, we had to login to an outdated system, had to program specific keys on the …
Chose Fuze
Post deployment we're currently reviewing the other unified communications solutions as Fuze is expensive per user when compared to other options available. Fuze has an advantage due to its PBX capabilities however licensing for non-PBX users is considerably higher then other …
Chose Fuze
We selected Fuze since they advertised integration with Microsoft Lync which we use within our organization.
Chose Fuze
Fuze provides both PBX and messaging capabilities - cost may not make it ideal for all use cases however it should be considered.
Chose Fuze
For hardware phone replacement, none. It was an HQ decision and we had to work accordingly.
Chose Fuze
I inherited Fuze and am making best efforts to work with it, but it's a challenge. I've used Skype and other unified communication platforms in the past and I've found these more reliable and intuitive.
Chose Fuze
The implementation was much easier and SFB did not have Canadian integration with telco providers at the time we were rolling this out. We were also on-premise SFB which made things more complicated and required much more resources and building out for reliability across all …
Chose Fuze
With Fuze it is actually a cloud based unified communication platform that is designed to empower all business communications. While on the other hand Skype is a software application whose text, voice, and video tools make it simple to communicate with each other. So whenever …
Chose Fuze
I feel there are a lot of similarities between the two products, like being able to download the app to your phone, making phone calls, and video conferencing. One area I feel fuze stacks up better against something like Skype is the audio quality. The audio quality through …
Chose Fuze

InContact - Cosmocom....IC is top notch, ticket and help is amazing. Fuze has some work to do to be considered on that level.

Fuze does beat out Cosmocom for sure.

Chose Fuze
Zoom is probably a more reliable solution for Video Conferencing as the user interface is about as easy to use, but with the added benefit of being able to connect to nearly any type of system from newer Lifesize Icon units, to older Polycom systems, to the ancient SIP systems …
Chose Fuze
We used Skype before and it was fine for VOIP call from laptops only. IM was also fine with this tool but no support for Web or Video conferences.
Chose Fuze
Fuze voice is better amongst all I have used up to now. Video Conferencing is also very good. It has all the options available which are needed for a meeting, chat, recording, sharing etc.
Chose Fuze
Our final selection came down to Fuze and RingCentral as the two vendors who met most of our organization's specific requirements. In the final selection it was a combination of Fuze's single user application format and their overall pre-sales handling of our account that won …
Chose Fuze
Most of the UC platforms are similar in how they work and what they do. Fuze for us came in at a better price point and I was more convinced by the support offered and the deployment options.
Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams

No answer on this topic

Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
FuzeSkype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams
Cloud PBX
Comparison of Cloud PBX features of Product A and Product B
Fuze
5.9
111 Ratings
33% below category average
Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams
-
Ratings
Hosted PBX5.578 Ratings00 Ratings
Multi-level Interactive Voice Response (IVR)6.373 Ratings00 Ratings
User templates5.360 Ratings00 Ratings
Call reports6.592 Ratings00 Ratings
Directory of employee names6.0107 Ratings00 Ratings
Call Management
Comparison of Call Management features of Product A and Product B
Fuze
6.8
107 Ratings
21% below category average
Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams
-
Ratings
Answering rules7.199 Ratings00 Ratings
Call recording6.489 Ratings00 Ratings
Call park7.273 Ratings00 Ratings
Message alerts6.693 Ratings00 Ratings
VoIP system collaboration
Comparison of VoIP system collaboration features of Product A and Product B
Fuze
7.4
91 Ratings
11% below category average
Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams
-
Ratings
Video conferencing7.377 Ratings00 Ratings
Audio conferencing7.590 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile apps
Comparison of Mobile apps features of Product A and Product B
Fuze
8.1
103 Ratings
3% below category average
Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams
-
Ratings
Mobile app for iOS8.194 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile app for Android8.177 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software
Comparison of Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software features of Product A and Product B
Fuze
-
Ratings
Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams
7.5
193 Ratings
7% below category average
High quality audio00 Ratings8.0189 Ratings
High quality video00 Ratings7.7184 Ratings
Low bandwidth requirements00 Ratings6.6181 Ratings
Mobile support00 Ratings7.9145 Ratings
Screen Sharing
Comparison of Screen Sharing features of Product A and Product B
Fuze
-
Ratings
Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams
8.5
190 Ratings
6% above category average
Desktop sharing00 Ratings8.8190 Ratings
Whiteboards00 Ratings8.3119 Ratings
Online Meetings / Events
Comparison of Online Meetings / Events features of Product A and Product B
Fuze
-
Ratings
Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams
7.8
187 Ratings
5% below category average
Calendar integration00 Ratings8.0173 Ratings
Meeting initiation00 Ratings8.1181 Ratings
Integrates with social media00 Ratings7.783 Ratings
Record meetings / events00 Ratings7.6142 Ratings
Slideshows00 Ratings7.7114 Ratings
Online Events Collaboration
Comparison of Online Events Collaboration features of Product A and Product B
Fuze
-
Ratings
Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams
8.6
172 Ratings
2% above category average
Live chat00 Ratings9.1170 Ratings
Audience polling00 Ratings8.493 Ratings
Q&A00 Ratings8.193 Ratings
Online Events Security
Comparison of Online Events Security features of Product A and Product B
Fuze
-
Ratings
Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams
8.0
155 Ratings
5% below category average
User authentication00 Ratings8.1141 Ratings
Participant roles & permissions00 Ratings7.9147 Ratings
Confidential attendee list00 Ratings8.0109 Ratings
Best Alternatives
FuzeSkype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams
Small Businesses
CloudTalk
CloudTalk
Score 9.5 out of 10
ClickMeeting
ClickMeeting
Score 9.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
CloudTalk
CloudTalk
Score 9.5 out of 10
ClickMeeting
ClickMeeting
Score 9.4 out of 10
Enterprises
Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued)
Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued)
Score 9.1 out of 10
Google Meet
Google Meet
Score 8.3 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
FuzeSkype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams
Likelihood to Recommend
8.0
(116 ratings)
8.6
(196 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.7
(20 ratings)
9.0
(7 ratings)
Usability
7.1
(12 ratings)
9.0
(14 ratings)
Availability
8.9
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
7.4
(88 ratings)
8.5
(40 ratings)
In-Person Training
8.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
9.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.0
(111 ratings)
7.0
(2 ratings)
Configurability
8.7
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
8.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
7.8
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.6
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
8.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
FuzeSkype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams
Likelihood to Recommend
Fuze
Fuze has way more capability than we need for our small office so it might be best suited for large installations, call centers, and complex environments. Our office is small and our needs [are] minimal, so when we need support we are challenged to understand the support person due to our lack of technical sophistication. We sometimes feel like we should switch to a solution more geared for consumers or SOHO. Nevertheless, Fuze provides reliable service at [a] reasonable cost that meets our needs, and because support is rarely needed we are happy with them most of the time, i.e. when support isn't needed.
Read full review
Microsoft
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.
Read full review
Pros
Fuze
  • Support Team - the best I have ever worked with. They help 24/7 on any issue I could come across. Usually it is an item I could fix myself and they fix it and show me how to fix the same issue if I have it in the future.
  • Contact Center - We do Commercial Collections involving Sales and Collections. We have 50 people on the phone at one time. Contact Center lets a Manager listen live and gives help if the rep needs help selling or collecting.
  • Pandemic 2020 - without Fuze we would have been unable to work for 3 months. They saved our "rears" since we already had all their services up and running for years.
Read full review
Microsoft
  • Instant messaging to anyone who we know only by name/email. Even if they're offline, they get the message in missed convos and a notification automatically goes to them via Outlook mail. All conversations are saved and accessible via Outlook.
  • Video and voice calls are a norm in the WFH scenario, and an average employee has around 4-5 calls a day. Skype gives notifications for upcoming meetings, allows easy scheduling via outlook calendar, and its audio/video quality [is] reasonably good compared to the amount of data it consumes.
  • Status availabilities - in the WFH scenario, you could be off for lunch, out of office, busy, sharing screens - and might not want to be disturbed. Skype allows you to do that, and in case you're off, ensures that you know that you have missed messages.
  • Screen sharing - we have to share screens at least once or twice a day with a coworker when working on some issues/features, and Skype easily lets us do that. One of the best things about Skype is that the screen can be shared without being on a video/voice call - which is of immense advantage because oftentimes, you could prefer sharing the screen, while it [is] too noisy to talk.
Read full review
Cons
Fuze
  • Desktop application stability and compatibility with certain hardware.
  • Better installation - Per-user and per-computer installs sometimes compete with one another and/or upgrades fail to install.
  • [The] desktop app is not best for touchscreen-enabled devices due to lack of ability to scroll through messages using a finger or stylus.
Read full review
Microsoft
  • 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.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Fuze
Fuze is a solid application that is a great asset to the business for our sales staff to make daily calls to clients and candidates. Managers can monitor call data and times to keep up to date with team performance, as well as monitor calls for users on their team. The Fuze/MS Teams integration is an exciting prospect that would be very beneficial to us as a business, for seamless integration between the 2 platforms.
Read full review
Microsoft
The software is simple to install and configure. It is rather simple to explain for correct use. It is possible to profile users for the different functions offered. It is integrated quite completely with Outlook and with Active Directory security. It performs all communication functions well with one or more interlocutors and the possibility of granting control of your computer is convenient.
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Usability
Fuze
Fuze was built with the end-user in mind. It was built to have a common interface on mobile and desktop. Fuze Web is new, and it also has the exact same interface as the desktop and mobile, and they are still working on the ability to make phone calls from the browser itself, currently it can do meetings just fine. Everything about Fuze was built with the end-user in mind.
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Microsoft
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.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Fuze
We've had a few outages over the past year. More than other vendors I've used. They usually have outages fixed within an hour. The downside is they do not provide root cause of outages. If they do at takes them at least a month to get it to you
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Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Performance
Fuze
Since Fuze runs across multiple devices and platforms they really strived to make a lightweight interface that is optimized for phone calls, chat, and collaboration. The web client loads fast, the chat is always up-to-date, phone calls arrive on-time. The desktop client is the most feature rich and basically it just adds desktop sharing functionality as well as VoIP for calling, and the mobile client doesn't consume a lot of battery, and it stays running to get phone calls, chats, and can do meetings over Wifi, Cellular Data, or Cellular voice.
Read full review
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Fuze
Our experience with Fuze support has been overall very positive. Their technicians seem to be well trained and able to handle a variety of requests and issues without unnecessary delays or extensive troubleshooting. Fuze allows enough customer access to avoid the need to call support for every little issue but is ready to assist when issues are beyond our capabilities to resolve.
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Microsoft
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.
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In-Person Training
Fuze
At many of our sites with more than 50 users, Fuze sent someone onsite to train. This worked surprisingly well, as the trainer allowed the users to set the pace and answered TONS of questions. Fuze has a very streamlined training process, their staff is very professional, very knowledgeable and very engaging.
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Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Fuze
Fuze has vast amounts of training videos and guides on how to use its products and services. There are literally endless-hours of training and I often point end-users to a particular video which addresses the specific needs of the user, for example: how to check voicemail. Or, how to share your desktop, etc.
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Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Fuze
Personally, I didn't have any trouble getting started with Fuze. It was installed on my computer on my first day and I was good to go! Little to no hiccups. I was not with the company when they first adapted Fuze so I can not speak to the implementation as a whole.
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Microsoft
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.
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Alternatives Considered
Fuze
Fuze was far more expensive and more complicated to set up. Our current platform took a few days to set up with SSO. Our contact center took a bit longer but works amazingly.
Read full review
Microsoft
For the below reason I will always choose this app over its competitors: Better audio and video quality, Little to no disconnections or freezing when on a call/video conference Integrates well with mailbox/ calendar/ one drive, and SharePoint is easy to use
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Scalability
Fuze
Fuze does have scalability limits but most of that is how many end-points they can put on a virtual PBX, or VCX as they call them, I THINK its limit is somewhere between 2,000 and 5,000, but we've not had issues with that because we have put users into various VCXs some by location, some by department or function. Either way, we have 7,000 currently deployed, and are going to end up with over 15,000 when we are done, Fuze is VERY scalable.
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Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Fuze
  • We receive constant negative feedback from mangers about the system not functioning correctly. (This is mainly due to lack of support from Fuze)
  • This has had a positive impact in that the system is cheaper and we are missing less calls due to the functionality of the system.
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Microsoft
  • We almost lost our biggest client because of the poor performance early on in our implementation...the online meetings were poor quality for audio and bandwidth refreshing
  • Many of the employees in our company disliked the quality so much, they started to sign up for free Cisco WebEx accounts to use instead
  • The majority of employees in our company lost trust in our CTO because of his decision to switch from Cisco WebEx to Skype for Business
Read full review
ScreenShots