Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams vs. Webex App

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

Today, every company needs to deal with increasingly complex communications environments that open up a wide variety of communication methods. Webex App expands communication and improves productivity. It is very suitable for consolidating and optimizing the collaborative work of our company, with the diversity of communication channels it provides. It allows for obtaining a dynamic, secure, and stable communication flow.

Incentivized

• 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.

• High-quality, high-impact communications in our workflow.
• It's great for sharing large documents, it doesn't slow down our communications.
• The dark mode is excellent, it has a good image and seamless integration features.
• We can record meetings, which is perfect for backing up any information that may be overlooked.

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

• The UI could have been more interactive and smart
• The loading time of the app when opening first time or after an update is very long, this should be fixed
• In case of network failure, the app does not show whether it is still connected or not, a random stopping of the audio and video cannot be an indication of which side the network failure has been on

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

Webex App is really easy to use, friendly interface and feature rich application. Besides that, there are some few bugs and instability to correct to give a 10 grade in my opinion. The application sometimes lost audio device configuration, specially when used with Microsoft Windows 11. It is somehow annoying behavior, not frequently but it forces you to restart Windows to get it back to normal condition.

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.

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.

Incentivized

We have not ran into any availability issues or concerns with WebEx. Product reliability has been great

Incentivized

I believe as with any cloud based application or solution that your individual connectivity is key to making the product a success. WebEx works will with just about any internet connection from cellular to WiFi

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

It's a fantastic product, but nothing is perfect, and there's always room for improvement, hence the 9/10. The integrations, the application available from the application itself, and API make this a well-supported solution for any organisation. Cisco also allows you to raise support cases specifically for Webex App (subject to support contracts, I presume), ensuring that these go to the correct team after opening the case.

Incentivized

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

Very easy to create. All operations are done without any problems with our business growth. All people like the experience including me as an instructor. The tools that WebEx App offers us are very complete for working in a virtual classroom, whether it is sharing the screen, the different display modes, the whiteboard, or even the scoring tools on the screen, it allows me to do my job as an instructor as if I was face to face with the participants.

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

Implementation was quite smooth

Incentivized

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

I had to choose Webex App, my company uses it. It stacks up very poorly in the UI/UX department. The whole app is a mess. If it wasn’t a mess it would’ve taken over as the app of the pandemic. It needs a fundamental redesign. I hate using it.

Incentivized

Cisco has designed WebEx to be scalable from small companies with only a few employees to enterprise organizations with thousands or employees without loosing any features or functionality

Incentivized

• 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

Incentivized

• We have a different approach because we are working in the Education field. Many students use now Webex in their jobs.
• Many teachers have now good skills for online education due to Webex conferences.
• Our students have good jobs and they manage to access Universities due to our Webex conferences.

Incentivized