Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) vs. Webex Webinars

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
Score 7.1 out of 10
N/A
Skype for Business was an online messaging and conferencing tool, now superseded by Microsoft Teams.N/A
Webex Webinars
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
Webex Webinars is a scalable webinar platform that helps users to create engaging and impactful experiences for everyone, from small sessions to massive global audiences.N/A
Pricing
Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)Webex Webinars
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Webex Events
Contact Sales
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)Webex Webinars
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)Webex Webinars
Considered Both Products
Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)

No answer on this topic

Webex Webinars
Chose Webex Webinars
Webex Events is my choice to make events because it can afford more participants without losing audio and video quality. Webex Events is more professional, and with it, we can make high-level events like a Digital Summit. The users can use it without the need [for an] …
Chose Webex Webinars
Pricing is the main thing. The support we get from Cisco also matters for us. We need to resolve any problems immediately which Cisco teams do on time, and the customer service department is also really cool.
Chose Webex Webinars
Webex Events is significantly more expensive than Skype or Zoom for an enterprise license, so our nonprofit is currently only using Webex Events for webinars with external stakeholders or trainees. Skype is more integrated with the Microsoft suite of tools we use, but it …
Features
Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)Webex Webinars
Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software
Comparison of Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software features of Product A and Product B
Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
8.0
195 Ratings
1% above category average
Webex Webinars
8.8
68 Ratings
8% above category average
High quality audio9.1191 Ratings9.268 Ratings
High quality video9.0185 Ratings00 Ratings
Low bandwidth requirements5.0181 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile support9.0146 Ratings8.563 Ratings
Screen Sharing
Comparison of Screen Sharing features of Product A and Product B
Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
7.0
191 Ratings
12% below category average
Webex Webinars
-
Ratings
Desktop sharing9.0191 Ratings00 Ratings
Whiteboards5.0120 Ratings00 Ratings
Online Meetings / Events
Comparison of Online Meetings / Events features of Product A and Product B
Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
9.3
188 Ratings
13% above category average
Webex Webinars
9.0
67 Ratings
10% above category average
Calendar integration10.0174 Ratings9.060 Ratings
Meeting initiation9.5182 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrates with social media8.182 Ratings00 Ratings
Record meetings / events9.0143 Ratings8.866 Ratings
Slideshows10.0115 Ratings9.363 Ratings
Event registration00 Ratings8.863 Ratings
Online Events Collaboration
Comparison of Online Events Collaboration features of Product A and Product B
Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
7.5
173 Ratings
7% below category average
Webex Webinars
8.9
66 Ratings
5% above category average
Live chat8.5171 Ratings00 Ratings
Audience polling7.094 Ratings9.065 Ratings
Q&A7.094 Ratings8.863 Ratings
Online Events Security
Comparison of Online Events Security features of Product A and Product B
Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
6.9
156 Ratings
15% below category average
Webex Webinars
8.9
64 Ratings
6% above category average
User authentication9.0142 Ratings00 Ratings
Participant roles & permissions8.5148 Ratings9.164 Ratings
Confidential attendee list3.0109 Ratings8.758 Ratings
VoIP system collaboration
Comparison of VoIP system collaboration features of Product A and Product B
Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
7.8
1 Ratings
4% above category average
Webex Webinars
-
Ratings
Video conferencing7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Audio conferencing8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Video screen sharing8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Instant messaging8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
-
Ratings
Webex Webinars
8.8
62 Ratings
13% above category average
Dashboards00 Ratings8.758 Ratings
Data exportability00 Ratings8.958 Ratings
Online Events Marketing
Comparison of Online Events Marketing features of Product A and Product B
Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)
-
Ratings
Webex Webinars
8.8
54 Ratings
11% above category average
Branding options00 Ratings8.852 Ratings
Integration to Marketing Automation00 Ratings8.848 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)Webex Webinars
Small Businesses
Intermedia AnyMeeting Pro
Intermedia AnyMeeting Pro
Score 7.2 out of 10
BigMarker
BigMarker
Score 6.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
JioMeet
JioMeet
Score 9.8 out of 10
Zoho Meeting
Zoho Meeting
Score 8.8 out of 10
Enterprises
Webex Meetings
Webex Meetings
Score 8.6 out of 10
ON24
ON24
Score 7.7 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)Webex Webinars
Likelihood to Recommend
8.4
(198 ratings)
8.5
(68 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(7 ratings)
9.6
(5 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(14 ratings)
9.0
(26 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(3 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(3 ratings)
Support Rating
8.5
(40 ratings)
5.9
(26 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.0
(2 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(3 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)Webex Webinars
Likelihood to Recommend
Discontinued Products
Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams is a remote/virtual team collaboration tool must have...especially if you already use Microsoft tools. Of course, since it now part of an MS 365 subscription, it really doesn't make sense to use anything else. It is easy to use and just works. I'm not sure how anyone who works with digital files/documents and needs to work with other people doing similar work can be effective without such a tool. Of course, there are a number of alternatives like Zoom or Webex, but why pay or use another separate tool if you don't need to. :-)
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Cisco
I'd say mainly well suited for larger audiences. I think there's probably some products that are a little more economical for smaller audiences, but if you need a solid, reliable platform for larger audiences, say more than a hundred people. So this is the best product for that or at least top two.
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Pros
Discontinued Products
  • 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.
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Cisco
  • Cisco Webex Events is very straightforward and easy to use. Setting up an event within the platform is quite simple - anyone can do it.
  • Webex Events is a great add-on feature to the Webex conferencing platform to allow a one-way broadcast of information, rather than worrying about attendees being able to interrupt the presentation.
  • Recording a session is fairly simple and accessing the recordings post-event is quite reliable. I believe you can also upload .mp4 files into the Webex Events platform to serve as a host.
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Cons
Discontinued Products
  • Connection issues can be hard to diagnose when they come up(as some knowledge of server information may be needed to reestablish as the connection troubleshooting options on the sky are not as user-friendly as the rest of the platform.
  • Some issues setting up camera/sound could use more info on troubleshooting options with playback sound, video, etc.
  • Statuses sometimes are unreliable and do not display correctly .
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Cisco
  • There always seems to be room for video quality improvement (not a necessity, but would be nice)
  • Mobile screensharing from iOS/Android (and other mobile) devices would be a great feature
  • The mobile app should be able to track meetings a user has been invited to, but does not do so (yet)
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Likelihood to Renew
Discontinued Products
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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Cisco
Webex Webinars continues to provide exceptional value as a community engagement and professional education platform. As long as there are a multitude of event offerings and the product continues to be supported with periodic software and security updates, I can anticipate using Webex Webinars for the foreseeable future. Overall a great product!
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Usability
Discontinued Products
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.
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Cisco
My experience with this software is fantastic; it's so satisfying that it only took me a week to go through an internal training program to use this software, actually, I don't think this training program was necessary. Usability is one of the most fantastic features to guarantee the increase of members in remote events.
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Reliability and Availability
Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Cisco
Webex Webinars are available 24/7 and is based on your license purchase and usage. Webex Webinars needs maximum bandwidth consumption for sending and receiving videos and listed below are some examples. High-Definition Video: 2.5 Mbps (Receive) and 3.0 Mbps (Send)· High Quality Video: 1.0 Mbps (Receive) and 1.5 Mbps (Send)· Standard Quality Video: 0.5 Mbps (Receive) and 0.5 Mbps (Send) Webex Webinars makes it easy to analyze attendance statistics, send participants to a post-webinar landing page, and integrate data into CRMs and marketing automation.
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Performance
Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Cisco
You can turn around WebEx Attendance reports within 24 hours. Sign in to Webex Site Administration and go to Reports - Access Anywhere. Select the beginning and ending dates for the report. Report data is available only for sessions conducted up to three months before the current date depending on your administration set-up. From the Sort results by drop-down list, select the sort order criteria for the report. After hosting a WebEx Webinar, you have the ability to create a report of all of the participants and the times that they entered and left the meeting. Reports cannot track emoji's or reactions. Best practice for Q&A and tracking you can integrate SLIDO. You cannot save individual polling results. Also the polling report does not include who asked and answered the questions. This limitation does not apply to SLIDO. Closed captions and transcriptions are only saved if the Webinar is recorded. If you face problems during a webinar, you can hit then button which creates and send a report to Cisco who will then look into the problems to avoid future occurrences
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Support Rating
Discontinued Products
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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Cisco
I love the control that this product gives to those running the meetings. It allows you to assign presenter roles to people and everyone else that is an attendee can be totally controlled, like whether they can unmute, use video or just sit there and watch. It really gives control of the meeting to those who are running it. And we love that ability for those meetings that we are trying to make sure people are listening in on instead of trying to participate.
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Online Training
Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Cisco
It was a good training to understand not only webinars but the entire platform.
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Implementation Rating
Discontinued Products
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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Cisco
The implementation process was fairly simple and straightforward
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Alternatives Considered
Discontinued Products
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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Cisco
ON24 has a lot more bells and whistles, which is great when you need them but when you're looking for a straight up platform to host a stand alone webinar, Webex Webinars is a good alternative. We've selected Webex Webinars when we don't need such a customized webinar console.
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Scalability
Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Cisco
Webex Webinars is a scalable platform designed for interactive experiences. It can accommodate attendees from 100 up to 100,000 attendees depending on the purchase of your license. The scalability is based on each company's requirements and usage. Webex Webinars can offer key features like real-time translations, moderated Q&A, live polling, and chat, making it suitable for both small and large audiences and can be deployed across multiple departments and sites as needed.
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Return on Investment
Discontinued Products
  • Skype for Business has enabled a migration in part away from fixed line telephony and introduced the user to mobile working with a headset which cannot be overstated as being a game changer.
  • Being able to schedule Skype for Business meetings through Outlook has meant meetings with colleagues without a meeting room has been a great enabler.
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Cisco
  • Allowed us to keep our product development moving forward during the pandemic.
  • Reduced our travel costs by hosting virtual events.
  • Allows us to host more events because of reduced cost over in-person events.
  • Helps us with faster time to market on features as we can quickly set up and host a focus group.
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ScreenShots