Skype (the personal edition) is a free web meeting, video conferencing, and VoIP software. The free version includes audio and video Skype-to-Skype calls, ability to call mobile phones and landlines, paid international calling, and conference calling capabilities for up to 25 people.
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Versature
Score 9.0 out of 10
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Versature is a telephony and VoIP software solution from Versature.
Skype is well suited for quick calls back and forth, in both video and audio, among team members who have it already installed and who know how to use it. It is less well-suited when trying to do a presentation for somebody who does NOT have it installed or who lacks internet speed.
Versature is versatile - it will likely perform very well in any office setting. It performs especially well with remote employees. When we had to move our operations to home during the pandemic, everyone was able to smoothly transfer calls to home or cell phones, so we didn't have to transfer equipment from one place to another. When we were in an office setting, however, Versature was also quite the helpful system. I don't see us moving away from Versature in a long time, whether we stay working remotely or we move back into the office.
The instant chat function is great. Very straightforward, easy to use, easy to learn, no technical issues.
Video calls are pretty easy also, user friendly and a mostly stable connection with no issues.
Voice calls are easy also, eliminates the need for an external landline or the need to use your cell phone. Clear connections, not really any dropped calls.
Working remotely: switching our operations to home was done easily through Versature's online portals.
Voicemail: transcription/voicemails received through email are very helpful.
Answering rules: since you can have several answering rules over various timelines, Versature allows you to customize your answering rules properly, which makes better use of your time.
This is really small, but I'd love to see the emoticons updated to emojis.
Make calling free like some other communications app providers.
Grant the ability to not show that you're online even when you are. Sometimes you want to make a call, but you don't want other people to see you're online and start messaging you.
Voicemail transcription that recognizes French: whenever a voicemail comes in French, the transcription is irrelevant.
Better voicemail transcription overall: at times, if the person leaving a message speaks too fast or doesn't speak clearly enough, the transcription isn't helpful.
Integration of time frames with answering rules: currently two windows when it could be just one in my opinion.
Skype is not as good as Facetime in terms of ease to glance at it and figure out how it works. I think that's a result of Skype trying to be too many things at once. A lot of the menu and UI could be streamlined, and I would jettison some of the additional functions that have been tacked on over the years to simplify. That being said, while some options are slightly hard to find, they all work flawlessly once found.
I am not aware of the current support level for Skype for business, as I have never used even though I have the product. However, the support for Skype's personal paid users is not where it could be. Users who pay for Skype features do not have a clear path to reach out to support. So, rating 6, can be better as soon as I need to use Skype for business support and get a good experience. I will say that I will renew Skype for Business subscription, which is a significant inconsistency on my end. The explanation is that Skype for Business comes bundled with Office for Business, with no additional cost, so why not.
I usually scour the help section/articles on their website if I am unsure of how to proceed with something. However, it has happened once or twice that I haven't found the answer I was looking for, and I therefore hopped on to their live chat. Their agents are always polite, kind, and quick to answer any question. If they don't know the answer, they will find it for you after a short pause. For those who prefer calling in and speaking with someone, you can just dial 611 from any Versature phone to reach an agent
Microsoft Teams provides basically the same services. Local number calling is not available (that I know of) but that only matters if you have any need to use it. Teams is a little more stable, especially with a lot of people on a call. Skype is easier to set up and to operate. Skype also has a larger install base.
Overall Skype is a good investment. We use regular Skype so its a product that comes with Windows PC's as a standard app. We dont use Skype for Business so this cuts cost overall.
Using the basic functions of Skype and not Skype for business does have some downsides but you do save money. There are many other apps we use as well as Skype in order to accomplish all of our goals.
The downside of course is that the more you want Skype to do, the more money it will cost the organization as a whole. It does have many more functions which you have to upgrade to Skype for business for. That is my only criticism.
