Item: Cisco Jabber
Rating: 8
Author: ozan guner

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Cisco Jabber as a substitute for physical desk phones at the office. We used to use Cisco IP Phone's (the classic 7942 if my memory serves me right), but they were limiting the user mobility. For example, the users could not answer their phone if they were not present at their desk, or in the office. Therefore we switched to a more mobile solution such as Jabber on a global scale.

Pros and Cons

Provides user mobility to work from anywhere
Seamless integration with other Cisco products, such as Finesse
Easy to configure from a user-admin perspective

Stability depends on internet connection more than it needs to
Using different tools for almost the same purpose(collaboration) is not user-friendly. Maybe a super product combining WebEx and Jabber features could be an option.
Expensive pricing and pricing model for big organizations (per license)

Return on Investment

Cisco Jabber helped us develop a Business Continuity Plan in case of emergencies.
It allowed our employees to answer their office-phones remotely.
It saved us a 10.000$ investment every 4 years on the desk phones for only the Turkey office, possibly much higher figures on the global scale of Hilti.

Alternatives Considered

Microsoft Teams, Skype, Skype for Business (formerly Lync), now part of Microsoft Teams and Zoom

Cisco Jabber by itself lacks the features other collaboration tools have. The main functions of the application such as calling/answering calls, chatting, work great. However, it does not really allow for working collaboratively compared to applications such as Microsoft Teams. My honest suggestion is to build Jabber and Webex features in one application since both applications serve the same purpose, working with other colleagues.

Key Insights

Do you think Cisco Jabber delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Cisco Jabber's feature set?

Did Cisco Jabber live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Cisco Jabber go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Cisco Jabber again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Skype for Business (formerly Lync), now part of Microsoft Teams

Likelihood to Recommend

Cisco Jabber is a well-suited app to answer and make calls from your computer. Compared to the technologies we have been using, namely desk phones, it provides you the mobility that the way we currently work (Hybrid/Remote) demands due to the pandemic. The only requirement on the user side is to have a quality headset and a laptop, and you're good to go! Also from a business continuity point of view, if you are running a business where customers are calling your contact center, Cisco Jabber is the perfect solution to go to. In case of any natural disasters affecting your main-office, your customer service representatives can take customer calls from the comfort of their home. However, to be considered as a well-round collaboration tool, Cisco Jabber needs more features. Competitor apps like Teams now both have the functionality of applications such as Webex Meetings and Jabber together, making it much easier to use only one tool for both purposes and I believe Cisco can do the same with Webex and Jabber.

Every Contact Center's Best Friend: Cisco Jabber

Overall Satisfaction with Cisco Jabber