Great replacement for desk phones
December 05, 2017
Great replacement for desk phones
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Cisco Jabber
We use Jabber across the enterprise. In order to reduce hardware and licensing costs, we needed a solution that replaced our existing use of Skype for Business; integrated into a Cisco VoIP solution, allowed remote users to be issued a direct number, and provided simple, straightforward instant messaging. From our cost-benefit analyses, Jabber was significantly cheaper than similar solutions from Skype for Business or Citrix, and because of its integration into the Cisco UCS environment, it was easy to deploy out the enterprise.
- Provides unified, simple to use instant messaging across departments, groups, and projects.
- Makes it easy for users to move from their mobile phones to the desktop to a physical phone.
- Presence indicators pull nicely from Outlook so users don't have to mark themselves as being in a meeting or otherwise unavailable.
- With some versions, logging in can be buggy requiring some users to log in repeatedly, or log out and back for it "take hold".
- The mobile client on iPhones will sometimes fade into the background, which can lead to missed calls or messages if the app isn't actively connecting.
- Contacts are not synced from Outlook or mobile devices, which can be a bit of a pain to have to set up in the app.
- Apples to apples, we were able to free up about $6,000 in licensing from Skype for Business and reducing the number of physical handsets we were licensing and supporting.
- Communication up the organization has increased, as executives or other senior managers are more accessible and willing to communicate over chat, than with face-to-face or phone calls.
Skype for Business is a great tool that integrates nicely with Office 365. The problem we had was that we needed a solution that would replace desk phones, increase mobility, and extend unified communication services to the entire organization. We also found that Skype to Business to Skype Personal was not as simple as it should have been, and we were resorting to less professional solutions. Jabber allows us to meet our primary objectives, as well as allowed us to put forward a more professional appearance.