Item: Webex App
Rating: 7
Author: Taylor S. Shelberg, MBA

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Our entire Admissions office uses Webex. Prior to the pandemic, each team within our office was using different instant messaging tools such as Slack and Jabber. We were already decentralized and spread across three (3) separate office spaces. It would be difficult to correspond with certain teams who only used Slack but didn't use Jabber. It created a lot of confusion and frustration when you needed a quick answer. A silver-lining from the pandemic is that it forced all of us to jump onto Webex (Teams) in order to bring continuity across the whole team while everyone worked remotely. Now that we've all been using it for over a year, it's just part of the regular work day and it's saved lots of short email updates, standing meetings and phone calls.

Pros and Cons

Instant messaging/chat feature is easy to use for DM's and group "spaces."
Connecting my work phone line to my laptop using the application is a game changer!
Being able to also access any other employee in our organization is also great.

The actual chat threads could be aesthetically enhanced and more fun.
The voicemail feature notification does not go away unless you listen to every last second.
Sometimes you click "audio" call and the person your calling's video pops on automatically without them knowing a forewarning.

Return on Investment

We've streamlined and synced up our communication with other colleagues.
We've significantly cut down on the volume of daily emails and phone calls.
We now have less meetings if it can be discussed as a brainstorm in the group chat feature (spaces).

Alternatives Considered

Slack, Microsoft Teams and Cisco Jabber

Honestly, I think Slack might be better than Webex when it comes to document sharing and the chat feature (DMs and groups). I love the "channel" concept. But Slack does not stand up against Webex when it comes to integrating features such as phone call/device connection. If Webex did not have this feature, I would most likely fight harder to use Slack.

Support Rating

N/A - I've never had an experience with the Webex support team.

Key Insights

Do you think Webex App delivers good value for the price?

Not sure

Are you happy with Webex App's feature set?

Yes

Did Webex App live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Webex App go as expected?

I wasn't involved with the implementation phase

Would you buy Webex App again?

Yes

Usability

I would rate the usability of Webex at an 8 out of 10. Overall, it's fairly easy to use. I'm fairly comfortable with learning new software but I know some of my colleagues aren't as comfortable. But I notice that they had a few minor challenges finding how to access or maximize certain features. There's definitely room for improvement.

Likelihood to Recommend

I think it's a great communications bundle for universities and other non-university employers. I was not a part of the decision-making team, but I'm assuming the University gets a great price since so many staff and faculty work here. It's very nice to allow staff enhanced mobility and flexibility for where they geographically work. It allows teams to stager their work schedules being at work or at home and not have to transport their work phone each time. Webex may not be the most beneficial when sharing lots of information that you may want to reference at a later time. The search feature is not as robust as I would prefer.

All my Slack or Microsoft Teams users - connect your phone/voicemail from any device with Webex instead!

Overall Satisfaction with Webex (formerly Webex Teams)