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Cisco Jabber vs Skype for Business comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Jabber
Average Rating
9.0
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Unified Communications (6th)
Skype for Business
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
63
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Meetings (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Cisco Jabber and Skype for Business aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Cisco Jabber is designed for Unified Communications and holds a mindshare of 4.7%, down 9.3% compared to last year.
Skype for Business, on the other hand, focuses on Virtual Meetings, holds 8.8% mindshare, up 8.4% since last year.
Unified Communications Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Jabber4.7%
Cisco Unified Communications11.3%
Kamailio SIP Server9.2%
Other74.8%
Unified Communications
Virtual Meetings Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Skype for Business8.8%
Zoom Workplace Business13.0%
Webex11.3%
Other66.9%
Virtual Meetings
 

Featured Reviews

Fellipe Madureira - PeerSpot reviewer
We don't have to use an IP phone device all the time, and the productivity has been increased.
The most valuable features found are the Immersive Telepresence, Video Conference, VoIP Phone with video, Corporate Collaboration tools and UC services for mobile devices. They all help to improve the communication time within the company. This product makes my life much easier by shortening the distance between my boss and the rest of my team. More than half of the team I work with is located in another state, some 1,500 miles away. We can have meetings much more often due to this device, and in addition, it's possible to have meetings with other companies all over the world using WebEx and Jabber. We had a meeting with three other companies to discuss a new project via videoconference. Each company is located in different states in Brazil so we can save time and money. We had a drastic decrease of expenses by substituting videoconferences for work travel, so we rarely have to pay for tickets and hotel rooms for employees. The communication itself is the biggest asset and improvement in this case. It also has ability to choose which device the calls are sent to - an IP Phone or Cisco Jabber, although you should be logged into the network on an IP phone.
Magdalena Teodorczuk - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers great audio and video quality for virtual meetings
I like the instant messaging feature in the product since I prefer to use the chat functionalities provided by the solution. It is easy to integrate the product with some of the other solutions in the market. I rate the integration capabilities of the product a ten out of ten. The product's user interface is user-friendly. I use the product at a personal level, so I can't speak about the support it provides for the maintenance part. I rate the overall tool a ten out of ten.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"It works fine feature-wise. The Cisco Jabber features that we use work okay."
"The most valuable feature for me is that it shows who is available and who is not, as well as what their current status is."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to talk with people in real-time, instead of sending texts."
"We really like the screen sharing tool. The user experience is smooth, and user-friendly."
"The most valuable feature is stability."
"The GUI is very user-friendly."
"The ability to mute everyone else is pretty useful when there is a large audience."
"It has benefited my organization because I can use it on the phone, I can use it on a laptop, wherever I want. The communication channel is very easy now and I can call and chat. It's experienced. Together, my team manages everything. It's very easy."
"The solution is stable and scalable."
"The most valuable features of Skype for Business include its persistent chat, Edge Server, Reverse Proxy, front-end server, back-end server, and business calling capabilities, among others."
"Our employees use this solution for a communal space to collaborate for organizational decision making."
 

Cons

"Cisco Jabber is not a collaborative tool."
"There are issues in switching from one type of communication system to another. When I connect my wired earphone or Bluetooth earphone, Cisco Jabber doesn't switch automatically. There are some user experience issues that need to be fixed."
"I presume that very small businesses would have a tough time justifying the investment."
"It would be ideal if the solution could make instant messages more permanent. Currently, if you close the conversation, you lose the instant messages that you shared during the meeting. If those could last beyond the meeting, that would be a great addition, due to the fact that frequently, people give each other key details, important information, or email addresses, etc., during the meeting. If you don't write it down during the meeting, after the meeting closes, it's gone forever. That can be quite frustrating."
"I should be able to make a desktop phone call when I click a member of my Lync directory."
"Lacks a zoom-in feature for whoever is presenting."
"I would like to see an updated user interface and layout even though no functionality is missing."
"We overcame the audio quality issues by asking users to use the 'Call Me' feature with their desk phone."
"The technical support from Microsoft needs to be improved."
"Skype for Business could improve the interface. It could be easier to use. Additionally, it's hard to find the people or add people you want to communicate with."
"The solution lacks to provide reporting functionality, and I would like to see the solution provide that feature."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"I use the product's open-source version."
"To realize value from the purchase of Skype Business, you need to take advantage of all the important functions of the program."
"The cost of Skype for Business is incorporated into our Office 365 licenses."
"Previously, I did not use another solution."
"Our company pays for a license for us to use the solution."
"The solution is priced fairly."
"We purchased an open license."
"We are using the subscription-based version of Skype for Business. There is a free version of the solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
14%
Healthcare Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Performing Arts
11%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Government
11%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise27
 

Questions from the Community

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Skype for Business?
Skype for Business is affordable and has decent pricing. The video quality is a bit lower than Teams or Zoom, but it remains a good solution overall.
What needs improvement with Skype for Business?
I cannot think of many ways in which Skype for Business could improve in general. It works fairly efficiently for our purposes with Skype for Business. There is one issue regarding the audio settin...
 

Also Known As

Jabber
Skype for Business Plan 1, Skype for Business Plan 2, Lync Server
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Odeabank, Eagle Investment Systems, Pella Corporation, The Republican National Convention, avodaqAG
EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Services,LA Fitness, MedcoEnergi International, Tampa General Hospital, and HopewellHoldings Limited.
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, 3CX, Fortinet and others in Unified Communications. Updated: November 2025.
873,085 professionals have used our research since 2012.