Cisco Unified Communications vs Skype for Business comparison

The compared Cisco and Microsoft solutions aren't in the same category. Cisco is ranked #1 in UC , with an average rating of 7.7, and holds a 12.8% mindshare in the category. Microsoft is ranked #4 in VM , with an average rating of 8.3, and holds a 10.3% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 79% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

Cisco Unified Communications

Read 9 Cisco Unified Communications reviews

787 Views
480 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Skype for Business

Read 63 Skype for Business reviews

1,456 Views
1,034 Comparison Views

79% willing to recommend

Cisco Unified Communications

Skype for Business

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cisco Unified Communications and Skype for Business based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, 3CX, Fortinet and others in Unified Communications.

To learn more, read our detailed Unified Communications Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Unified Communications

September 2025

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Helped 872,706 peers since 2012

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 Unified Communications

Average Rating

8.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Unified Communications (1st), IP Telephony & Unified Communications (1st)

Skype for Business

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Virtual Meetings (4th)

Mindshare comparison

Cisco Unified Communications and Skype for Business aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Cisco Unified Communications is designed for Unified Communications and holds a mindshare of 12.8%, down 13.6% compared to last year.
Skype for Business, on the other hand, focuses on Virtual Meetings, holds 10.3% mindshare, up 7.9% since last year.

Unified Communications Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Cisco Unified Communications	12.8%
3CX Live Chat	9.6%
Kamailio SIP Server	9.6%
Other	68.0%

Unified Communications

Virtual Meetings Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Skype for Business	10.3%
Zoom Workplace Business	15.0%
Webex	13.1%
Other	61.6%

Virtual Meetings

Featured Reviews

Kani Kumar J

Cisco VOIP Engineer at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Reliable customer communication and good third-party integrations with minor server update issues

Cisco supports third-party gadgets, including workforce management systems. These can be directly integrated with Cisco, a feature not widely supported by other contact centers. Additionally, redundancy is set up, meaning if one side of the server goes down, the other side will take over to prevent the contact center from completely failing.

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Magdalena Teodorczuk

Senior at Krajowy Depozyt Papierów Wartosciowych S.A.

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.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco supports third-party gadgets, including workforce management systems."

"The Click to dial feature was one of the most important features for the customer."

"We use Extension Mobility and Jabber a lot with mobile remote access. In addition to video calls with Jabber, this greatly enriched communications between coworkers."

"The solution is easy to use and includes the ability to text message, video and voice chat, and transfer files."

"It saves trouble, and it saves us time."

"The solution’s video quality is fine."

"Scalable communication tool that's easy to install. Even old people are using it, because of its ease of use."

"Our employees use this solution for a communal space to collaborate for organizational decision making."

"The GUI is very user-friendly."

"The product's initial setup phase is very easy."

"The most valuable feature of Skype for Business is overall it is an okay solution."

More Skype for Business pros

Cons

"An improvement option could be to incorporate the Voicea solution with Communication Manager, allowing it to make a translation between different languages automatically in a conversation."

"Some features take a lot of steps to configure, so having areas where a few clicks can configure a feature for a user would be nice."

"Sometimes, minor temporary issues can arise while updating the servers."

"The cost of Skype for Business has room for improvement."

"I should be able to make a desktop phone call when I click a member of my Lync directory."

"We overcame the audio quality issues by asking users to use the 'Call Me' feature with their desk phone."

"Sometimes Skype is slow, and we cannot use other elements of our devices while using the Skype solution."

"I feel that the whole look and feel of Skype should be improved, including its user-friendliness. It should also improve its scalability."

"Whenever someone is using a messaging platform, the messages needs to be stored. In Skype for Business, the message will not be seen later on if you're not online. It isn't useful, in my opinion."

"The group feature of Skype for Business needs improvement. It should also be improved for online lectures."

"The technical support from Microsoft needs to be improved."

More Skype for Business cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"It may be considered costly for certain markets, such as in India."

"The licensing is billed on a yearly basis."

"A license is required to use the solution."

"We purchased an open license."

"We negotiated a fair price with Microsoft. It is definitely worthwhile to negotiate with them for the best price for your solution."

"When it comes to the pricing of the solution, I rate it as a five out of ten. It falls somewhere in the middle between being cheap and expensive."

"The solution is priced fairly."

"We are using the subscription-based version of Skype for Business. There is a free version of the solution."

More Skype for Business pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

12%

Computer Software Company

11%

Non Profit

Government

Manufacturing Company

15%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Government

11%

Performing Arts

11%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	3

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	18
Midsize Enterprise	19
Large Enterprise	27

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Cisco Unified Communications?

I want to see improvements, especially for the GUI interface, as it should be much easier and user-friendly in Cisco Unified Communications. It would be beneficial if it could be more web interface...

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What is your primary use case for Cisco Unified Communications?

We use this only for communication purposes, which includes a few use cases for it. We haven't used the video calls and other features because we based our use on basic communication, so I cannot g...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Unified Communications?

Regarding price and value, it is already expired and has reached end of life.

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What do you like most about Skype for Business?

The solution’s video quality is fine.

See all answers

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.

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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...

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Comparisons

Fortinet FortiVoice vs Cisco Unified Communications

Compared 19% of the time

Alcatel-Lucent OmniPCX Enterprise Communication Server vs Cisco Unified Communications

Compared 10% of the time

Kamailio SIP Server vs Cisco Unified Communications

Compared 7% of the time

Digium Asterisk vs Cisco Unified Communications

Compared 6% of the time

Cisco Jabber vs Cisco Unified Communications

Compared 5% of the time

More Cisco Unified Communications Competitors

Webex vs Skype for Business

Compared 24% of the time

Zoom Workplace Business vs Skype for Business

Compared 18% of the time

TeamViewer Business vs Skype for Business

Compared 17% of the time

GoToMeeting vs Skype for Business

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco Meeting Server vs Skype for Business

Compared 3% of the time

More Skype for Business Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Unified Communications

October 2025

Download Cisco Unified Communications product report

Buyer's Guide

Skype for Business

October 2025

Download Skype for Business product report

Also Known As

No data available

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

Overview

With Cisco Voice and Unified Communications, you can unify all your voice, video, data, and mobile applications for interactive collaboration.

Cisco

Skype for Business offers features including presence, IM, voice and video calls, online meetings, conferencing, and telephony solutions that support enterprise-level collaboration requirements. Skype for Business Record meetings, share your screen, and annotate PowerPoint for real-time collaboration with up to 250 people and use whiteboard, polls, Q&A, and built-in IM during your business meetings to make them more productive. Skype for Business provides new client experience, Skype for Business Server provides several new features to improve manageability of on-premises servers and hybrid solutions. Skype for Business also supports the Lync client experience so that you can choose a phased upgrade approach to the new client experience for users. Skype for Business is also an integral part of Microsoft Office 365, providing PSTN Conferencing, Cloud PBX, PSTN Calling, and Skype Meeting Broadcast capabilities to Office 365 users.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Afni, Allied Irish Banks, Bellevue, Came Group, Children's Hospital Colorado, Erickson Living, IDEALondon, Instituto Zaldivar, John Lewis, Linz AG, London Hydro, Lone Star College System, Lone Star College System, Mondi Group, North West Redwater, Park Nicollet, Pentana Solutions Australia, Pilatus, Pirelli, Portugal Ministry, Presidio Inc., Republic Bank & Trust Company, Saipem, SickKids Foundation, Top Right Group, Vital Images

EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Services,LA Fitness, MedcoEnergi International, Tampa General Hospital, and HopewellHoldings Limited.

Buyer's Guide

Unified Communications

September 2025

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