Cisco VoIP PBX vs Skype for Business comparison

The compared Cisco and Microsoft solutions aren't in the same category. Cisco is ranked #2 in IP , and holds a 15.2% mindshare in the category. Microsoft is ranked #5 in VM , with an average rating of 8.2, and holds a 4.8% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 79% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

Cisco VoIP PBX

Read 1 Cisco VoIP PBX review

253 Views
248 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Skype for Business

Read 63 Skype for Business reviews

2,155 Views
1,616 Comparison Views

79% willing to recommend

Cisco VoIP PBX

Skype for Business

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 VoIP PBX

Average Rating

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

IP PBX (2nd)

Skype for Business

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Virtual Meetings (5th)

Mindshare comparison

Cisco VoIP PBX and Skype for Business aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Cisco VoIP PBX is designed for IP PBX and holds a mindshare of 15.2%, down 23.9% compared to last year.
Skype for Business, on the other hand, focuses on Virtual Meetings, holds 4.8% mindshare, down 11.8% since last year.

IP PBX Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cisco VoIP PBX	15.2%
3CX Live Chat	25.4%
Yeastar P-Series Phone System	8.9%
Other	50.50000000000001%

IP PBX

Virtual Meetings Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Skype for Business	4.8%
Zoom Workplace Business	8.6%
Webex	6.4%
Other	80.2%

Virtual Meetings

Featured Reviews

Adriano-Simao

Chief Technology Officer at Triana Business Solutions Lda

Provides support for help/service desk to be knowledgeable about all eGov infrastructure

Reduces costs throughout country inside a private network. Provides support for help/service desk to be knowledgeable about all eGov infrastructure and their users and technicians Regarding the extension of the country and most of the sites out of the capital city, we need to have support in…

Read full review

reviewer1854369

Executive at a government with 201-500 employees

Relying on dependable communication features for efficient collaboration

I work with Microsoft Exchange. We use Microsoft Azure, though I am not involved with the back-end operations. I work with Microsoft Exchange and ServiceNow for the service desk. I do not work with Cloud Observability or Automation Engine. We use Microsoft Copilot with Teams. We do not use Microsoft Security Copilot as it is not cloud-based. We have moved from Skype for Business to Teams recently, though some of us still use Skype for Business because it is convenient. Skype for Business is particularly useful for remoting onto people's devices. I prefer Skype for Business over Teams for screen sharing. Sometimes there are compatibility issues when running Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business together. Phone calls in Teams might ring and then go silent, or the microphone might not detect calls from either application. I rate Skype for Business a 9 out of 10 because it works effectively with minimal issues.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Reduces costs throughout country inside a private network."

"Provides support for help/service desk to be knowledgeable about all eGov infrastructure and their users and technicians."

"Using Skype allows us to connect with external agencies when a Skype call is set up and aids in sharing large files efficiently."

"I like the seamless integration to local telecommunications."

"You can do meetings with your employees, and employees outside of your company."

"It's is a very good product to have -- a solution for IM, voice telephony and video communication bundled into one."

"The public telephony feature reduces hard phone costs and RGS is like a call centre feature."

"The performance is pretty good, this is a mature application with no bugs, and I have no complaints."

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

"There are free versions of the solution available."

More Skype for Business pros

Cons

"Regarding to the older version we use, we need some improvements on chat, smartphones, video conference, call recording capabilities, etc."

"Regarding the older version we use, we need some improvements on chat, smartphones, video conference, call recording capabilities, etc."

"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."

"The initial setup could be simplified."

"Your telco, in such a scenario, could be Microsoft itself but this kind of solution involves some interesting downsides."

"There were stability issues and scalability issues."

"The integration with Outlook could be improved."

"The solution has been discontinued by Microsoft."

"The stability could be improved."

"The solution isn't connected to Microsoft Teams, and I feel like there is better communication on that particular solution. The group capabilities are a bit less than Teams."

More Skype for Business cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"The pricing is really good. It is quite affordable because it came with our Office 365. It is on a per-user license, which is nice. I quite like that they have made it very granular with all of their licensing."

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

"The solution is priced fairly."

"Our company pays for a license for us to use the solution."

"I am using a corporate account for which I have not made any payments."

"To realize value from the purchase of Skype Business, you need to take advantage of all the important functions of the program."

"The licensing is billed on a yearly basis."

"The cost of Skype for Business is incorporated into our Office 365 licenses."

More Skype for Business pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Marketing Services Firm

14%

Comms Service Provider

13%

Construction Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

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

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about Skype for Business?

The solution’s video quality is fine.

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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.

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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

3CX Live Chat vs Cisco VoIP PBX

Compared 62% of the time

Yeastar S-Series VoIP PBX vs Cisco VoIP PBX

Compared 38% of the time

More Cisco VoIP PBX Competitors

Zoom Workplace Business vs Skype for Business

Compared 15% of the time

TeamViewer vs Skype for Business

Compared 12% of the time

Microsoft Teams vs Skype for Business

Compared 9% of the time

Webex vs Skype for Business

Compared 8% of the time

GoToMeeting vs Skype for Business

Compared 8% of the time

More Skype for Business Competitors

Product Reports

No data available

Buyer's Guide

Skype for Business

March 2026

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

Cisco VoIP PBX component integrates IP communications, collaboration products, and applications into a single, unified system. VoIP PBX helps create a strong unified communications system that will accommodate your immediate business needs, and adjust to your needs as they change and grow.

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

Energisa, Top Right Group

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

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