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IceWarp 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

IceWarp
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Email Applications (7th)
Skype for Business
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
62
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Meetings (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Messaging and Collaboration solutions, they serve different purposes. IceWarp is designed for Email Applications and holds a mindshare of 5.1%, down 6.0% compared to last year.
Skype for Business, on the other hand, focuses on Virtual Meetings, holds 12.5% mindshare, up 8.2% since last year.
Email Applications
Virtual Meetings
 

Featured Reviews

AvinashLotke - PeerSpot reviewer
Useful for collaboration and storage but improvement is needed in API integration
The solution has traditional SSL integration, SAML, and Federation Services. In its latest version, it added SAML integration. However, it needs to work on API integration, especially for dashboards or integration with SAP for log and data system management. It doesn't yet have the kind of API that Google and Microsoft provide for synchronizing users with Active Directory. I think IceWarp needs to improve in a few areas. They have two types of admin consoles - a web-based one and a remote one. I'd like to see these combined into a single web-based admin console. The log reading and information system also needs improvement. The current way of showing incoming and outgoing logs isn't very clear. For new users, it's hard to understand these logs, especially compared to Office 365 and other systems with easier-to-read logs. They should also add an export option to get all logs with a single click whenever we need them.
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

"IceWarp has multiple applications that are easy to use for many people."
"It has great communication capabilities for team chatting and web conferences."
"Its price is the most valuable. It is definitely one of the lowest price solutions."
"The groupware module is the most valuable feature."
"The product is used very extensively in my company since we have around 1,500 users using it. Also, there is no requirement for any administrators to manage the product by the people who own the solution."
"The solution has a very good log-in to the UI when compared to other solutions."
"The solution's voice services work well for our company."
"The solution is easy to manage and includes features such as smart documents and the archiving of user data."
"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 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."
"The most valuable features are the history tracking which allows us to see who participated and who didn't in the meetings as well as the integration with Outlook."
"File sharing and email invitations for a conference. I can have a meeting with people at the opposite end of the Earth, sharing documentation; it is quite easy."
"Desktop sharing is a valuable feature."
"We chose Skype for Business after other colleagues suggested that we give it a try. It has served us well."
"One of the best features of Skype for Business is that you can set it up on mobile phones, and you can set it up on laptops. You can connect to the tool from anywhere."
"The deployment is very fast."
 

Cons

"Although it is not a tool, video conferencing should be scalable and operate in a professional and efficient way."
"Although the documentation is extensive and in depth, you must familiarize yourself with it before taking full advantage of the product."
"The exchange compatibility mode is rather limited. Their technical support can also be better. They only provide online support, and there should be some option for escalating."
"With multiple databases for VOIP, chat and web IMAP, maintenance is cumbersome."
"Our customers sometimes have problems receiving mail."
"The solution needs improvements in security, particularly regarding document management."
"Support should be improved. Most of the time, the queries are not resolved within the SLA."
"I would like to have a trial for mobile applications and more documentation similar to Google Drive with mobile applications."
"The group feature of Skype for Business needs improvement. It should also be improved for online lectures."
"I would like to see an updated user interface and layout even though no functionality is missing."
"We are looking for a more collaborative tool, not only in terms of virtual meetings but also for teams to collaborate, share a document, work together, and all those types of things."
"We would like to better customize our instructions within the Outlook plugin/invite, but we are unable to do so."
"The user experience during long sessions could be improved to avoid issues like intermittent disconnections or login failures."
"The initial setup could be simplified."
"We need a feature where you can virtually raise your hand to silently let the presenter know that you have a question."
"We have had trouble with scalability when trying to host large meetings."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would rate the pricing and eight out of ten."
"Our licensing is on a yearly basis. There were no additional costs."
"I don't see any challenges for the Indian market. For example, 1 GB is available for around 399 INR, and 2 GB for 499 INR. They offer a range of plans, from basic to professional and enterprise, with multiple features. IceWarp's aggressive pricing is competitive compared to other market solutions like Zoho and Microsoft. One significant advantage is that IceWarp does not impose user capping like Google and Microsoft, which allows for substantial cost savings and flexibility in user conversion."
"Pricing and licensing is very competitive and in some cases, cheap."
"Costs far less than other solutions."
"The license is based on the number of users."
"Price-wise, it's a cheaper solution, without a doubt. Price is the reason we are still using the tool."
"It is definitely one of the lowest price solutions."
"We had a license for every one of our users to use Skype for Business. The license we used was part of an overall Microsoft license package."
"To realize value from the purchase of Skype Business, you need to take advantage of all the important functions of the program."
"We negotiated a fair price with Microsoft. It is definitely worthwhile to negotiate with them for the best price for your solution."
"I am using a corporate account for which I have not made any payments."
"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."
"The cost of Skype for Business is incorporated into our Office 365 licenses."
"It may be considered costly for certain markets, such as in India."
"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
Computer Software Company
18%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Insurance Company
8%
Educational Organization
67%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
4%
Manufacturing Company
4%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IceWarp?
IceWarp was very cost-effective, offering services at a significantly lower cost than Google, which was appealing for our organization.
What needs improvement with IceWarp?
The solution needs improvements in security, particularly regarding document management. Users currently have the rights to delete smart documents, which poses a challenge for administrators. A mor...
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?
The video quality could be improved, possibly due to internet connection issues. However, there is no significant weakness in Skype for Business.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
Skype for Business Plan 1, Skype for Business Plan 2, Lync Server
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Marriott, Toyota, Sony, Wendy's, Canon
EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Services,LA Fitness, MedcoEnergi International, Tampa General Hospital, and HopewellHoldings Limited.
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