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ShoreTel Sky [EOL] vs Skype for Business comparison

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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

ShoreTel Sky [EOL]
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
4.5
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Skype for Business
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
64
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Meetings (5th)
 

Featured Reviews

it_user269988 - PeerSpot reviewer
Office Manager with 51-200 employees
The Service Portal is useful feature, but there are occasional outages.
Phone Assistant is very useful, as is the Service Portal Occasional outages, but they're usually resolved very quickly. Customer Service: Customer service is generally responsive and courteous. Technical Support: Technical support folks are generally knowledgeable and helpful. We moved to VoIP…
MD
Assistant Information Technology Officer at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
Internal communication has become more efficient while mobile usage still needs improvement
The honest answer is that the product has not really evolved in some time. Microsoft has been pushing everyone towards Teams and Skype for Business has been in maintenance mode for a while. The mobile experience is also not great. Staff who try to use it on their phones find it less reliable than the desktop version, calls drop more, and the interface is clunky. For a modern workforce that expects everything to work on mobile, that is a gap. Despite the initial setup challenges and mobile issues, we have noticed positive outcomes for our organization since adopting Skype for Business. I rate Skype for Business seven out of ten. I think that Skype for Business has served us well for what it is. A government office has different expectations from a fast-moving private company. We value stability and security over the newest features. On those terms, Skype for Business has delivered.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Allows us to work interactively through different locations."
"We moved to VoIP a little over five years ago, after having a traditional POTS system, and it was a great improvement in terms of capability and service."
"We rely on using ShoreTel's Phone Assistant as an integral part of our company and how it functions."
"With the reporting available from Shoretel we were able to adjust our staff scheduling and decrease average hold times from 60 seconds to 30 seconds."
"We have 15 branches that are now connected as though we are housed in the same building."
"The Portal administrator tool is very easy to navigate and understand; this has to be my favorite feature."
"Using Shortel sky has been great for our company."
"The tool's most valuable features are its audio and chat functions. They help us save time and have good telephone integration."
"Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten...Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"It's is a very good product to have -- a solution for IM, voice telephony and video communication bundled into one."
"It's a good and stable product that fits my needs."
"People are now able to virtually collaborate with their staff and have a conference call. We don't need a phone line to make that conference call and we are saving on that. People are able to share their presentations. Also, they can chat using the Skype"
"I like the seamless integration to local telecommunications."
"The most valuable feature of Skype for Business is that it has many other tools that you can be integrated with it, which makes the meetings more interactive."
"The solution is scalable and is capable of working on every appliance on every operating system."
 

Cons

"Occasional outages, but they're usually resolved very quickly."
"The experience does not feel "Unified." With the recent acquisition of M5 they acquired a bunch of new features, but have not been able to make all UC features available from one website or one program."
"Perhaps allowing more control over user functions from the customer portal, otherwise the solution is a good fit."
"Some intermittent connectivity issues are inherent with VOIP systems."
"The portal is very good, but could use more function and streamline, especially in the call flow section."
"We would like to better customize our instructions within the Outlook plugin/invite, but we are unable to do so."
"If you don't write it down during the meeting, after the meeting closes, it's gone forever. That can be quite frustrating."
"WebEx has a feature that allows you to zoom in when you're giving a presentation. To get the same result with Skype requires going through the host."
"I feel bored with the look and feel of the tool, so it should be changed."
"Skype for Business is not suitable for giving lectures."
"The solution lacks to provide reporting functionality, and I would like to see the solution provide that feature."
"I would not recommend Skype for Business because Microsoft Teams has more features, a lightweight application that I access on my mobile."
"The mobile experience is also not great. Staff who try to use it on their phones find it less reliable than the desktop version, calls drop more, and the interface is clunky."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"Our company pays for a license for us to use the solution."
"Skype for Business' pricing is reasonable."
"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."
"We are using the subscription-based version of Skype for Business. There is a free version of the solution."
"A license is required to use the solution."
"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."
"It may be considered costly for certain markets, such as in India."
"The solution is priced fairly."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Outsourcing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Construction Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Large Enterprise1
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise28
 

Questions from the Community

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Skype for Business?
If I think back, my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing involves accessing it through our Microsoft Enterprise Agreement which covers the whole Office suite including Skype for Busin...
What needs improvement with Skype for Business?
The honest answer is that the product has not really evolved in some time. Microsoft has been pushing everyone towards Teams and Skype for Business has been in maintenance mode for a while. The mob...
What is your primary use case for Skype for Business?
My main use case for Skype for Business is internal communication across departments and between different government offices. We have staff spread across multiple locations in Malacca, and before ...
 

Also Known As

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

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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