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Cisco Meeting Server vs Skype for Business comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 3, 2025

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 Meeting Server
Ranking in Virtual Meetings
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.9
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Skype for Business
Ranking in Virtual Meetings
4th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
63
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Virtual Meetings category, the mindshare of Cisco Meeting Server is 5.3%, down from 9.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Skype for Business is 10.3%, up from 7.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Meetings Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Skype for Business10.3%
Cisco Meeting Server5.3%
Other84.4%
Virtual Meetings
 

Featured Reviews

Ahmed Elrayes - PeerSpot reviewer
A scalable tool useful to hold conferences and video meetings
I use Cisco Meeting Server for conferences and video meetings, which are crucial for my company The share screen option available during conferences is one of the best features of Cisco Meeting Server. In Cisco Meeting Server, GUI is an area of concern where improvements are required. In the…
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

"The share screen option available during conferences is one of the best features of Cisco Meeting Server."
"The UI is user-friendly and very good overall."
"You can use the Cisco Meeting Server to set up conference calls and virtual meetings. Those are the two primary functions of Meeting Server. Most people in the company are using Microsoft Teams, so we only use Meeting Server when we have an internal meeting for all staff."
"Cisco Meeting Server is an easy and less complex solution."
"What I like most about Cisco Meeting Server is its quick management. The solution also has a straightforward configuration."
"You can do meetings of up to two hundred people in a single conversation."
"What is most valuable about Skype for Business is that almost everyone knows about it and almost everyone has it. You will be able to reach a large number of people."
"Desktop sharing is a valuable feature."
"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."
"There are free versions of the solution available."
"The conversation history feature in Skype for Business is particularly useful because it links with Outlook, and it is beneficial to access conversations with colleagues from six months ago through Skype for Business."
"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 feature is stability."
 

Cons

"This is a difficult solution to install and it should be made easier."
"In Cisco Meeting Server, GUI is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"What would make Cisco Meeting Server better is integrating it with Zoom and Teams so that you can connect or make a call through any of the two third-party solutions."
"A few features are missing on the Meetings app, like a recording function. My understanding is that you need to buy a separate recording solution. It's modular, so you have to enable some functions if you want to use them. For example, we had to enable the Mood function. Recording is the primary feature we'd like to see in the app."
"Cisco Meeting Server should include a feature to control another user's screen during a remote session."
"Make it user friendly."
"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 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."
"I feel bored with the look and feel of the tool, so it should be changed."
"I am not familiar with all of the features or whether they can hold conferences because we use Zoom for that. But, in my opinion, if they can do something similar to what Zoom is doing, it will be a complete solution."
"The group feature of Skype for Business needs improvement. It should also be improved for online lectures."
"Sometimes the connection crashes, which is understandable if you are traveling. But, it would be nice if this could be stabilized somehow."
"The initial setup could be simplified."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing fees are billed yearly."
"Price-wise, Cisco Meeting Server is a product that falls in a mid-range category."
"Cisco Meeting Server has reasonable licensing costs."
"The licensing is billed on a yearly basis."
"We negotiated a fair price with Microsoft. It is definitely worthwhile to negotiate with them for the best price for your solution."
"A license is required to use the solution."
"Previously, I did not use another solution."
"We have been able to save money by moving our conferencing solution to Skype for Business Conferencing."
"I am using a corporate account for which I have not made any payments."
"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."
"Our company pays for a license for us to use the solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
21%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Government
14%
Construction Company
5%
Manufacturing Company
16%
Performing Arts
10%
Government
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
 

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

What do you like most about Cisco Meeting Server?
Cisco Meeting Server is an easy and less complex solution.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Meeting Server?
Price-wise, Cisco Meeting Server is a product that falls in a mid-range category.
What needs improvement with Cisco Meeting Server?
Cisco Meeting Server should include a feature to control another user's screen during a remote session.
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

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

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Starz
EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Services,LA Fitness, MedcoEnergi International, Tampa General Hospital, and HopewellHoldings Limited.
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Meeting Server vs. Skype for Business and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
868,787 professionals have used our research since 2012.