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Cisco TelePresence vs Skype for Business comparison

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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 TelePresence
Ranking in Virtual Meetings
8th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Skype for Business
Ranking in Virtual Meetings
5th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
64
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Virtual Meetings category, the mindshare of Cisco TelePresence is 3.0%, down from 3.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Skype for Business is 3.9%, down from 8.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Meetings Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Skype for Business3.9%
Cisco TelePresence3.0%
Other93.1%
Virtual Meetings
 

Featured Reviews

OSCAR DE LA PENA - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Solution Architect at Ricoh España, S.L.U.
One-click meeting access and seamless integration enhance video conferencing experience
Cisco TelePresence could improve the WebRTC connections, as they are quite slow. The end user experiences delays when using WebRTC, sometimes taking one minute or more to receive a connection. This issue is mainly due to Cisco taking a long time to download and start the WebRTC client on their devices. Ensuring it is embedded in the device could help.
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

"Superior video and audio experience."
"If at any point we require any support or our team requires any support, we just call into the Cisco support with their call-in number and they are very good."
"It was stable. So, I would rate the stability a ten out of ten."
"Telepresence's most valuable feature is keeping highly paid employees, such as executives, on the ground instead of wasting time flying around the world. So if you have the right telepresence plan and form, it's not just the video cameras and the systems behind them, it's the way you lay out your meeting room.You can have multiple offices interconnecting in a single meeting, and it looks like everybody's in the same big conference room together because the telepresence yields such a fantastic amount of clarity."
"The SpeakerTrack feature is the most valuable feature."
"TelePresence allows our customers to have a quick meeting while traveling and still be effective. It saves time and money."
"The most valuable features of Cisco TelePresence are the basic standard features and the ease of use. Additionally, the configuration and integration are exemplary."
"We have a dual screen option to enable video and content sharing."
"The solution’s video quality is fine."
"The solution has improved the flexibility of meetings for our organization, increasing our communication channels and putting everything in one place from sharing to team management, which makes everything easy."
"It's a good product, we like using it."
"I rate the solution's stability a nine on a scale where one is not stable and ten is very stable...I rate the solution's initial setup a nine on a scale where one is difficult, and ten is easy."
"The most valuable feature of Skype for Business is overall it is an okay solution."
"We like the easy provisioning of Skype for Business Conferencing."
"The initial setup is not overly difficult; it's pretty straightforward in general and the deployment is also quick and only takes a minute or so."
"We had a very good experience with Skype for Business; it was a helpful tool, and one of the best tools I've ever worked with."
 

Cons

"The calling features can be improved."
"Cisco TelePresence could improve its integration capabilities."
"MX800 comes only with one available DVI port. A few more HDMI ports will improve the system's capability."
"I would rate my experience with the initial setup a three out of ten, with ten being expensive. It was complex with badges and certificates. Too crazy."
"I was in touch with one of our clients and they mentioned that they would like to have a holographic video conferencing. It would be great if that feature would be added."
"Cisco TelePresence license is expensive and should be reduced."
"The tool is expensive."
"Cisco TelePresence could improve the WebRTC connections, as they are quite slow."
"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."
"I should be able to make a desktop phone call when I click a member of my Lync directory."
"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."
"Skype for Business is not as popular as Teams."
"The inability to integrate Skype with other products is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"The challenge we had with Skype for Business was with the signing in when a user signed out and when signing in back in again, there was a bit of a problem. We switched from Skype for Business to Teams, and Teams never had that sign-in problem once we did the switch."
"I feel bored with the look and feel of the tool, so it should be changed."
"There are not many options, in terms of some other third-party integration."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Cisco Telepresence is high, especially in Brazil. However, the quality of the product justifies the cost."
"Cisco TelePresence license is expensive and should be reduced. There is only a cost for the license and it is annually."
"We used high definition, 1080p, but again, it required license purchases. For example, with three licenses (TP licenses), each allowing one 1080p screen, if I had six participants, I'd need to lower the resolution to 720p or lower to accommodate more participants. More licenses meant more cost."
"The pricing is expensive, therefore I rate it an eight out of ten."
"I will rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten."
"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."
"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 slightly costly, but the features are awesome."
"We purchased an open license."
"To realize value from the purchase of Skype Business, you need to take advantage of all the important functions of the program."
"We have been able to save money by moving our conferencing solution to Skype for Business Conferencing."
"Our company pays for a license for us to use the solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
13%
Performing Arts
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
9%
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 Business2
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise28
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Cisco TelePresence?
Cisco TelePresence could improve the WebRTC connections, as they are quite slow. The end user experiences delays when using WebRTC, sometimes taking one minute or more to receive a connection. This...
What advice do you have for others considering Cisco TelePresence?
Cisco is a leader in video conferencing solutions because they apply the latest technologies to their devices and services, such as artificial intelligence and versatile functionalities. Security i...
What is your primary use case for Cisco TelePresence?
My primary use case for Cisco TelePresence ( /products/cisco-telepresence-reviews ) is providing video conferencing solutions for internal and external users, especially for enterprises. I am a par...
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

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

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Afni, AGCO, Bellevue, Came Group, Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC Children's), Del Papa Distributing, Instituto Zaldivar, ING Bank, Moffitt Cancer Center, Park Nicollet, Pentana Solutions Australia, San Jose State University, Sub-Zero Wolf, Transwestern and Metropolis Investment Holdings, Vital Images
EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Services,LA Fitness, MedcoEnergi International, Tampa General Hospital, and HopewellHoldings Limited.
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco TelePresence vs. Skype for Business and other solutions. Updated: November 2026.
920,939 professionals have used our research since 2012.