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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
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 (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Messaging and Collaboration solutions, they serve different purposes. IceWarp is designed for Email Applications and holds a mindshare of 5.3%, down 6.1% compared to last year.
Skype for Business, on the other hand, focuses on Virtual Meetings, holds 13.2% mindshare, up 8.6% 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

"The solution's voice services work well for our company."
"The groupware module is the most valuable feature."
"The TeamChat feature has been really good for our email management. It lets us collaborate, share files, and invite guests like Google Spaces or Microsoft Teams. I like the two-factor authentication for security. However, they need to improve their document collaboration tools, as their Word, Excel, and PowerPoint features are basic compared to Microsoft and Google."
"It has great communication capabilities for team chatting and web conferences."
"It's scalable and stable."
"Its price is the most valuable. It is definitely one of the lowest price solutions."
"IceWarp has multiple applications that are easy to use for many people."
"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 most valuable feature of Skype for Business is that it has many other tools that you can be integrated with it. It makes the meetings more interactive."
"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."
"There are free versions of the solution available."
"The Microsoft tech support are very good. They get back to you. I log a support call, and I usually have someone on the phone within a half an hour, so it is pretty good."
"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."
"Desktop sharing is a valuable feature."
"A good option for virtual meetings."
"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."
 

Cons

"The solution should improve the mailing list feature. Google has a similar feature where you can automate sending files to different people in a sequence, but that feature is no longer available in the current version of IceWarp. Other features may also have been removed in the current version."
"Our customers sometimes have problems receiving mail."
"It is difficult to disable user rights on the console so some users accidentally delete their documents or user details."
"Support should be improved. Most of the time, the queries are not resolved within the SLA."
"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."
"The tool's configuration capabilities are not straightforward. Apart from that, if I want to archive emails into a vault so that they can be retrieved again later, the integration doesn't work, and IceWarp crashes."
"Although it is not a tool, video conferencing should be scalable and operate in a professional and efficient way."
"I would like to have a trial for mobile applications and more documentation similar to Google Drive with mobile applications."
"I believe optimizing the solution for lighter endpoints, particularly for embedded endpoints on mobile devices, would be valuable."
"The group feature of Skype for Business needs improvement. It should also be improved for online lectures."
"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."
"The video conferencing quality can be improved."
"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 don't recall coming across any big missing features."
"This service could be improved by adding some missing features. It lacks integration with Teams, which is a feature I would like to see in the next release."
"Lacks a zoom-in feature for whoever is presenting."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would rate the pricing and eight out of ten."
"It is definitely one of the lowest price solutions."
"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."
"The license is based on the number of users."
"The solution is inexpensive which is its main benefit."
"There are various licensing plans available based on geographic zone."
"Price-wise, it's a cheaper solution, without a doubt. Price is the reason we are still using the tool."
"The solution is priced well."
"It may be slightly costly, but the features are awesome."
"Skype for Business' pricing is reasonable."
"To realize value from the purchase of Skype Business, you need to take advantage of all the important functions of the program."
"We are using the subscription-based version of Skype for Business. There is a free version of the solution."
"Previously, I did not use another solution."
"We negotiated a fair price with Microsoft. It is definitely worthwhile to negotiate with them for the best price for your 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."
"The licensing is billed on a yearly basis."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Educational Organization
91%
Financial Services Firm
2%
Computer Software Company
1%
Government
1%
 

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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