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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 (8th)
Skype for Business
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
63
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Meetings (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Messaging and Collaboration solutions, they serve different purposes. IceWarp is designed for Email Applications and holds a mindshare of 4.9%, down 5.6% compared to last year.
Skype for Business, on the other hand, focuses on Virtual Meetings, holds 5.2% mindshare, down 11.5% since last year.
Email Applications Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IceWarp4.9%
Google Workspace15.1%
Microsoft Exchange Online11.1%
Other68.9%
Email Applications
Virtual Meetings Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Skype for Business5.2%
Zoom Workplace Business8.6%
Webex6.8%
Other79.4%
Virtual Meetings
 

Featured Reviews

AvinashLotke - PeerSpot reviewer
Delivery Head at Team Computers
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.
reviewer1854369 - PeerSpot reviewer
Executive at a government with 201-500 employees
Relying on dependable communication features for efficient collaboration
I work with Microsoft Exchange. We use Microsoft Azure, though I am not involved with the back-end operations. I work with Microsoft Exchange and ServiceNow for the service desk. I do not work with Cloud Observability or Automation Engine. We use Microsoft Copilot with Teams. We do not use Microsoft Security Copilot as it is not cloud-based. We have moved from Skype for Business to Teams recently, though some of us still use Skype for Business because it is convenient. Skype for Business is particularly useful for remoting onto people's devices. I prefer Skype for Business over Teams for screen sharing. Sometimes there are compatibility issues when running Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business together. Phone calls in Teams might ring and then go silent, or the microphone might not detect calls from either application. I rate Skype for Business a 9 out of 10 because it works effectively with minimal issues.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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 IceWarp is the chat rooms and file-sharing, they are useful. It is convenient that everything is in one place. You can easily share and collaborate documents, making the program's unity a significant advantage."
"The solution is easy to manage and includes features such as smart documents and the archiving of user data."
"The solution's voice services work well for our company."
"It has great communication capabilities for team chatting and web conferences."
"The solution has a very good log-in to the UI when compared to other solutions."
"Its price is the most valuable. It is definitely one of the lowest price solutions."
"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."
"There are free versions of the solution available."
"Our employees use this solution for a communal space to collaborate for organizational decision making."
"We chose Skype for Business after other colleagues suggested that we give it a try. It has served us well."
"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."
"The solution is stable and scalable."
"Skype for Business is good for meetings and instant messaging."
"I like the fact that it opens up your video conferencing, and, in many cases, the audio at the same time."
"The GUI is very user-friendly."
 

Cons

"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."
"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."
"Although the documentation is extensive and in depth, you must familiarize yourself with it before taking full advantage of the product."
"Support should be improved. Most of the time, the queries are not resolved within the SLA."
"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."
"Our customers sometimes have problems receiving mail."
"The video quality could be improved, possibly due to internet connection issues."
"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 solution lacks to provide reporting functionality, and I would like to see the solution provide that feature."
"Make it user friendly."
"I should be able to make a desktop phone call when I click a member of my Lync directory."
"Sometimes the connection crashes, which is understandable if you are traveling. But, it would be nice if this could be stabilized somehow."
"There are not many options, in terms of some other third-party integration."
"The inability to integrate Skype with other products is an area of concern where improvements are required."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"There are various licensing plans available based on geographic zone."
"Our licensing is on a yearly basis. There were no additional costs."
"The solution is inexpensive which is its main benefit."
"The solution is priced well."
"I would rate the pricing and eight out of ten."
"The license is based on the number of users."
"Costs far less than other solutions."
"It may be slightly costly, but the features are awesome."
"We have been able to save money by moving our conferencing solution to Skype for Business Conferencing."
"I use the product's open-source version."
"Previously, I did not use another 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 solution is priced fairly."
"Skype for Business' pricing is reasonable."
"The cost of Skype for Business is incorporated into our Office 365 licenses."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Retailer
7%
Marketing Services Firm
18%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Performing Arts
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise27
 

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?
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

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.
Find out what your peers are saying about Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and others in Email Applications. Updated: February 2026.
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