Microsoft Teams

Skype for Business is still a popular app for videoconferencing. However, Skype is rapidly being phased out for the benefit of Microsoft Teams, the collaboration
app that is included in Microsoft 365 subscriptions. Teams could be a good choice for larger businesses.

Interface and ease of use

The interface of Teams is quite clear, once you know where everything is. As is the case with more products from the Office/Microsoft 365 family, it takes some
time to get familiar with where all buttons and options are. Sometimes it takes a few clicks to get to a particular option. For example, the settings menu is located
below the drop-down of the user’s profile. No problem once you know it, but we could imagine that some users only find out after they have been searching for a
settings icon for a while. That’s often the case with Teams, but in our opinion, that’s just a minor drawback, which gets less annoying over time. Moreover, this lack
of clarity is no problem during an actual video meeting.

Features

Teams is not only a video conferencing tool but also a chat tool, with complete collaboration functionality. Here, however, we focus on the video conferencing side
of the story, which is similar to many other apps – think e.g. of the standard buttons for microphone and camera. However, a number of features stand out: for
example, users can choose, during the call, which video feed is displayed, and that feed can then be fixed on the screen. This can be done for multiple feeds, so in
a video meeting, for example, both the administrator and a speaker can be displayed. Furthermore, there is a function that ensures that you are in the picture
when you raise your arm, which can be useful for drawing attention if there is a problem with the connection that needs to be resolved.

What further distinguishes Teams are the integrations for Office 365 (soon to be Microsoft 365). This means that appointments in the calendar of Outlook, for
example, are synchronized so that a user is displayed as “busy” during an appointment. As far as we are concerned, these integrations are one of the biggest
advantages of Teams for Microsoft users. It can be a decisive factor when making a choice.

The prices of Microsoft (Office) 365 are 4.20 euros per user per month for Essentials, 10.50 for Premium and 16.90 for Business.

Cisco Webex

Cisco’s Webex was designed in the form of two apps as well. These are Webex Meetings and Webex Teams. Webex Teams does have a video conferencing
option, but mainly focuses on collaboration functionality, similar to Microsoft Teams. Webex Meetings is specifically designed for videoconferencing and online
events. We will focus on that functionality in this review.

It’s also worth mentioning that Webex is usable with a desktop app or a web app. The web app has the same functionality as the desktop version, except for two
important features: the web version does not support end-to-end encryption, and no legacy Voice-over-IP (VoiP). As for the rest, the two versions are virtually the
same.  

Interface & ease of use

Using of Webex Meetings is pretty intuitive. The interface is similar to other services during a call, but before you start a call, you can see a clear dashboard. You
can choose Start Meeting, Plan Meeting or Join Meeting on that dashboard; those buttons speak for themselves. On the right side, you can see scheduled
meetings, if any, and recently viewed files. When planning a meeting, standard functions such as time, date and duration of the meeting can be set, and the
necessary persons can be invited. Furthermore, agenda items can be added, as well as a password for the meeting. Also, as with other services, the desired
audio devices can be selected, but these settings are a bit easier to find in Webex than in e.g. Microsoft Teams.

Features

Administrators can record the meeting, both audio and video. Participants in the meeting can then download that recording with a link. Furthermore, participants
can be muted. All participants can use a chat during the meeting, and hosts can share their desktop, a specific app, or files from their computer, including video
files, with the other people in the call. What’s very useful is that there is a notification for administrators to see if sharing is enabled or not. This makes it much less
likely that he/she will leave the feature on after the call has ended. It is also possible to use a virtual whiteboard for sharing notes.

Webex is available in a free version, a Starter version for 12.85 euros per host per month, a Plus version for 17.30 euros per host per month, and a Business
version for 25.65 euros per host per month.

Comparing Feature Sets

When looking for a meeting solution, you may want to pack as much punch into your solution as you can. This can also help you save money on other solutions. Let’s
compare the basic features that both WebEx and Teams come with:

Both have a free version available right now

Due to the quick response that was needed because of COVID-19, both Cisco and Microsoft have launched a free version of their platform that are more comprehensive than
previous free offers. It is a good time to test the waters and evaluate your options.

Persistent Chat  

Persistent chat lets you create topic-based discussion rooms that persist over time. Persistent chat rooms are where you can communicate and collaborate with a group of
people who have a common area of interest.

WebEx Teams Chat – You can have ongoing conversations categorized under various topics (like Sales), or agendas (like projects). These conversations are saved in the
WebEx Teams App and can be referred to for ongoing communication or to look back on previous conversations.

In Teams, the chat can be organized by groups of people, topics, or in designated Teams. The concept is identical to persistent chat in WebEx Teams. These conversations
live in the app and do not automatically delete themselves like Instant Messages do.

Meetings

The capabilities in Cisco’s WebEx Meetings seems like it is completely removed from the WebEx Teams experience. Meetings allows you to communicate one-on-one or in
groups, inside or outside your company network. The cohesion between WebEx Teams and WebEx Meetings isn’t quite there yet. It can still be confusing to use two
different tools for meetings and team collaboration.

One thing that sets WebEx Meetings apart is that it can also be used to host online events like webinars.

The experience with Microsoft is more cohesive. You can easily find meetings in the app on the left-hand pane. You can instantly launch meetings, or schedule them for
later.

File Sharing

WebEx Meetings allows you to share files with others and keeps everything secure and encrypted. WebEx Teams also allows you to share files in a chat with your team, and
you can refer to these files at any point in time.
Microsoft Teams allows for files to be shared, saved and organized. You can also work collaboratively on Word Documents, or PowerPoint documents (for example) in the
app. You can share files in multiple locations like Chat, Teams, and Meetings.

Supporting the Ecosystem and Integrations

Other important factors to consider when looking into a collaboration solution are the supporting “ecosystem” and integrations. As a stand-alone product, Teams and WebEx
offer a ton of features. But, if you’re looking for something to be that centralized hub for your team to collaborate, Teams offers a more seamless experience. This is
obviously because Microsoft owns the operating system, and the productivity apps like Excel, PowerPoint, and Word among others that are central to work productivity.
Teams is the place to work collaboratively on documents and projects, save files, and integrate other project tools to share with others. To get the best experience, utilize the
programs and apps with your Microsoft 365 license.

For those organizations that do not rely on Microsoft, Cisco WebEx Teams may be a better alternative for communicating with a team inside or outside of your organization.
Cisco also has a strong partnership with Apple and integrates well in the Mac experience.

Both options offer hundreds of integrations with other SaaS platforms like Trello, Asana, Salesforce, etc. However, integrations seem to be in the beginning stages and
functionality is quite limited right now.

Pricing
Pricing for both solutions is very competitive and comparable. There may be discounts depending on the volume of licenses and commitment. Please contact us for a custom
quote for your organization.

 Microsoft Teams comes with Microsoft 365 Business Standard starting @ $12.50 per user/per month or Microsoft 365 Business Basic @ $5 per user/per
month. Calling is available with E1-E5 Enterprise Plans.
 WebEx Teams starts at $13.50 per month/per host. Right now, there is a special offer for a “Free Plan” that is comparable to the Plus plan, which is $17.95 per
month/per host. This is for the video conferencing (meetings) and the team collaboration platform (teams).
What sets these two apart?

As you may have realized, there is never a perfect solution that fits all business needs. The same goes for the search for a collaboration solution. Most of the pricing, features
and capabilities are similar for both Microsoft Teams and WebEx Teams. Here is what really sets these two apart:

Ecosystem – Using Microsoft Teams will give you a better experience with your Office apps and other Microsoft solutions. Consider the ecosystem you currently have in
place for your workers and choose your solutions accordingly. Microsoft Teams seems to work best for collaborating within your network. When communicating with an
outside organization, Teams isn’t really the best option to keep communication in a central location. Cisco calls this “borderless collaboration” and keeps communication in
a single user experience with WebEx.

Calling Capabilities – Looking to tie-in your calling and meeting solutions? Both WebEx and Teams have VoIP calling options and can be added onto your plan. Cisco
manufactures phones and offers flex / cloud calling options with PSTN calling. Their calling has PBX features, making it capable of enterprise level phone service.  These
are all the devices compatible with Cisco WebEx Teams .
Microsoft works with an ecosystem of manufacturers for hardware. At this point in time, Teams has limited capabilities when it comes to PBX features, but that will soon
change with Business Calling. This option works well for small to mid-size organizations. These are all the devices compatible with Microsoft Teams .

Conference Room Devices – Cisco manufactures the 85” massive WebEx Board for native whiteboarding capability and immersive conferencing experience. They also
manufacture room kits and desktop conferencing devices. With one manufacturer, Cisco can control the whole experience of calling and meetings, making it a better
solution for the enterprise.

Both Microsoft Teams and Webex Teams generally offer the same functions as most UC platforms in general. We’re a bit beyond a “feature race” at this point, and those adding
features are more likely attempting to catch up. However, what is interesting to note is the distinction that platforms place on specific collaboration features.

Within this comparison, I want to look closer at both what these tools provide, but how the tools and their organization lead to an ultimately different platform focus. For example,
Microsoft Teams seems to excel in Office 365 based collaboration, meanwhile, Webex Teams is an amazing virtual meeting platform with digital whiteboarding, along with a
focus on hardware.
But before we get too deep into the actual breakdown, first I want to quickly highlight a feature chart. This chart is as close to extensive as we could get, aiming to compare and
represent these platforms as accurately and fairly as possible.
 

Using Microsoft Teams

Without a doubt, Microsoft places a very large focus of collaboration on the inclusion of Office 365 integration, which makes perfect sense. This is part of the power of Microsoft
Teams.
With organization between Teams, which are channels to hold on-the-spot meetings and share files from other Office tools like Word or Excel, Meetings where users can see
everything they need to get done and integrate with their Outlook Calendar or Calls and Activity, to see what others are up to.
But looking beyond just the deep integration and collaboration provided by Office 365 tools, Microsoft has a strong approach to communications as well,  enabling organizations
to deeply organize their teams based on different groups, departments, projects — whatever. Teams are large groups, and channels are further organization where individual and
group conversations can happen.

All of the activity within your organizations is also collected into Activity tabs, providing everyone a view of everything that’s happening, and when it’s happening. But again,
looking back at the integration with Office 365 tools, users can customize their layout and highlight different tabs for themselves, or even their teams.
These tabs allow users to bring other tools into view, of course including Office 365 features, but even expanding beyond into other third-party integration. Can you spy the Cisco
icon?
As I said in my hands-on review of Microsoft Teams, “the concept moves further into the realm of “Enterprise communications” when users are much more capable of organizing
their communications and have the option to jump between Teams or departments, and even further organize efforts (if need be) with specific and dedicated channels inside those
Teams.” I think it is also important to note that the future is bright for Microsoft Teams, as the organization continues to position the platform as the replacement for Skype For
Business.
 

Using Webex Teams

As I had mentioned in my hands-on review of Webex Teams, I like the modularity of the platform. There is a very visual aspect of Webex Teams, and that is a big theme that
continues throughout the entire philosophy of collaboration that Cisco is putting forth.
It seems as if Webex Teams is looking to emphasize, and enable users to leverage, visual aspects of collaboration. Before our utilization of everything digital, collaboration was
always hands-on. We would have physical, ad-hoc meetings. We would bring in physical materials, documents, or share presentations — we still do so now.
So now that we have access to screens, and even more powerful ways to work visually, why should we not emphasize this? I think Webex Teams is a very strong example of the
power of visual collaboration. A strong focus on hardware, as well, has enabled Cisco to push this collaboration in a new way. Not to mention, Cisco does meetings, and they do
meetings well. While you may not have a wide activity tab, meetings can still be organized by individual groups, or departments, or even specific users.
With hardware in the mix, for example, the Webex Board, which coincides with the digital whiteboard inside Webex, enables users to truly get hands-on: this is true augmented
reality, a mixture of digital and physical. Again, as I mentioned, this carries over into the organization and UX of the app itself.
 
Users have multiple panes of visual content that they can reorganize to their needs, whether that be highlighting video feeds right in the center, and leaving files on the right to
quick access, or throwing a whiteboard up in the middle and a text conversation on the bottom.
Of course, visual is carried over into the meetings, with Cisco emphasizing the use of video conferencing and meetings, along with screen sharing and other features. Webex
enables users to collaborate on their terms — if drawing and diagramming is key, then the whiteboard will most likely be your prominent view. But if text conversations are where
it all goes down, then users can focus on files and texting, and completely forget video even exists.

Microsoft Teams Would Be Better For Your Organization:

 If your organization already utilizes Office 365 and its related software, then it’s a bit of a no-brainer to start using Teams. The whole idea of Unified
Communications is just that, keeping everything Unified. With multiple platforms and solutions, there is more room for error.
 Consequently, if your organization is searching for one single platform to handle both the work side and communication side, then Office 365 and Microsoft Teams
is a very strong option. This is part of the reason that Teams are overcoming Slack quickly.
 Large Enterprise businesses that require a very deep level of organization between departments, teams, and groups — yet want to maintain consistency in
applications — will benefit for the organization capabilities of Microsoft Teams, as well as Activity Feeds for company-wide insight
 When legal compliance is an ultimate concern, Microsoft’s take on Security and Encryption is the right way to go, with powerful tools to assist law enforcement or
other investigations, and deep encryption and compliance regulation to prevent any issues from forming.
 

Webex Teams Would Be Better For Your Organization:

 Organizations that place a strong priority on meetings, conferences, and visual collaboration will strongly benefit from Webex Teams and its unique and powerful
feature set. With a focus on Meetings specifically, Webex helps facilitate collaboration with visual aids.
 Visual collaboration is a particularly strong methodology depending on the industry, for example, organizations with a strong art focus could benefit from canvasing
with digital whiteboards and other resources, or engineers can utilize the visual aspect for diagramming and planning.
 Teams that place a very strong priority on individual user control, security and privacy would benefit greatly from the options and capabilities offered by Cisco. The
platform maintains the intense level of compliance certification necessary to compete at this level, and still provides tools for granular control.
 Webex Teams works very well with independent tools, including other existing planning, communication, meeting, and collaboration tools. While the integration of
Office 365 allows for some ease of use, organizations that do not want to be forced into one solution will prefer the flexibility provided by Webex Teams. For
Example, Cisco Webex meetings enable interoperability with third-party meeting applications and third-party meeting participants.