What You Need
The companies planned to release a Microsoft Cloud Video Interop (CVI) certified solution that would allow Cisco Webex Room and SIP video conferencing devices to join Microsoft Teams meetings. Additionally, they also proposed creating a direct guest join pathway connecting their respective video conferencing devices with their meeting web apps. Let’s take a deep-dive and compare two business-grade collaboration solutions; Cisco WebEx and Microsoft Teams. Amid response to the pandemic known as Coronavirus or COVID-19, many organizations have adapted to remote work for the first time. Webex Teams (Preview) Webex Teams enables continuous teamwork with video meetings, group messaging, file sharing, and white boarding.
System requirements:
Mac—MacOS 10.10 or later
Windows PCs—Windows 10 or later
Webex account—For more information, see https://www.webex.com/products/teams/index.html.
Microsoft Office 365 subscription
Supported Microsoft versions:
Microsoft Excel, Word, or PowerPoint desktop version 16.0.6868 or later
Microsoft Excel, Word or PowerPoint Online
For more information on Webex Add-In, see Webex in the Microsoft AppSource.
You can install the Webex add-in once using either Microsoft Excel, Word or PowerPoint and then the add-in is available on the other Microsoft Office applications. The following steps apply to Microsoft Word and can also be applied to Microsoft Excel or PowerPoint.
| 1 | Open a Microsoft Word document, click Insert, click the arrow beside Add-ins and then choose Get Add-ins. |
| 2 | Choose the Store tab, enter Webex and click Search. If you don't see Webex listed in the search results, contact your IT administrator for access. |
| 3 | Click Get it now for Webex and follow the instructions to install the Add-in. |
| 4 | In Microsoft Word, click Home and then click Webex in the ribbon menu. |
| 5 | Sign in with your Webex credentials. Webex shows the spaces that you're a member of. You can do the following with Webex:
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Tips About Using Webex Add-In for Microsoft Office 365
You can only see messages for spaces where you are a participant.
You can run the add-in only for the supported Microsoft Office 365 applications - Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
The add-in works best on the latest version of Microsoft Office 365. You can check for updates, click Help > Check for Updates.
You can add people one at a time to spaces, make sure to click Enter after adding their email address. After they are added, you can see their profile pictures.
Your administrator or IT department can silently and centrally deploy the add-in to your Microsoft Office 365 organization. For more information, see Determine if Centralized Deployment of add-ins works for your organization.
In the pre-COVID era, the collaboration software market was only growing at a decent pace. In 2020, it grew exponentially when the world was put under lockdown. While stuck in the quarantine, we all diligently used collaboration platforms, more than ever before. It took a pandemic to realize the vital importance of collaboration technology. It has allowed everyone to stay connected in testing times. Be it professional communication or personal ones, it has helped conversations get going. A crop of collaboration platforms became popular overnight including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Cisco Webex, and more.
All these products were lying under the radar under the gamut of products from their parent companies. Today, these collaboration software drive maximum attention and are flagship products for them.
Interestingly, the two big brands Cisco and Microsoft coming with reputed products: Teams and Webex. How will you determine the best collaboration platform for your organization?
In the Teams apps menu, click on Setup policies and add the Cisco Webex Call app to your Microsoft setup. Users will now be able to click Webex Call at the bottom of a window when chatting in Microsoft Teams.
We have already compared Microsoft Teams vs Zoom in our previous posts. In this article, we look to provide a feature comparison of Microsoft Teams and Cisco Webex.
Let us compare the basic features of Teams vs Webex:
Basic Features | Microsoft Teams | Cisco Webex |
One-to-one chats | Yes | Yes |
Group chats | Yes | Yes |
Guest Access | Yes | Yes |
Online Meetings | Yes | Yes |
| Video calling | Yes | Yes |
| Screen sharing | Yes | Yes |
| File sharing | Yes | Yes |
| Scheduling meetings | Yes | Yes |
Looking at the table above, it seems that both Teams and Webex have all basic features. In other words, no important feature for a smooth collaboration is missing in either of the platforms. Now, we must compare enhanced features by digging deeper into the products to find differentiation.
Teams vs Webex: Telephony feature comparison
One of the standout features in the comparison between Teams vs WebEx is the way telephony solutions are offered on either platform. Microsoft offers Teams with Phone System, a Private Branch Exchange (PBX) solution for businesses with Microsoft 365 for an integrated cloud solution.
Cisco takes a different approach to fit every type of customer requirement: on-premises or one-tenant platforms hosted by a partner, and Webex calling for small and midsize organizations. Cisco’s partners including West, IntelePeer, and ThinkTel offer the PSTN access for Webex.
Teams vs Webex Pricing Comparison
Determining pricing as per the licensing requirements can be a bit perplexing for Teams vs Webex comparison. When we look at the bare minimum pricing to get started with the platform, Microsoft Teams has a clear advantage. Microsoft Teams is also available for free with limited features, allowing anyone to get a taste of it without paying anything. If one gets the bare minimum Microsoft Office 365 subscription (Microsoft 365 Business Basic at $5/user), the features unavailable in the free version can be unlocked. Higher the Office 365 plan, the better the features with Microsoft Teams. Though Cisco Webex also offers a free version, in comparison, Microsoft Teams offers far more generous features in the free version. Cisco Webex’s cheapest plan starts with $13.50 per user per month and calling service add-ons would be priced extra. When you must decide between Teams vs Webex with cost as a factor, Microsoft Teams wins hands down.
Teams vs Webex Security Comparison
When it came to comparing Zoom with Teams, security was a pertinent problem in Zoom. This is the reason many large organizations shied away from using Zoom. But what is the case when comparing Teams vs Webex for security?
Both Teams and Webex are products of the behemoth companies, Microsoft and Cisco, which has zero tolerance for compromise in security. Both Microsoft and Cisco have taken respective steps to strengthen security for Teams and Webex, respectively.
Microsoft Teams comes with Office 365 platform. It enjoys high-level encryption and enterprise-grade security built for the rest of Office 365. Office 365 Enterprise comes with premium security features (eDiscovery, Archiving, Legal Hold, Retention) which will be required for compliance such as HIPAA, GDPR, and more. Overall, Microsoft invests $1 billion every year in its bid for robust security.
Similarly, Cisco Webex Teams has a huge number of certifications that attest to their security promise. Like Microsoft Teams, it has compliance features such as eDiscovery, unique device PINs, idle time, content retention flexibility, and more. Marginally more control for the end-users is available in Webex, while it may be troublesome for uninitiated or IT admins if they have a strict organizational policy as compared to the end-users.
Teams vs Webex Integration with Other Software
Microsoft Teams is tightly integrated with all other Microsoft products due to the Office 365 ecosystem. If you use Microsoft Office along with Teams, it would be smooth user experience. Though Cisco has a long list of applications that can be installed and integrated from the App Hub store, Microsoft Teams is built for better integration with third-party applications.
Webex Teams Microsoft Office
Microsoft Teams vs Webex: Suggestions or Recommendations?
Webex Teams Microsoft Edge
If you are looking for a simple answer, there is obviously difficult to pick a firm winner because there are a number of factors in selecting the right collaboration platform. Just comparing the fundamental characteristics of Webex vs Teams would not provide a definitive answer. But if we dig deeper to compare the peripheral features such as telephony extensions, security, room format, integration with other software, and pricing would help you decide between Microsoft Teams vs Cisco Webex.
Both Teams and Webex are excellent products coming from technology giants Microsoft and Cisco, respectively. Therefore, it is a tough choice to make. Like all other platforms including Webex, Microsoft Teams caters to all the requirements of a Unified Communications (UC) platform. Microsoft has increasingly pushed for Teams to become the numero uno UC platform in the coming time. This means that it will keep on evolving the product until it gets way better than its competitors. Keeping this perspective in mind, we recommend you opt for Microsoft Teams for the promise of the future.
Get help to get started with Microsoft Teams
Webex Teams Microsoft Login
Moreover, there are a plethora of Microsoft Partners who can assist you get started with Microsoft Teams with minimum disruptions. Apps4Rent is a Tier 1 CSP and Microsoft Gold Partner, which means we are handpicked by Microsoft itself for offering services and products of Microsoft. You can get started with a basic Office 365 subscription which will also include popular productivity suite such as MS Office along with Teams. Apps4Rent can help you get started with Microsoft Teams in no time. We offer 24/7 real-time support via phone, chat, and email if you have any issues on deployment, on-boarding, and operations.
Webex Teams Microsoft
If you want any further clarifications or have any questions, feel free to contact us now!