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Digium Asterisk 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

Digium Asterisk
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
Unified Communications (4th), IP Telephony & Unified Communications (2nd)
Skype for Business
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
62
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Meetings (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

Digium Asterisk and Skype for Business aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Digium Asterisk is designed for Unified Communications and holds a mindshare of 7.4%, down 13.4% compared to last year.
Skype for Business, on the other hand, focuses on Virtual Meetings, holds 13.4% mindshare, up 8.7% since last year.
Unified Communications
Virtual Meetings
 

Featured Reviews

AK
Call recording, call logging, and the stability are pivotal features for our clients
We mainly replace old telephony equipment. If, for instance, there is an old Alcatel telephone system (digital or analog), and the customer asks us for a new option for IP telephony, then we offer both the Cisco- and Asterisk-based systems. We know the billing, we know the pricing of the items and what we can offer with both solutions. There are multiple factors involved when selecting a vendor * stability * support * features. If the product is stable, the product has good support, and it has enough features which we can offer to our clients, then the product is under our consideration.
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 most valuable features are call recording, call logging, and the stability."
"Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten...Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"I think Skype for Business is scalable. However, I believe Microsoft is discontinuing the Skype platform altogether, so I don't think it's super-relevant."
"The most valuable features of the solution are that it is quick and easy to use. It is a good tool for group calls."
"Desktop sharing is a valuable feature."
"We really like the screen sharing tool. The user experience is smooth, and user-friendly."
"The solution is stable and scalable."
"The product helps me make international calls."
"I use the chat feature to communicate with my staff, which is very helpful."
 

Cons

"CTI, computer telephony integration, is a necessary component. It must be a part of the basic code. Currently, we need to use external connectors for call centers."
"The user experience during long sessions could be improved to avoid issues like intermittent disconnections or login failures."
"The video quality could be improved, possibly due to internet connection issues."
"I believe optimizing the solution for lighter endpoints, particularly for embedded endpoints on mobile devices, would be valuable."
"The inability to integrate Skype with other products is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"I don't recall coming across any big missing features."
"Sometimes the connection crashes, which is understandable if you are traveling. But, it would be nice if this could be stabilized somehow."
"We would like to better customize our instructions within the Outlook plugin/invite, but we are unable to do so."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If the client requires an economical solution with many features, we can offer them Digium Asterisk, where there is no licensing. It is a good, economical solution."
"To realize value from the purchase of Skype Business, you need to take advantage of all the important functions of the program."
"Skype for Business' pricing is reasonable."
"The cost of Skype for Business is incorporated into our Office 365 licenses."
"When it comes to the pricing of the solution, I rate it as a five out of ten. It falls somewhere in the middle between being cheap and expensive."
"We have been able to save money by moving our conferencing solution to Skype for Business Conferencing."
"It may be slightly costly, but the features are awesome."
"I use the product's open-source version."
"We negotiated a fair price with Microsoft. It is definitely worthwhile to negotiate with them for the best price for your solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Educational Organization
7%
Educational Organization
92%
Financial Services Firm
2%
Computer Software Company
1%
Government
1%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
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.
 

Also Known As

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

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Yahoo, Penn Univeristy of Pennsylvania, US Army, Google, eBay
EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Services,LA Fitness, MedcoEnergi International, Tampa General Hospital, and HopewellHoldings Limited.
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, 3CX, Kamailio and others in Unified Communications. Updated: April 2025.
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