We've been using this tool to keep track of our meetings and the results have been great since we can create tasks and follow-ups on the topics discussed.

- You keep track of everything that is spoken on a meeting

- Anyone in the organization with a link can read the items

Overall good by skype for business has more integration with our other tools.

It provides fast and efficient messaging for myself as well as others outside my organization.

It doesn't integrate with anything else we use so it is "just another program to keep track of"

Our whole company uses their phone system. They are easy to use, straight forward, simple which is the best part. everything is labeled in large letters.

The only thing i would improve is the looks of the hardware. I think it should have a more modern look.

I am currently participating un a project to change the technological platform and, when invited to use this tool, simplify the interaction between project participants

For me Spark of Cisco is a complementary web tool for the effective communications between work group. Its simplified interface allow you to manage all the elements through easy-to-display menu. Deserves special attention and recognition the use of interactive help through the help bot, quickly clarifies the use of any elements

It is no clear if i being invited can become a group moderator, On the other hand how open or closed space are created. I think that with small animated graphics you can simplify even more the understanding

Ability to easily communicate with teams

Its extremely easy to use for non-tech savy users. We were able to instruct end users from all walks of life on how to create spaces and communicate within minutes

I had issues getting calendar services to work correctly. Syncing calendars never seems to work right.

This has been great for individual and group chats. Recently added apps to our integrations and they have been hilariously great.

There is somewhat of a learning curve involved, but once you get the hang of it, it is very easy going.

We currently use Cisco Spark for all collaborations among employees whether its using Spaces for departments or using the chat feature to quickly send files and get feedback if working at different locations.

There really isn't much to not love about this software. Its free, clean UI, and fast to boot on any device whether its a mobile device or computer.

Easy to use business communications. We use it all the time within our company. It becomes second nature.

It's not intuative so sometimes users get a little confured but it has got better.

On a large business area; such as my company or university, it is very useful tool to communicate.

I like the most its easiness. I can also use its mobile and pc versions quickly.

Video chat can be irritating sometimes. Hearing problems can occur.

So far my experience has been meh. It works, it's cross-platform, but it doesn't work great. I miss availability notifications for people on my contact list.

I like the integrations that you can add to Spark via the Cisco addins page. There are tons of cool integrations and bots that provide additional functionality to your spaces. The quality of the addins depends on the developer, so your mileage may vary.

It's lacking in functionality that other solutions provide. For instance, we were using Skype for Business prior to migrating to Spark. Skype offered the ability to see a person's availability status while working in the Outlook client, but that functionality doesn't exist in Spark. Next, as of October, 2018, there has been a lot of downtime with the application that has caused us all to revert back to Skype so that we can communicate with each other. I don't know how acceptable it is to have multiday outages for a product that we're paying this much for.

I'm an happy user of this solid product

It can help your company in the reduction of e-mail, tipe & number. In a special way for the internal mail.

the absence of the presence awareness and some little configuration issues.

Spark is a graet software especially if the company is a webex shop and uses lots of the webex products such as room kits or boards. This works seamlessly in that case. It has a lot of features

Still not slack. Slack just has more that it can do, its more open source feeling and therefore just a little nicer to use.

We can communicate with our entire team instantly from many locations.

Spark allows us to deal with problems in real time across long distances. I really like the desktop app as well as the mobile app. I like being able to tag specific people in posts I create and I like being able to create specific group to chat in. Of the three communication software programs we use (ShoreTel, Slack, and Spark) spark is easily my favorite. It is the easiest to use and has the best UI.

There's nothing a completely hate about the software. It works very well and I have not real complaints. The only down side to me is that you can do the same things with many other products including on free social media sites. Overall I think it is worth it to have a specific tool to use at your work site that you pay for. I would recommend if you are at a large company making sure you all get on one software program to communicate. Right now I am using at least three depending on who I am communicating with and it's very difficult.

I used it to communicate with cisco employee and it has many collaboration options

You can freely create accounts regardless of the domain, dont need a cisco ID for it

Spark meetings dont work so well, they get stuck at loading

We used Spark in my work place and it worked seamlessly. It was easy to set up and intuitive to use.

I believe that this software has been replaced with WebEx Teams.

Slow and clunky. I would look elsewhere for a chat client.

The best feature is the gif's that can be funny in conversation.

You can't alphabetize the conversations by person's name, so finding a conversation is cumbersome.

Communication is what we are solving with Cisco Spark. Its really powerful tool.

One of the best capability is to maintain rich history of chats and its online. So you dont have to install additional software in your machine. Its really has very interactive UI and user friendly.

Group chat is not that's great with Cisco Spark

Communication & Meeting tool rolled into one easy app!

We really pride our in-person meeting styles even when working remote. Being able to schedule meetings in Microsoft and have that translate through to our chat and video tool is important. Cisico Spark although a newer tool has shown constant improvement in bringing all of the WebEx tools and features I am familiar with to a robust chat/communication tool and the SmartScreen applications. Being able to use the SmartScreens with the tool and connect, share, conference with easy is very helpful and packaged into one program.

Tool is relatively new and started with some bugs and limited features. Connection to smartScreens is highly dependent on good WiFi connections. Explaining how to create meeting invites that will sync with Spark tool has a bit of a learning curve to it, as well as initiating meetings with spark.

Collaborating effectively with coworkers and partners is better but keeping up with "another thing" is challenging

It is a good place to use as a repository of information as opposed to email

So difficult to integrate into video. You end up with so many different rooms that it's hard to keep track of

team collaboration that is available all the time. I have communicated with groups over seas which makes this product global and available for people in all timezones

team sizes are not limited. you can upload files to share easily and archive them there. everyone in a group can see the conversations happening. You can also meet real time with a group.

It has a bit of a learning curve to it on how to organize teams and share information. Once you figure it out though it's very powerful.

Very efficient and helpful contact amongst teammates and employees. love the ability to access on my phone and get immediate alerts

fast communication and love the ability to set up groups and whiteboard capabilities. the search function is also very useful and efficient

only con is sometimes other users open up dialogue in group that is more suitable for offline conversations

Real-time communication beats email tickets. IT department happily responds quickly and directly. It's a real time-saver as issues can be addressed back-and-forth.

A few glitches, asking for login verification after system updates, maybe connected to monthly changing of login credentials. Also the chance of distracting conversations associated with all comm apps.

Cisco has come a long way to providing us a suite of tools useful for project management and communications. It is a powerful platform for project meetings (on-site and remote). Plus there are Cisco certified devices that come handy for a hassle-free use and setup.

We used spark to communicate with foreign vendors. It housed all the tools we needed (from video conferencing, instant messaging, file sharing) to implement a university-wide library system. We feel confident using WebEx given the advertised secure protocols it uses. And, as a plus factor, third-party apps are also possible like Trello, GApps, and our ticketing software.

For some reason, the connection gets choppy, despite a very generous bandwidth allotment for this service.

Hmmm... I'd have to say what I like most is the ease with which you can switch from chatting to video chatting a colleague.

My company switched to Spark a couple of months ago and I have to say, I'm not super blown away by the platform. Phone and video calls are made over Wi-Fi and sometimes people calling me hang up before I get a chance to speak because it's taking so long for the system to connect. This happens on my computer as well as my cell phone (with the app).

The best benefit is wirelessly connecting to a Spark Board, it works great!

The thing I like most about Cisco Spark is it is REALLY easy to connect to a Spark board with the software.

What I like least about Cisco Spark is that the chat is not the greatest and especially when it comes to chatting with a team. One on one communications seem to be pretty decent but add more than a couple people and it struggles to notify as well as lacks some of your basic chatting features.

Increased communication and clarity across the organization without exerting more effort. Information is consumed much quicker than with emails, meetings, or conference calls.

I like that it is secure and allows sharing of documents rather than just text/pictures in other apps

If you are already in the Cisco environment, or more importantly the Webex environment, this tool makes a lot more sense.

Cisco is a big name for a reason. In the short time that Spark has come into the fold the cash injection is obvious in the strides of changes and enhancements that have been made in the last 6 months.

Features were practically non-existent a year ago. Features such as thread-based replies, emojis, things that are very common place among most IM tools in the market now.

It's easy to use, setup, partner with employees and customers.

The transition to Webex Teams was a bit of a struggle due to the new application. In the begging we had some issues getting Teams to work properly but now it seems to be OK.

Using cisco spark has made communication among colleagues either by text or via video calls very easy, simple and stress free

Cisco spark is a very effective tool for real - time communication among colleagues in remote locations. It also allows you to upload files and share screen when communicating with colleagues. It allows you to create chat groups which makes communicating with multiple people simultaneously easy. It also has emojis which makes chatting a lot more expressive.

Configuring audio on video calls or conference calls prove tasking at times.

I like that there is a mobile app and web app that If I need to connect from my phone it's an option. We bought this software mainly for sharing screens in meetings or connecting through conference calls. The service can be used from any device, anywhere, with video everywhere

Can only attach files, can’t collaborate within app.

Really good, our team uses it daily.

Way better than Cisco Jabber, features added often.

Needs a Meme generator feature added to it (not just a BOT)

Spark is a powerful tool to collaborate.

Very easy to use. Making small groups or project groups is very easy. Easy and quick communication. You need only one click to start a video call out of a chat. Working in project groups is the best way to collaborate, all participants can be reached with one click and all the chats and project documents are available in de project group any time.

It takes a while to get photo's or shared documents in your app because there is no compression so only full size pictures can be received.

I like that it connects to the entire office and is built into our computer.

I dislike how it pops up in a window and the window you cannot make it smaller

A great tool for working with colleagues and students on a large university campus.

If you work at a large company/organization that requires employees to be mobile or moving about a large office/work area, this is a great tool. Think of Spark as a professional's version of group text messages. The Spark app allows colleagues to send messages to individuals or groups, share files, and engage in video calls all while on the go or at your desk.

In order to make Spark most successful and useful, you need to convince your colleagues to download and use it to the fullest. A lot of my colleagues would say "just text me, its easier" but once they saw all the features in Spark, they were hooked!

My company implemented Cisco Spark which later became Cisco Webex Teams and it gave us the ability to integrate calling, meeting, and messaging all under the "umbrella" of Cisco Webex. It greatly simplified communication between users.

Cisco has moved Spark under the Webex product line, and the integration with Cisco Webex Meetings and Cisco Webex Teams unlocks some really great features. The ease of administration also sets it apart from competitors, since it integrates easily with Microsoft Azure Active Directory. Having easy administration for all users in one place that is cloud hosted and accessible from anywhere is a game changer for small businesses.

During implementation there were call quality issues with our PSTN provider that took weeks to get resolve while working with Cisco support. Support for Cisco Spark/Webex Teams in general is slow to respond, but will usually resolve any problems we encounter in a matter of days.

I work in a large corporation which uses spark as their main communication tool internally. We can upload documents, create "rooms" for different projects, and its all in one. It also reminds you when you have a conference coming up (phone and computer).

I LOVE Cisco Spark! You can have chat rooms, individual conversations, upload documents, enter in screenshots, etc. It also saves everything so it's all in one.

The only aspect I don't like is the mobile function. Once it's uploaded on your phone you will get notifications all the time unless you disconnect. I have not figured out how to disable notifications to be sent to your phone during off-hours.

It goes without saying that Spark is a pretty simple tool that anyone can figure out themselves with little to no training - a huge plus. The main focus (and why we use it) is the ability to video call and screen share simultaneously. Recipients love this neat feature, especially because of how hassle-free it is to set up and view from their end.

Compared to many competitor applications, Spark is definitely slacking in terms of the amount of updates that are released to solve trivial issues, such as the spontaneous loss of audio during live video calls, which requires the need to cancel and reconnect calls. This is not only frustrating but highly unprofessional to have to do in the middle of sessions.

Simples e fácil de usar

Application support on both laptop and mobile. This allow user to chat or make voice call from both platform

Solution usage is only available if you have a Cisco call manager and gateway

The application provides the full mode communication, user interface is simple and easy to use.

The only disadvantage at this poing is that contol of remote system is not available while screen sharing.

WebEx Teams (formerly Cisco Spark) is better than normal WebEx for smaller group or person to person communication. That, however, is not a high bar to pass. I've experienced far less issues with WebEx teams than I have experienced with WebEx and the issue occur in and out of the office. All in all, if you're paying Cisco for WebEx already than maybe they will give your company a discount on WebEx Teams if you don't already have an instant messaging application in place.

It's software that anybody can start using in under 5 minutes with no training videos required. It also has a really great mobile app that allows you to seamlessly add messages to your conversations. You can switch between the mobile and laptop versions quickly (at least on iPhone and Mac). The system also allows for calling, video-chatting, video-conferences, and screen sharing. My favorite feature is the GIF button which pulls in GIPHYs API so you can easily find the right GIF to send quickly!

Major issues that I've had in the past revolve around volume during a video-chat or video-conference. There has been several times where I can't hear people at all or they can't hear me. Makes for an awkward 5 minutes of looking at each other. Could be a configuration issue from the company I work for because this is enterprise software (opposed to web-based app).

This software is very easy to use for all inexperienced users and guests. We really enjoy having Spark in our tool box for collaboration

I don't really like being locked to a specific room when using spark but other than that it works very well.

You can easily reach out any person of your organization even if he is worldwide.

I didn't like its way of notifying that a message has come. When there is a messages from a user, you should see some icon of message but it is not is here due to which some times, i do not get to know that some body has pinged me.

The quality of the phone line used in the dealership was beautiful. Easy access and very simple to log in and use.

Don't have any complaints about this system.

You can easily find and connect with a person who is on the same company but at different location in the world.

You cannot hit enter and add another line. You have to type multiple lines somewhere else and paste it.

HORRIBLE!

Integrations with Outlook and Cisco TV Device

The application keeps running forever. If you close the program through the file menu. This does not close the program, it remains running. Moderators cannot their meetings, if it ends early. The space remains running. Be aware that if you don't properly leave a meeting, everyone can see what you're doing if they go back into the space and you may not even know you're being watched. Worst feature, you're forced into video calling instead of just audio calling. Then you have to hurry up and Turn off video. So if your system happens to freeze (and this has happened before), oh well. Another worst, you need to call someone in the new spark to share screen. The feature to just share screen was removed in the new version. Isn't that taking a step backward?

- Combines messaging, meeting, and calling all in one.

- Caro

This software over many of its competitors offers security and scale to benefit large corporations. It has video and picture support.

The product isn't really exceptional in anyway; adding new team members was difficult and with a rapidly changing team this proved to be detrimental.

Not the best application but does a decent job for communicating with team members.

Cisco is not just chat focused but it main goal is to make collaborating easier .Users can create their own team and can easily meet and work with remote offsite members.

Just like with many video meeting software there are video and audio quality issues which can be frustrating.

I love how easy it is to send general messages to the whole company or write a note to one person. Easy to search, fun to read the message board, and easy to use.

I haven't downloaded this as an app on my phone because I do not like being interrupted. The banners on my computer are already distracting. I'd prefer to just look at it when I choose rather than automatically being prompted to redirect my attention with the banners.

Spark boards are useful even when not on a conference call, as a display device for a laptop or desktop machine, to display the device desktop for presentations (Physical connection via cable or through Cisco Spark App). When using a Spark board, the first thing I noticed the built-in software had built instructions into the connection process, navigating you through each step of the process to connect to peers. This is great for beginners, who have never touched the system, and lends itself to being used by all of our staff.

Pairing devices with the Spark board can be buggy, we have had issues with users waiting many minutes before being verified by Cisco to present. Installing an app is required to pair wirelessly, this is not convenient for new presenters that need to be on-boarded at a moments notice before or during a meeting Pricing is always a concern, as there are so many options available for video conferencing. Lesser products with "good enough" quality and features may still provide the value companies require, without having to pay out for a premium service.

My favorite benefits are the ease of use, and the fact that you create your own rooms that allow for compartmented communication within users you add to space specifically. Great for announcements and community building.

Initially the layout can be difficult to get acclimated to. The way in which the different conversations segment or separate can be modified, but they start out a little disjointed.

The quality of imags on the video linkup are supherb , we've tried zoom, skype, facetime, slack and more and Spark is by far the best.

Very costly especially if you use a video wall, its hard to justify the price for the quality you get.

It's a great way to keep teams connected and communicating. Super user friendly, I love the interface. The mobile app is also great and something I use often.

We let the users determine how to use the software and it was quickly adopted and grew organically. It is a favorite tool across the organization. We like being able to create spaces and groups. We also like being able to make calls through the app.

I wish there was functionality to create temporary group chats rather than having to create a space. I think that can get a bit bulky.

How easy it is to set up different rooms for your groups and conversations. Also the fact that Spark allows you to converse across companies without complex installations or products.

I didn't like that there was no option to like someone's comment and I hate the little people icons at the bottom to show who has view your message already.

I love the web interface as an administrator. Being able to login and provision a device for a new user is simple simple simple.

Right now the integration with Salesforce could be a lot better. We are waiting for them to beef this up with adding calling and SMS into Salesforce.

The ability to answer calls from either my computer, cell or desk phone. Being able to call clients as though I'm at my office and also the use of spaces for collaboration.

The phone app is awful and works maybe 30% of the time. There are some "normal" phone features that either not available or not very robust, like call park and hunt groups.

Team collaboration from in office to field users was key.

Persistent chat/collaboration is the main feature. The added video calling, white boarding and meetings are a huge plus.

Software is still in its infancy with Cisco. Cisco is constantly taking feedback and making changes. There are lots of UI and feature changes still coming. This is good but if your are looking for a mature stable platform this may not be what you are looking for.

Having all document and project specific conversations in one place is saving an enormous amount of time and overall better project management.