Many are wondering how Cisco Jabber compares to OCS/Lync in terms of features and user experience. The two share some similarities and clearly leave other competing products far behind – as Gartner analysts clearly suggest. I have tried to summarize all features of the two in the following table:
| Feature | Jabber | OCS/Lync |
| Presence | ||
| Presence indicators in Microsoft applications | Yes | Yes |
| Rich presence (e.g. “on the phone”) | Yes | No |
| Custom status messages | Yes | Yes |
| Instant Messaging | ||
| Group chat | Yes | Yes |
| File transfer | Yes | Yes |
| Screen capture-to-IM | Yes | No |
| Conversation history in Outlook | No | Yes |
| IM History for compliance | Yes | Yes |
| Telephony and Video | ||
| PC-to-PC audio calling | Yes[i] | Yes |
| PC-to-PC video calling | Yes[i] | Yes |
| PC-to-PSTN audio calling | Yes | No |
| URI dialing (e.g. someone@domain.com) | Yes | Yes |
| Click-to-call support | Limited[ii] | Yes |
| Mobility | ||
| Native iPhone/iPad client | Yes | Yes |
| Native Android client | Yes | Yes |
| Native Windows Phone client | No | Yes |
| Native BlackBerry client | Limited[iii] | Yes |
| Other | ||
| AD integration: authentication | Yes | Yes |
| AD integration: directory search | Yes | Yes |
| WebEx integration (click-to-meet) | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop sharing | Yes | Yes |
| Remote control sharing | Yes | Yes |
| Skype federation | No | Yes |
| Federation with other standards-based clients | Yes | Yes |
| VPN-less connectivity | Yes | Yes |
[i] CUCM-registered client only
[ii] Limited support (from MS Office applications only)
[iii] Limited support (IM-only; EOL)
Your comments, as always, are welcome.