How customer voice
drives business

Adobe Audition and Audacity are both Audio Editing tools available for use for sound and audio editing, as well as general sound (or more typically music) creation and production. One key difference between Adobe Audition and Audacity is their price. While Audacity is a free, open-source product, Adobe Audition is not. However, users of Adobe Audition may enjoy taking advantage of bundles with other Adobe products that help make up for the cost of the software. Features Adobe Audition features support audio cleanup, restoration, and editing for both files with video and those without. Users can also record, edit, and integrate music clips into existing sound files. Another key feature of Adobe Audition includes sound quality enhancement, and file repair and restoration. As an open-source tool, Audacity is popular due to its function as a sound recording tool. However, it fully supports sound editing and rearranging, including the ability to save sound files in different sound quality formats. It also features several plugins for adaptability. Audacity is also a solid choice for converting sound files into various other types. Both Adobe Audition and Audacity can have steep learning curves, especially for new audio editing users. A key difference between the […]

Adobe Connect and Zoom are both popular video and web conferencing platforms. Adobe Connect offers video conferencing solutions for online learning, online meetings, and webinar hosting use cases. Zoom is an online communications platform that allows users to host and participate in online meetings. The full Zoom platform provides users with online meetings, meeting rooms, webinar, and business phone solutions. Adobe Connect can be used by small groups but is more likely to be used by schools and medium to large size businesses due to its pricing structure and great webinar capabilities. Users who need to reach a large audience or who are involved in online learning will want to look into this option. Zoom can be used for free by individuals, but also has options to scale which can make it useful at businesses of all sizes. Users who are looking for more streamlined and easier meeting options may want to choose Zoom over the competition.  Features Adobe Connect and Zoom are both strong product offerings, but there are a few features that differentiate them from one another.  A major feature of Adobe Connect is that users have the ability to share links that allow the link recipient to […]

SonarQube and Veracode are application security and code quality management options. SonarQube provides a free and open source community edition and focuses on static code analysis, while Veracode provides SAST, but also DAST, IAST, and penetration testing, as well as application security consulting.SonarQube is deployed among businesses of all sizes, notably midsize and larger companies, while Veracode is more widely adopted, and somewhat more likely to appear in larger enterprises who might wish to take advantage of Veracode’s more extensive services. Features Users of SonarQube and Veracode point out distinct advantages to both solutions. SonarQube is a SAST specialist which excels in its core competency. It allows users to set their own coding standards and enforce them, and ensure best practice. Users describe an excellent code checking process, and detailed issue and bug tracking with commenting and issue highlighting. SonarQube integrates well into a CI/CD pipeline. Veracode provides CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) reporting and its users learn to rely on its vulnerability scanning; Veracode’s static scans are said to provide clear identification of issues, and useful reporting with detailed recommendations for triage. Veracode is not only highly regarded for SAST, but training, consultation, and support, which users also have […]

ArcGIS and QGIS are geographical information systems used for mapping census data, traffic data, construction plans, environmental information, and other types of spatial data. ArcGIS is a longstanding product of Esri, while QGIS is a free, open-source project. Features ArcGIS and QGIS are both used for mapping spatial data, but they have a few important differences. ArcGIS has been in use for quite a long time, and as such it is well known in spatial data mapping fields. Reviewers say they haven’t found it difficult to locate and hire ArcGIS experts for their projects, which is helpful since ArcGIS is a very robust, full-featured program with a steep learning curve for end users. Data sharing and exporting options make it possible to use ArcGIS for many different types of projects, and ArcGIS provides excellent support for its users, including training.  QGIS is the lean and nimble open-source version of ArcGIS. Simpler than ArcGIS, it is perfect for small projects which use less data, and since it’s free, it’s ideal for organizations with leaner budgets. It’s compatible with ArcGIS, however, so QGIS users can still accept and work with ArcGIS-specific files. Like many open-source projects, it has lots of plugins and […]

Google App Engine and Heroku Platform are application environments and hosts for people who want to focus on development work, not complicated server setup and maintenance. Google App Engine is a large, well-known, robust product that scales automatically for traffic spikes, while Heroku’s smaller pricing tiers and specific focus make it great for smaller teams on a more limited budget. Features Google App Engine and Heroku Platform are both quick and simple environments for developers, but there are standout features of each. After you choose the type of service you want, Google App Engine is priced according to volume, so you pay for exactly what you’ve used. If your site or application experiences a traffic spike, Google App Engine will adjust automatically to handle that traffic, so there’s much less risk of an outage or slowdown. Security features are included with every type of service. Google is a household name, so it’s easy to get clients on board with using it.  Heroku is priced in tiers, and each tier has specific features and workloads, so you’ll never be surprised by your bill. It’s quick and simple to use, and pricing tiers include up-to-date documentation and support. Heroku server monitoring tools […]

GarageBand and Logic Pro X are both music creation and audio editing software created by Apple.  GarageBand is a free offering that allows Apple users to create and edit music on all of their devices. Logic Pro X is a more robust creation and editing tool that offers users greater creativity and editing options.  GarageBand can be used by anyone with an Apple device. Users with no musical experience can pick up the software and create something, but it is also useful for skilled musicians who need to make something quickly and at no cost. Logic Pro X is aimed at music creators and editors who need more control and a greater number of features for their music, but who are also willing to pay a fee to do so.   Features In this section, we will examine the respective benefits of GarageBand and Logic Pro X.  GarageBand is a free product, but it still comes with huge amounts of content that can satisfy the needs of music pros. It also has the advantage of having a very simple and clean user interface that makes learning the program less intimidating for beginners or users who are new to the Apple ecosystem. […]

Google Analytics and Webtrends Analytics are both tools aimed at analyzing web traffic, but they serve different purposes.   Google is the market leader in web analytics and the fact that Google Analytics is free to use makes it especially appealing to small businesses. Webtrends Analytics is aimed at larger companies looking to get insights into their SharePoint site web traffic. It has purpose-built tools to analyze SharePoint site performance.  Features Google Analytics and Webtrends Analytics both offer attractive features to customers, but some stand out for each based on their use-case.  Google Analytics’ major advantage over its competition is that it offers an easy to use and versatile free version. Though Google Analytics Premium is available for organizations that need advanced web analytics capabilities.  It is also able to integrate with a huge variety of third-party software. Google offers online training and certifications to help users master Google Analytics. Because of its large install base, users are able to find answers to questions quickly among the user community.  Webtrends Analytics is an excellent tool for businesses looking to measure their Microsoft Sharepoint usage and performance. Users can collect insights such as newsfeed post frequency and data from likes, shares, and […]

Lifesize Video Conferencing and Zoom are both web and video conferencing platforms that allow users to host and attend online meetings. Zoom also offers the Zoom Webinar and Zoom Cloud Phone options, but here we compare just its video conferencing solutions (Zoom Rooms, and Zoom Meetings), against the similar competing Lifesize conferencing solution. Lifesize prefers to bundle its own hardware (e.g. camera, conference phone) with its video conferencing software. Zoom specializes in software and supports a variety of third-party hardware, including Logitech, Crestron, Poly, Yealink, or the Neat Bar. Zoom is a leader in the web conferencing space and is widely used across businesses of all sizes. Lifesize is deployed in large and midsize companies, but very rarely in small companies. While competitors, users that prefer the Lifesize Icon camera and HD phone but prefer the Zoom application and service can use them together. Features Lifesize and Zoom both provide users with standard video and web conferencing features, though there are a few key differences to be aware of.  Lifesize supports large-scale conferences with its app and bundles its Icon series cameras and phone. Together the solution boasts 4k content sharing (useful for sharing digital media, such as images, video, […]

Microsoft Power BI and SAS Visual Analytics are both data visualization and business intelligence (BI) tools aimed at helping businesses gain insights from business data. Microsoft Power BI has a strong community presence, with an open-source repository of user-created visualizations. SAS Visual Analytics, as part of the SAS suite of products, is an industry standard with strong predictive analytics and data preparation features.  SAS Visual Analytics is most popular by far with enterprise-level companies, who likely get more value out of the overall SAS suite of business intelligence tools than smaller businesses would. Microsoft Power BI, on the other hand, is almost equally popular with mid-size businesses as well as enterprise-level corporations, likely due to its cheaper per-user licensing and integration with the Microsoft Office 365 suite. Features Although both SAS Visual Analytics and Microsoft Power BI offer self-service data visualization and individualized dashboards, they each stand out in their own ways. Microsoft Power BI offers an extensive degree of variety and customization for their visualizations through their open-source repository. The charts offered are professional and granular, making it easy to drill down on specific data points or categories. The software is designed with sharing in mind, making it easy […]

BlueJeans, from Verizon, and Cisco Webex Meetings are web and video conferencing solutions that offer boardroom and huddle capabilities. As a full video conferencing solution, BlueJeans recommends customers use Logitech devices, though it supports additional Poly devices as well. Cisco Webex provides its own series of huddle room devices, with some third-party support.  Both solutions are used at companies of all sizes but tend to be deployed at large enterprises. Cisco’s diverse product suite caters to the needs of enterprises so this is not surprising, and both vendors provide advanced security features.  Features There are several similar features BlueJeans and Cisco Webex Meetings offer users. However, each product has a few standout benefits. Cisco Webex Meetings is easy for meeting participants to use with good collaboration features such as screen sharing, whiteboarding, hand-raising, and private and group messaging, etc. On TrustRadius, enterprise Webex Meetings reviewers find sessions easy to join and engage with. Reviewers note the collaboration features make Webex Meetings a viable solution for groups with multiple active participants.  BlueJeans’ users tout its security features (encryption, meeting code, etc.) and its strong boardroom/ large conference room experience. BlueJeans can be easily deployed using any AV setup. Reviewers on TrustRadius […]

Discord is a communications platform that integrates text chat, voice, and video into an app. Users can directly message each other, join servers populated and managed by other users typically organized by topic, create their own server, and keep a list of personal contacts in the app. Initially oriented toward audiences in platforms like Reddit and Twitch, which in 2015 were abandoning traditionally popular services like IRC, Discord has maintained a reputation that it is primarily used by gamers and associated communities. As of this year, the company has pivoted to branding as an all-encompassing social chat platform for all uses. Zoom is a video communications platform specializing in web conferencing, webinars, and cloud-based telephony. Zoom also specializes in conference room management and equipment. Recently, Zoom has cemented itself as an entrant into the Unified-Communications-as-a-Service market with updates to their Zoom Phone, Zoom Rooms, and Zoom Meetings offerings to optimize online collaboration features. Potential buyers have the option of using only Zoom Meetings for conducting web conferences or adding on Zoom Rooms, Zoom Phone, and Zoom Video Webinar. Features As they represent similar aims, Zoom and Discord share many features and purposes, but they are distinct in several ways. Discord’s […]

Cisco Webex Teams and Microsoft Teams are video conferencing and collaboration platforms aimed at streamlining business communications. Microsoft Teams is known for its collaborative tools and integration with Microsoft Office. It is the successor to Skype for Business, which will be phased out in mid-2021. Cisco Webex Teams is part of the broader Cisco Webex family, acting as the suite’s go-to collaboration tool. In addition to standard web conferencing features, it also features tools that help with file sharing and team management. Both solutions are primarily used by mid-size and enterprise-level organizations, likely because both products are designed to manage the communications needs of organizations with hundreds or thousands of employees. Features Key features for Cisco Webex Teams include chat (both for teams and company-wide channels), video meetings, an interactive whiteboard, and file sharing. Cisco Webex Teams is particularly designed to integrate with existing calendar systems to facilitate the ease of scheduling meetings with various members of an organization. Cisco Webex Teams is suitable for those already familiar with other Cisco Webex products who want to stick with a familiar interface and system. Microsoft Teams is designed as a centralized location for communication and collaboration. From a single application, users […]

Intro RStudio and IBM SPSS are powerful data science platforms used to conduct statistical analysis of data sets.  RStudio is an open-source tool that uses the R programming language to analyze data and create visualizations. IBM SPSS is used for statistical analysis and has features that make it easier for individuals without coding knowledge to analyze large datasets.   Both RStudio and IBM SPSS are popular with large companies and in higher education, but RStudio is also commonly used by individuals due to its open-source nature and expansive free options.  Features Both RStudio and IBM SPSS offer robust statistical abilities but have key features that may make them more appealing to certain customers.  Because RStudio is open-source software it offers a large community of users that can make finding solutions to problems. Users also speak highly of the product’s enterprise-level support. Due to its open-source nature, RStudio also offers a large number of user-created downloadable packages and programs which can be used to analyze datasets. Users also report that RStudio integrates well with a variety of different software and database applications.  A key feature of IBM SPSS is that it offers better out of the box capabilities with less setup and […]

Cisco Jabber and Microsoft Teams are communication and collaboration platforms aimed at streamlining business communications. Microsoft Teams is known for its collaborative tools, and integration with Microsoft Office. Jabber, by contrast, is regarded as an intuitive solution, with a clear interface and smooth learning curve. Both solutions are primarily used by mid-size and enterprise-level organizations, likely because both products are designed to manage the communications needs of organizations with hundreds or thousands of employees. Features Cisco Jabber and Microsoft Teams share many features, such as video calling, conferencing, and screen-sharing, but each has its own strengths that set it apart from the other. Microsoft Teams is designed as a centralized location for communication and collaboration. From a single application, users can chat, make calls, share files, and schedule events. Its integration with Microsoft Office allows users to edit and comment on Office documents in real-time. Contact search tools help find exactly who you need to talk to by name, role, or department. Cisco Jabber is a communications platform first and foremost. Its escalation system helps users quickly and easily turn a chat into a video call, or begin a conference call from a group chat. Presence indicators automatically update with […]

The Meraki MX is a cloud-managed security device from Cisco, that combines firewall functionality with SD-WAN to connect distributed branch locations while filtering out unwanted traffic and web content. Ubiquiti Networks offers UniFi as a high performance wireless access point in a streamlined form factor. The Meraki MX appears in enterprise environments, though it is used across companies of all sizes with plenty of options for small and midsize branches. Ubiquiti Networks’ UniFi appears generally in small and midsize companies, likely due to its low cost. Users of either of these products sometimes contemplate if they can be used together. Short answer: they can. Combining these products may result in savings and (ultimately) convenience, at some loss of the functionality and interoperability inherent in using only Meraki devices for all networking tasks. Features Meraki MX and UniFi APs boast convenient form factors, and generally users of both claim to enjoy easy, centralized management of the devices, with clear network inventory, traffic visibility and well-designed dashboards. Cisco Meraki MX provides users with an easy to setup VPN described by users as being almost automatic. While tersely praising Meraki MX’s security features, most users praise just how easy the appliance is to […]

At their core, both Qualtrics and SurveyMonkey are survey platforms that allow users to reach out and gather input from people.  Qualtrics is a robust survey platform targeted towards organizations that collect large amounts of data and need many different types of tools to analyze that data. SurveyMonkey is a well-regarded survey tool that focuses on ease of use and the ability to make surveys quickly.  Qualtrics is more likely to appeal to large, enterprise style businesses that are willing to invest time in training users to gather data using a premium product. While SurveyMonkey has an enterprise service tier, it is more likely to appeal to individuals and small to medium-sized organizations. This is due to the product’s expanded free and less costly options and focus on quick usability.  Features Qualtrics and SurveyMonkey both support the distribution and collection of surveys but are differentiated by a number of features.  Qualtrics offers more advanced reporting options with complex analytics capabilities built into the platform. During survey creation, there are also more options to create branches of questions based on logic and more logic choices than found in competitors. Users also speak highly of Qualtrics support and report having little trouble […]

Articulate Storyline and Adobe Captivate are e-learning course design and content authoring software, available to educational institutions and enterprises for building out learning programs that terminate in a certificate, or that can be used to support general team and learner knowledge and competency. Both solutions are used at companies of all sizes. Articulate Storyline is adopted for its ability to support a variety of training programs and allows even non-technical staff to author content. Its content can also be accessed easily (e.g. through mobile devices). Adobe Captivate is primarily used by professional course designers to create highly interactive, formalized training sessions used in corporate HR or to support environmental health & safety initiatives, for instance. Features Adobe Captivate and Articulate Storyline are both recognized course content authoring tools. Both support the creation of rapid or formal interactive learning programs with graphics, video, and assessments to certify knowledge.  They also include templates and prefab tools to help users get started. Despite their similarities, both options present distinct advantages. Articulate Storyline’s design interface is similar to Microsoft’s PowerPoint and other MS Office products in general, and is designed to be easy for even non-technical users to get started from familiarity, and overall […]

Jira and Microsoft 365, formerly Microsoft Office 365, are very distinct products with some overlapping capabilities. Jira and Microsoft 365 both offer some project management and collaboration capabilities, and each is used across company sizes. Microsoft 365’s Sharepoint, and intranet product, is the closest comparison with Jira itself.  Beyond these areas, Jira and Microsoft 365 are entirely different products. Jira is a software development tool for agile developments. It’s designed to help manage product development cycles, as well as other agile projects. Microsoft 365 is a suite of office programs. In addition to the core Office programs like Word and PowerPoint, 365 offers email, online storage, and collaboration tools.  Features Jira and Microsoft 365 have distinct feature sets that buyers should keep in mind.  Jira’s focus on support agile development has led to more specific features for that particular use case. For instance, it offers better tools for tracking software development, such as labelling, ticket tracking,  and specialized reporting. These features are designed to allow individual developers and project managers alike to organize and manage their projects from within the single platform.  Microsoft 365 serves a broader range of use cases. For developers and project managers, it offers robust file […]

Blackboard Learn and Google Classroom are both academic learning management systems. However, each product serves very different academic segments, with little overlap.  Blackboard Learn is very focused on serving higher education institutions, with many advanced features targeting these users. In contrast, Google Classroom is much more common in primary or secondary education classrooms instead of higher education. Blackboard Learn is also a paid platform, while Google Classroom is free for schools to use.  Features Blackboard Learn and Google Classroom both have distinct advantages that schools and universities can utilize.  Blackboard Learn stands out as the powerhouse LMS for higher education. It has among the widest ranges of features and capabilities out of all academic LMS’s, including a robust assessment tool. It also offers excellent document management and can be highly customized to meet each institutions’ preferences and needs.  Google Classroom excels at offering a more accessible and user-friendly platform for primary and secondary education. It is highly integrated with the rest of the G suite, with the compatibility benefits that come with the Google ecosystem. It’s also much more user-friendly than more advanced LMSs, especially for younger or less technically savvy users. It’s also free for schools, which can be […]

From LogMeIn, GoToWebinar is a webinar solution that helps teams plan, promote, and execute webinars. Zoom is a unified communications platform that includes web and video conferencing, team messaging, voice calls, conference room software, and webinar capabilities. However, Zoom’s core platform is primarily used to host video meetings. Zoom Video Webinar is a more appropriate product for the webinar use case.  Features Both GoToWebinar and the Zoom platform offer users several webinar features including:  customizable emails and webinar registration pages screen sharing interactive elements like polls and Q&A participant and panelist controls webinar recording reporting and analytics integrations with third-party marketing and sales software  Ability to collect payments from attendees  However, each platform has a few unique features to consider as well.  GoToWebinar also offers users 24/7 phone support, unlimited cloud storage (even on their free plan), video sharing, ‘Webinar channel’/events landing page creation, and GoToStage which allows users to host recorded webinar content after the live event. In comparison, cloud storage is a paid add-on and is not built into the webinar solution. GoToWebinar users can host webinars with up to 3,000 participants. However, Zoom allows users to host webinars with up to 10,000 view-only attendees on their highest-priced […]