Fuze

Pros

Well designed UI make the product a pleasure to use. The features we use all day, every day, just work in a very user friendly way. It doesn't have feature bloat that confuses people - it just works.

Cons

the collaboration/video component of the software is relatively expensive as an addon and isn't as slick as the messaging calling product. Its good, but not as good as Zoom/Teams.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Fuze

Switched From

Reasons for Switching to Fuze

Pros

To begin, this group communication and collaboration tool has been essential in improving productivity and morale within our company. Fuze is a good video platform that allows us to shoot and share screen, webcam, and voice videos rapidly; this tool has enhanced internal communication by reducing the need for lengthy emails and in-person meetings. Moreover, it has significantly impacted team cooperation; by filming and sharing films, we can efficiently give and receive feedback, ask and answer questions, and solve problems even when we are not physically in the same spot. I appreciate the best that we can work together on projects, presentations, and more in real-time using the live recording tool.

Cons

One major drawback of Fuze is that the audio and video quality can vary widely depending on the user's internet connection speed and the quality of their microphone and camera, which can lead to poorly recorded films that are difficult to understand.

Pros

For some teams, the simplicity was the most positive aspect of the tool.

Cons

It's very limited and difficult to customize to different use cases.
Reporting has a lot of room for improvement. The resolution of issues can take weeks and the documentation is either not working or very simple.

Pros

that is really cool , I like it. that is easy to use.

Cons

not every one are able to access, but are really good

Pros

What I like most about Fuze is that the desktop version and the mobile version aren't as intrusive as Skype is. Also it's super easy to make a meeting, you have your "room" number so anyone who wants to have a meeting only has to have that number and presto! Which leads me into the contacts, whenever you look for a contact you search them by name a lot easier than Skype as well as by corporate e-mail. I think that it's also a nice touch to have the emoticons you use on your cellphone on the desktop app as well, it's a nice touch.

Cons

What I didn't like was that for example if you want to add some contact into your favorites you need to interact with them in any way, I find it easier by chat but can be annoying if you have no real reason to start a conversation. Also the Outlook extension is kinda heavy and may dull or slow your outlook sometimes.

Pros

I find the Fuze interface to be visually appealing. The side bar allows you to see all of your recent conversations, and you are able to create meetings, have calls, and text numbers outside of your organization as well. I also enjoy the fact that Fuze offers a mobile app where you can utilize your personal cellphone to hop into meetings, text and call as well. It makes it easy to use while on-the-go or away from your desk!

Cons

Fuze is notoriously unreliable. It often caused my computer to seize up, took a ridiculous amount of time to launch upon opening, and the call quality was not great more often than not. Occasionally, when utilizing the text feature, the app's ability to send messages would crash, and messages either would not send, or they'd say they weren't sending but would send multiple times in a row to the number you tried to text. It was an almost-constant headache for my organization trying to connect with Fuze IT to resolve the issues in a timely manner. More than one time, the whole system crashed. In the world of staffing where Fuze was the whole platform we utilized for meetings and candidate outreach, this was literally debilitating to our organization.

Pros

Integrates well with your voice solution
Meetings perform OK
There are several plugins for email clients and browsers which facilitate creating an joining meetings

Cons

I did not find Fuze to be as reliable as other competitor tools.
UI attempted to look fresh but I did find it a bit confusing when using simple features such a text history searches

Pros

Fuze is a fully featured UC in the cloud, providing telephone calls (with a full backend of call flows, agents, incoming, outgoing, etc), collaboration and meetings (from 1 to thousands of participants), voicemail, and multiple types of endpoints such as physical phones, SIP clients, Windows and Mac desktop client, Android and iOS mobile clients. It has all the features you need, without the headaches of managing PBXs and servers.

Cons

Fuze is still developing its Browser based client, we would really like that because currently there isn't a way to run the Fuze "Desktop" experience on Linux. Once they finish the web client there will be that capability. Their customer support needs to be sized up a bit too, sometimes it takes too long to get things resolved (they get resolved, but the length of time needs to be reduced)

Pros

We used Fuze for our Team Meetings on a geographically dispersed team. In the early days of our use of Fuze, it served our needs well. We were transferring from the "Big Boys" on the street because of their escalating costs for the same service. Fuze was great. In the middle of our journey we started having issues with updates and other issues that slowed our team meetings. Later in the journey, it came back and was rock solid.

Cons

1. Issues with upgrades and sound quality at times.
2. Once they got their issues worked out, they caused their prices to skyrocket and their business model changed and they wanted to "demo" the product to re-do our contract. We'd been USING the product for years! They wouldn't tell us pricing structure without a pitch. No time for such nonsense! Finally, they wrote and announced that our product offering was going to end....in TWO WEEKS! Done. They lost us there.

Pros

Fuze is a cloud-based unified communications platform and because it is based in the cloud ; it makes it easy for me to access it wherever I may be. It empowers productivity and delivers insights across my organization by allowing us access its simplified business voice communication tool, dynamic video conferencing, and hands-on collaboration feature.In summary , Fuze enable my company's workforce to communicate seamlessly at anytime and without any device restriction.

Cons

Will be interesting to have more screens available in the screen sharing option.Also the aesthetic is quite poor ,I think it can much more vibrant.

Pros

With any software I feel that there is always room for improvement, but I think Fuze as been improving the software week by week, month by month. I think currently I love how easy it is to take a call from anywhere. During a mandatory shut down in our state, we were able to route our main switch calls and take them from home off our our cell phones. That was unheard of just a bit ago.

I love the you made transferring calls easy from the mobile app so we are easily able to get call to co-worker spread out working in their own homes. Our business didn't pause for even on minute during this time and that is very much appreciated.

Cons

I think my only issue is quality of a calls, especially for international calls. A big chunk of our business is international and I hate using Fuse for international calls. All the calls seem mumbled so it is very hard to understand but when we use other software we don't have the same problems. We find ourselves using teams and other services but it would be nice to be able to be consistent and not switch from one service to other.

Pros

I like the ease of transferring calls across to other users easily, whilst the caller is on hold. The functionality of being able to share screens is also really great when speaking with teammates internally, particularly now we are working from home more often. I also really like the chrome extension which speeds up calling!

Cons

The chat function, although useful, I find can often be missed - notifications are not obvious and can be lost amongst the calls coming in - it would be good to have this as a separate tab and for notifications to be more identifiable. I often find issues with call audio not connecting with Fuza, so often have to restart the software.

Pros

What I liked most about Fuze was that I was one click away from communicating with someone instead of emailing them. Fuze allowed me to set up video calls, conference calls, and meetings with clients and coworkers and made the day to day life easier.

Cons

There are many technical issues with Fuze, it started giving our team errors and lagging a lot and here recently we transitioned to Ring Central for our communication needs since there were so many technical difficulties

Pros

We have been using Fuze for some time and it is our go/to tool for reaching out to our customers. Our collaborators also use the chat function to stay in touch and create groups.

Cons

We have experienced some down time with our lines sporadically but their Customer Support has been diligent on giving us answers and solutions.

Pros

I really like that I can use Fuze in my laptop and my mobile, also I can set up meetings with my colleagues in the application or using Outlook. Also when you setup a meeting, fuze provide you a link and you can share the link with whoever you want. When you are in a meeting you can record it and later share the link.

Cons

I think that we can enhance the performance, for software products we should try to enhance this topic in every release.

Pros

Ease of use and when there is an issue prompt response of support team.

Cons

took me a while to get used to using the headphones but all good now

Pros

I love how easy it is to call or chat with anyone at work. I have used other chat products but the fact that I can call and check my messages from the same app is wonderful.

Cons

The only other thing I would like out of this software is a way to export my call list or contact data.

Pros

Fuze integrates well across different devices. Meetings are easy to setup via the app or Outlook.

Cons

Call quality can be hit and miss. App does have glitches at times on outlook, updates can crash the application where it needs to be uninstalled/cleaned before it is installed again.

Pros

Similar features to Zoom, easier to record meetings to share with client/teams later.

Cons

We've had delays when requesting to add local numbers.

Pros

Ease of use and deployment. Messaging between people is also very nice and efficient.

Cons

Ability to clear cache or Items to reduce clutter.

Pros

The conference lines work very well and we never have trouble with people dialing in or the voice quality

Cons

The way the phone lines, extensions, dial plans, users, and devices are all tied together is fairly confusing. Most of it seems repetitive and makes it difficult when you need to switch out an old phone.

Pros

It works well with the Fuze (Thinking) Polycom IP phone with seamless integration. When it is run locally on a Windows 7 or 8.1 64-bit desktop, everything works as expected. The sound quality is good over the IP phone.

Cons

It does not work over Windows Remote Desktop. I connect to my computer via the Windows Remote Desktop. The Fuze meeting app runs but the shared screen is not visible. It appears this software is not designed for RDP. WebEx is browser based has no issues under the same scenario.

Pros

I am able to log into and use this service without needing to make an account or download any specific software.
I can record sessions which are useful to allow them to be played back later.

Cons

It seems to drop out on slow connections more than other web conferencing software I have used.
There are limited options for collaborative working.

Pros

I can see all extensions and users online and can access voicemail from email and online.

Cons

my access to add user on my own. I have to create ticket and can not do it online

Pros

Great presentation software, very cutting edge. Looks professional and have had happy clients, super easy

Cons

Price is a little steep. Could be a little more user friendly. It gets the job done, so not much to complain about.

Pros

I don't like the software. It is not easy to sue or fix. It seems like every issue with the system is fixed with some engineers attempt at a work around.

Cons

The service is glitchy, service is often many time zones ahead or behind, the reps raley listen to you, implementation doesn't take express instruction, features are sold that don't exist.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Fuze

Reasons for Switching to Fuze

Pros

We came to Fuze from a home built system. As our company grew, our system became harder and harder to manage and we started to have outages because of the stress that was put on our servers. When we switched over to Fuze I set myself on their outage alerts and although I was alerted to an outage or service disruption, I only felt the impact of an outage twice in three years.

Cons

If you call in on the support line, you will get a company called answer one which will create a ticket for you. You can get people on the line when you have an emergency, but I've only been able to get a person transferred to me twice. The other times they called back within an hour.

It is not easy to understand what you are being billed for, so the bill can creep up with stuff that you no longer need.

You don't have control over provisioning your phones. You have to call in or submit a ticket and although the SLA for those types of requests is 48 hours it is hardly reached if you don't follow up. I've had to wait for more than a week which meant that our new hires got to do busy work for at least 4 days after training.

Reports are inaccurate. For our call floors, we pay bonuses based on the amount of work that the agent puts in. The report have been inaccurate enough times that we now have to verify that the report is running after we run the report.

Pros

We mostly used Fuze for broadcasting webinars and hosting conference calls. Some of my most-liked features were helpful but not unique to Fuze. For example, their recording feature is generally easy to use and stores it in your account for streaming or downloading. Dial-in numbers were easy enough to use, and generally were used without issue.

Cons

Where do I start? I found the service unreliable most of the time. Service would be down or slow frequently. When you're about to go live with 90+ people waiting for your webinar, this is a problem! The back end is incredibly confusing (ThinkingPhones or Fuze? They merged and didn't do it well), and their customer support is by far the worst I've experienced. They are awful at following up on tickets, rarely can give you a clear answer, and don't seem to know their way around their own product. Their are constantly "updating" their software with zero improvement to quality of the service.

Pros

Fuze is an absolutely brilliant software as it allows people to stay connected globally 24/7 without having lots of online tools/apps or a physical phone cluttering up your desk. Everyone in the business uses it daily for phone calls, meetings, screen shares, group messaging and so much more.

One of my favourite features is the 'share screen' option you have when you're in a meeting. I find it to be extremely beneficial as it allows you to convey information clearly and efficiently.

Another small feature I like is that you can make specific groups (e.g - if a number of you are working on a project together, you can all keep up-to-date with what's happening without having to send emails with everyone CC'd in).

Finally, I also like the shared note section you can have with another person, this is perfect for putting meeting times, notes, anything else you are wanting to share.

Cons

The only little issue I have with Fuze is that you can't send more than one image through at one time. You have to send them one by one, which isn't a big issue, but it's something I forget about on a regular basis.

Pros

I like that this service provides and app for both desktop and mobile. The user portal is useful as it allows configuration of features like simultaneous ring and voicemail. Voice quality is very good and HD voice is possible if the other callers support it.

Cons

Early on, (ThinkingPhones days) the apps were not so fully featured or functional as they are today.

Pros

The software is continually being updated with features and functionality requested by users. They listen to complaints and improvement requests and take them seriously!

Cons

Some of the functionality is not as straightforward to use as it should be. It can integrate contacts from other sources, but sometimes does a poor job.

Pros

It’s easy to keep track of a large number of projects. It is easy to enter in data and collaborate with people in different offices.

Cons

Tracking milestones on projects is a little clumsy. This could be due to the way our organization and client has the back end set up.

Pros

I love that we can have conference calls with someone in NY, CA, and China at the same time. Fuze is a vital business communication tool!

Cons

Honestly no drawbacks of the software, just some of the people I have to deal with! Too bad Fuze couldn't provide new work colleagues and counter parts!

Pros

I can make calls over the cloud and see who is calling. It integrates with our auto dialer.

Cons

Since at my job we make several sales calls all day, when the app goes down, it keeps everyone from doing our job. This can happen for several hours at a time. Every day I have to deal with poor connection quality and lagging. A lot of calls are static.

Pros

I like the function to share your screen when having a meeting, I use it all the time when talking with colleagues across other offices. Can be useful for troubleshooting, training and support, so it saves time and effort.

Cons

I don't like that it often bugs and especially the lack of easy to reach customer support, I have had issues on multiple occassions that support didn't really help with (they wanted tickets, logs and when I sent them everything they still didn't understand my problem).

Pros

The platform is easy to use and user friendly

Cons

It is not a stable software, is problematic to look for old chat messages

Pros

It's relatively easy to use. It does what it needs to do. But I feel it could be better.

Cons

I often have to restart the application. It sometimes has an echo on the line. And I personally am not a fan of the UI and the Contacts aspect but others may like that.

Pros

The IM system within Fuze has always been great. Even in a prepandemic world it was great for ease of use around the office and easily staying in touch with other team members. In the pandemic Telehealth landscape, its ease of use and great interface has really stuck out and shined. It's easy to use contact list, voicemail access, and simultaneous connection to both my desktop and mobile phone have allowed me to stay on top of things in the uncertain world we face currently.

Cons

Video calls could use some work. Unless this feature is blocked by admin, it would be helpful to set video conferences and calls of my own volition.

Pros

The flexibility Fuze provides our global business is extremely beneficial.

Cons

The reporting and other back end management still needs a lot of work. Managing call flows is pretty awful. No ability to import/export configuration or save revisions. Would REALLY like the ability to change to full screen when in a Fuze Meeting. Been asking for that functionality for years.

Pros

Ease of use and continued feature development and deployment. Support sort things out asap and will do their best to make the product work how you need it to.

Mobile App and Softphone add business flex that we needed.

Cons

The base level of call analytics is not quite flexible enough for our use but that is very unique.

Pros

you have toll free numbers
linked with Google calendar

Cons

too many errors and delays
the call drops every 5 minutes
you would be better using Zoom

Pros

The best thing about it is that I can easily coordinate among my teammates through its instant messaging feature that is a huge ease in all terms. Furthermore, the basic feature that is my most favorite and indeed the most applicable feature is its ability to be used on multiple types of devices whether it’s a laptop, desktop or even my tiny mobile phone with a lot of ease and convenience.

Cons

No doubt Fuze is absolutely perfect product. I found it to be very amazing from every angle. I failed to find even a single deficiency in it.

Pros

I love the scaleability and flexibility. The collaboration we are able to achieve across the company now is amazing

Cons

Support has taken some time to get to where it needs to be

Pros

I use Fuze to cold call clients in my pipeline. I love how you can mask the area code to match that of who you are calling. I also love how the click to call function is integrated and works with Salesforce as well. I use this to complement email marketing with YesWare.

Cons

I wish texting were more clear cut using Fuze on my desktop. It is not very intuitive/user friendly.

Pros

It works like a phone should, you have voicemail features that sends a audio to your email for voicemail, the apps allow you take your office phone with you anywhere.

Cons

The soft phones are unable to transfer or pick up parked calls like the physical phones do.

Pros

Interface is very easy to use, and the software integrates seamlessly across all devices, meaning you can always stay on top of your calls.

Cons

Sometimes it completely stops working however this is expected with all software products. Could be something they work on reducing the frequency of.

Pros

I like that it worked well for work chats and links with phone voicemail. It stored my voicemail from my work phone so I could listen while still on my computer or laptop. The chat service was fast and pretty user friendly as well.

Cons

I think some of my co workers had phone and voicemail issues but none for me.

Pros

Ability to make outbound calls from anywhere in the world. This makes working remotely much easier.

Cons

Not intuitive to remove or separate call log from previous chats. Would be better if this was made easier to handle.

Pros

Fuze is an awesome VOIP, FOIP and meeting collaboration system. We have physical phones at our desks, softphones on our laptops and a mobile version on our cell phones. It allows us to take calls from anywhere on any device. Collaboration tool makes it easy to have conference calls and screen sharing sessions. Good alternative to GoToMeeting

Cons

Technical support can be a little difficult to work with, but are overall knowledgeable and helpful.

Pros

Allowed us to move from on prem hardware to true VOIP solutions

Cons

The collaborate was difficult to use and minimal reporting capabilities. We also would like more call center features.

The organization of our systems did not provide an option for a caller to "0" from the call tree.