Bitrix24 is a local-hosted or cloud-based social intranet and project management platform that also contains core HR (HRMS) and CRM features. Bitrix24 also provides time management services and employee self-service.
$49
per month 5 Users
HCL Notes
Score 5.0 out of 10
N/A
Notes from HCL (formerly from IBM, acquired by HCL in late 2018) is a collaboration platform based on the Lotus platform.
Bitrix24 is highly beneficial for teams that are geographically dispersed or working remotely. Its real-time communication tools, including instant messaging and video conferencing, enable seamless collaboration regardless of physical location. The centralized document management feature ensures that team members can easily access and collaborate on shared documents from anywhere, facilitating efficient teamwork in a remote or distributed environment.
I often work with teams from other country and regions, hence HCL Notes is a very useful platform for internal company management operations. It standardized organisational work standards in most of the offices worldwide. HCL Notes also enables chat with other team around the world that I find very helpful when initiating conversation or just want to have a quick update rather than sending emails and waiting for replies. However, HCL Notes is not very efficient in web browsing and user still need to use other internet service providers.
It's user interface can use some work. Although it doesn't take as long as some other software to learn, there is still a bit of a learning curve when it comes to day to day usage.
Bitrix offers a lot of features. It would be nice to have those features laid out in an easier-to-read layout, versus the long list at the side of the page.
It's mobile app functionality is quite limited. It can be difficult to work with other team members, solely off of their mobile app.
Notes' backwards compatibility sometimes gets in the way. Menus are cluttered with extraneous, outdated options and features that modern users will never use, and Preferences are often difficult to navigate for those coming from Gmail or Outlook. We have greatly simplified this via Policies, but users still find it daunting to go through all the options that are available.
The IBM Notes client for Windows & Mac is essentially the Eclipse Java development platform...so it is HUGE. Performance initially was very slow but IBM has done a good job of speeding things up. As IBM moves more toward cloud-delivered applications, this will not be as much of a problem.
Notes and Domino can be complex to manage for administrators who are more accustomed to ActiveDirectory, Group Policy, etc. Editing a notes.ini file to add a feature, or working with XML files by hand to create a SmartUpgrade kit can be daunting to those coming from more modern administrative roles.
Some users claim to "hate" Notes mail. While I have heard this less and less over the past 10 years, we have had 3rd party software offer plugins to Outlook and it's rare to see any for Notes.
The client update process should be automated more. I would like to see the Notes client update quietly and quickly more like an Adobe software update. If an update fails it should automatically try again without prompting the user over and over.
Notes multiple language spell checking is a downloaded add-on Java-based resource that has to be deployed in a convoluted way that is difficult for users to grasp. Therefore any foreign language spell check updates must be done individually per Notes client by IT, which is unfortunate. I would prefer to see that be a "live download" update option for users to get directly from IBM (don't make me download it and put it on my network).
It has become the central nervous system of the business and has constantly proven to be of value. We are not just renewing but might even upgrade to advanced Bitrix24 plans and will be adding more user licenses in the next 3 months. Bitrix24 has a sharper learning curve initially. However once it is surpassed, it opens doors to a range of creative deployment strategies
I've been in IT business and as a Programmer/Developer for 20+ years with too many programming languages experiences/back ground (C/C++/Visual Basic/Basic Program/Unix/COBOL/Java). Also with 18+ years with Lotus Notes/IBM Domino, I am still and always think Lotus Notes is the best RAD platform available!. When the time where resource is very limited and the expectation is very high and the turn around is too short, IBM Domino/Notes is the platform to use and it's the only choice available.
It is a time-saving CRM that will help save time by using one application for all your business needs. Our brain sees colors, images, drawings, it is very visual, and so is Bitrix24. You can plan visually and easily see how everything is progressing. It has tasks, projects management, chat and video, CRM (as you know), visual staff structure, calendar, shared drive, mobile app. You can't ask for anything better out on the market for what you get with their free version and also their step-up plan is $20/month, all the way up to $200, they have a plan for your business. Get your free account and try it out for a few weeks.
Easy to use for the user, most of the apps we developed, there is not much need for user training. Most of the times, we just do a demo to the users group and they can pick up from there.
I can't recall any instance of unplanned outages over the past 1 year of use. Likewise for application errors. However note that, advanced users will have a learning curve
The absolute worst! Your only contact method is via the paid version and via a chat window. They will take days to answer and when they finally do answer, they will provide nothing but a half baked canned help file.
I've been using the production for a very long time and very happy with it. Also, all the online resources and forums for notes is very friendly and easy/quick for getting help. I found out that compared to Microsoft or Oracle or any other platforms, IBM Notes online forum is the best I have seen.
Overall the training was very comprehensive. The trainer did provider necessary additional reading materials as well. However the general approach at Bitrix24 is to divert users to self-help documentation and videos. It is recommended that atleast 1-2 personnel in the organization be "Bitrix24 experts" so that lower phases of training requirements are covered internally itself. Also the best part about Bitrix24 is that not all users need to go very deep while using it. We have multiple counsellors who started using it on day 2 without any major hiccups
Implementation is easy and smooth if the requirement is well gathered/documented. Notes is a RAD platform, all projects in Notes is simple in the implementation step.
In fact, I use both, but in different ways, monday to control the internal agenda, Bitrix for all other parts within the company, such as task control, chat with employees and with calendar also for control in two systems. Bitrix is more complete and has many more features, but its purpose is also different from monday.
Outlook has been considered for years as a replacement platform. Pricing and support staff made it prohibitive. Our long-time use of Microsoft Office productivity suite naturally led us to consider the adoption of Office365. A recent investigation told us that Azure Cloud services propel an O365 solution to the forefront. Early adopters in international divisions have paved the way for Azure and O365.
The scalability and reliability is almost 9.5/10 to be honest. We istarted with Bitrix24 for just 2 functions and now have expanded its usage to 2 more. In terms of users, every full-time employee (FTE) now uses Bitrix24 without fail. We are also working on giving limited/partial access to external service providers
Over the years, we have lost countless hours of productivity from the thousands of crashes we have experienced.
One benefit of IBM Notes is that it is very simple to train a new user on. Many people prefer and are familiar with Google tools, but those that use IBM Notes have very little trouble acclimating themselves.