Cisco Jabber vs HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

What users are saying about

Try Webex for Free

Score 8.1 out of 10

Based on 422 reviews and ratings

Try Webex for Free

Score 6.3 out of 10

Based on 21 reviews and ratings

Feature Set Ratings

Project Management

6.5

Cisco Jabber

65%

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

Feature Set Not Supported

N/A

Cisco Jabber ranks higher in 7/7 features

Task Management

7.3

73%

66 Ratings

N/A

0 Ratings

Gantt Charts

5.7

57%

10 Ratings

N/A

0 Ratings

Scheduling

7.1

71%

74 Ratings

N/A

0 Ratings

Workflow Automation

6.0

60%

17 Ratings

N/A

0 Ratings

Mobile Access

8.1

81%

116 Ratings

N/A

0 Ratings

Search

7.3

73%

106 Ratings

N/A

0 Ratings

Visual planning tools

4.1

41%

17 Ratings

N/A

0 Ratings

Communication

6.1

Cisco Jabber

61%

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

Feature Set Not Supported

N/A

Cisco Jabber ranks higher in 8/8 features

Chat

8.5

85%

144 Ratings

N/A

0 Ratings

Notifications

8.3

83%

144 Ratings

N/A

0 Ratings

Discussions

7.6

76%

122 Ratings

N/A

0 Ratings

Surveys

5.0

50%

15 Ratings

N/A

0 Ratings

Internal knowledgebase

5.3

53%

20 Ratings

N/A

0 Ratings

Integrates with GoToMeeting

4.0

40%

12 Ratings

N/A

0 Ratings

Integrates with Gmail and Google Hangouts

2.0

20%

12 Ratings

N/A

0 Ratings

Integrates with Outlook

7.8

78%

58 Ratings

N/A

0 Ratings

File Sharing & Management

6.7

Cisco Jabber

67%

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

Feature Set Not Supported

N/A

Cisco Jabber ranks higher in 8/8 features

Versioning

7.4

74%

66 Ratings

N/A

0 Ratings

Video files

6.8

68%

98 Ratings

N/A

0 Ratings

Audio files

7.5

75%

103 Ratings

N/A

0 Ratings

Document collaboration

7.3

73%

84 Ratings

N/A

0 Ratings

Access control

6.9

69%

31 Ratings

N/A

0 Ratings

Advanced security features

6.8

68%

33 Ratings

N/A

0 Ratings

Integrates with Google Drive

5.0

50%

10 Ratings

N/A

0 Ratings

Device sync

5.7

57%

22 Ratings

N/A

0 Ratings

Cloud PBX

Cisco Jabber

Feature Set Not Supported

N/A

8.4

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

84%

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM) ranks higher in 5/5 features

Hosted PBX

N/A

0 Ratings

9.0

90%

2 Ratings

Multi-level Interactive Voice Response (IVR)

N/A

0 Ratings

9.0

90%

2 Ratings

User templates

N/A

0 Ratings

8.0

80%

2 Ratings

Call reports

N/A

0 Ratings

8.0

80%

2 Ratings

Directory of employee names

N/A

0 Ratings

8.1

81%

7 Ratings

Call Management

Cisco Jabber

Feature Set Not Supported

N/A

8.0

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

80%

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM) ranks higher in 5/5 features

Answering rules

N/A

0 Ratings

8.0

80%

5 Ratings

Call recording

N/A

0 Ratings

8.0

80%

2 Ratings

Call park

N/A

0 Ratings

8.0

80%

1 Rating

Call screening

N/A

0 Ratings

8.0

80%

2 Ratings

Message alerts

N/A

0 Ratings

8.0

80%

6 Ratings

VoIP system collaboration

Cisco Jabber

Feature Set Not Supported

N/A

8.0

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

80%

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM) ranks higher in 4/4 features

Video conferencing

N/A

0 Ratings

8.0

80%

6 Ratings

Audio conferencing

N/A

0 Ratings

8.0

80%

5 Ratings

Video screen sharing

N/A

0 Ratings

8.0

80%

1 Rating

Instant messaging

N/A

0 Ratings

8.0

80%

1 Rating

Mobile apps

Cisco Jabber

Feature Set Not Supported

N/A

7.9

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

79%

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM) ranks higher in 2/2 features

Mobile app for iOS

N/A

0 Ratings

7.9

79%

8 Ratings

Mobile app for Android

N/A

0 Ratings

7.9

79%

7 Ratings

Attribute Ratings

Cisco Jabber is rated higher in 2 areas: Likelihood to Recommend, Usability
HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM) is rated higher in 2 areas: Likelihood to Renew, Support Rating

Cisco Jabber

81%

152 Ratings

7.1

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

71%

10 Ratings

Cisco Jabber

56%

6 Ratings

10.0

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

100%

1 Rating

Cisco Jabber

90%

8 Ratings

8.6

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

86%

2 Ratings

Cisco Jabber

N/A

0 Ratings

10.0

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

100%

2 Ratings

Cisco Jabber

N/A

0 Ratings

9.0

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

90%

2 Ratings

Cisco Jabber

79%

24 Ratings

8.3

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

83%

8 Ratings

Cisco Jabber

N/A

0 Ratings

10.0

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

100%

1 Rating

Pros

Easy connection with internal and external colleagues via syncing with Outlook contacts.
Single Number Reach (SNR) enables connectivity and consistent contact number in any geographic location, which is great during business travel.
Great compatibility with a headset or other Bluetooth devices. Retains all functionality of an office phone but eliminates the need for transporting hardware equipment.

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Verified User

Analyst in Quality Assurance

Medical Device Company, 10,001+ employees

View all 152 answers on this topic

Sametime's web-based interfaces are "zero load", requiring no plug-ins to be installed to join a meeting, launch a meeting, or use chat in a browser. A plugin is required only if you want to share your screen.
Integration with IBM Notes is very tight. Sametime's chat status can change according to your Notes calendar. You can easily see if someone who just emailed you is available to chat. Your chat History is right inside Notes as well.
IBM's mobile apps are top notch. We automated the apps for our users thanks to IBM's work with third party MDMs. This made it very simple for us to deploy the Sametime mobile apps -- Chat and Meetings -- and get new capabilities such as Audio & Video mobilized quickly.
No down time, ever. The rock solid WebSphere back-end of Sametime means the environment is always up. Period.

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Verified User

Employee in Information Technology

Plastics Company, 1001-5000 employees

View all 10 answers on this topic

Cons

Stability depends on internet connection more than it needs to
Using different tools for almost the same purpose(collaboration) is not user-friendly. Maybe a super product combining WebEx and Jabber features could be an option.
Expensive pricing and pricing model for big organizations (per license)

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ozan guner

Senior IT Infrastructure Specialist

HiltiConstruction, 201-500 employees

View all 152 answers on this topic

Not convenient for a large group meeting.
Very basic tool for internal communication only not available for third party communication
Very basic and limited mobile app features.
High speed connection is needed to connect to Sametime

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Mogana Tashiani

Research Analyst and Consulting (Technology)

Frost & Sullivan Asia-PacificManagement Consulting, 501-1000 employees

View all 10 answers on this topic

Pricing Details

General

Free Trial

—

Free/Freemium Version

—

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

—

Entry-level set up fee?

Starting Price

$50 Per License

Cisco Jabber Editions & Modules

Edition

Jabber for Desktop	$50.00¹

Per License

Additional Pricing Details

—

General

Free Trial

—

Free/Freemium Version

—

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

—

Entry-level set up fee?

Starting Price

—

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM) Editions & Modules

—

Additional Pricing Details

—

Likelihood to Renew

Cisco Jabber 5.6

Based on 6 answers

I don’t have access to video features.) In an age when our smartphones
do everything but call our friends, family, or clients, it’s refreshing
to have a desktop app that can make calls in the smartphone’s place. It
seems appropriate in a time when we’re all worried about the robots
rising and taking over the world. Why not transfer the functionality of a
telephone to the same computer where we program those world-dominating
robots? It’s practical. Cisco Jabber takes the classic idea of making
calls with a phone and puts it in the same place where we spend most of
our worktime. This frees up desk space, as well as keeps the smartphone
available for what it was invented to do: take Instagram photos. Not to
mention, because it has its own number, it makes it easier to contact
clients without having to give them your personal phone number. Need to
make a call, but you don’t want to share your home phone? Cisco Jabber
makes that easy. And best of all, because you call through your
computer, all you need is a microphone to speak and speakers to listen,
and you never have to pick up the phone at all. If you hate having
sweaty ears, then Cisco Jabber is your app of choice. Note: Because I
have access to phone features only, and Cisco Jabber has more available
that I can’t use, I can see where it may also be a pro for business
owners that Cisco apparently allows custom features availability for
users, depending on roles.

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Siddharth Goyal

Software Engineer

Jaypee University of Information TechnologyComputer Software, 201-500 employees

View all 6 answers on this topic

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM) 10.0

Based on 1 answer

Sametime is now an embedded experience for our users. They know it, they like it, they use it, and they expect it to be wherever they are. Because it is pretty easy to use and NEVER goes down, users know they can rely on it and won't be frustrated by it. Sametime is right up with there with Microsoft Office in terms of user adoption and appreciation.

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Verified User

Employee in Information Technology

Plastics Company, 1001-5000 employees

View all 1 answers on this topic

Usability

Cisco Jabber 9.0

Based on 8 answers

There are still some improvements to be made between MAC and Windows users. Also the share screen between various devices does not always work. Any user can quickly adapt and understand how to use Jabber. The interface is very intuitive and straight forward. The transition between interfaces on PCs, to tablets, to mobile devices is also very consistent and set up almost identically

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Kaitlin Tucker

Communications Coordinator

Chastain-Skillman,IncCivil Engineering, 51-200 employees

View all 8 answers on this topic

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM) 8.6

Based on 2 answers

Just about everything works the way you expect it would and it's relatively easy for users to figure out. Sametime was one of those things that we started with only a few people as a "test" and before the test period was done we discovered a few hundred people had figured out how to log in and most got it working all on their own. Many of our users want to use Sametime and do so regularly; we do not have to create policies enforcing its usage. Users find it practical to use Sametime to do things like chat, transfer files, share their screen, and so forth.

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Verified User

Employee in Information Technology

Plastics Company, 1001-5000 employees

View all 2 answers on this topic

Reliability and Availability

No score

No answers yet

No answers on this topic

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM) 10.0

Based on 2 answers

Typically if Sametime is not available, it's because Windows Updates were done on the servers and they were not rebooted. However, that's not a problem with Sametime -- in fact, if you have Linux you could probably run Sametime for years without any hiccups whatsoever. We have no internal Linux expertise.

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Verified User

Employee in Information Technology

Plastics Company, 1001-5000 employees

View all 2 answers on this topic

Performance

No score

No answers yet

No answers on this topic

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM) 9.0

Based on 2 answers

Generally very good. Occasionally AV or screen-sharing will stutter and every now and then I hear of it dropping out altogether, but in all cases it was easy to re-establish

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Verified User

Employee in Information Technology

Plastics Company, 1001-5000 employees

View all 2 answers on this topic

Support Rating

Cisco Jabber 7.9

Based on 24 answers

Even with the Jabber client, Cisco support is outstanding, with the knowledge and quick response you would expect from them. Their engineers understand their products and our issues are usually addressed quickly and by the same person we originally connect with instead of getting passed to additional people. Follow-up is good too. Their support is thorough.

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Debbie Johnson

Systems Administrator

Gentry LockeLaw Practice, 51-200 employees

View all 24 answers on this topic

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM) 8.3

Based on 8 answers

I have not needed to use the Sametime support team. Our local support team was able to configure it for me.

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Verified User

Analyst in Corporate

Aviation & Aerospace Company, 10,001+ employees

View all 8 answers on this topic

Alternatives Considered

In terms of general communication, it stacks up better as you can use your account on pc or mobile(great for people who are not 100% of the time in front of their desk or running errands), [and it's] not a pain to set this up on your mobile device compared to competitors.

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Jian Groenewald

Service Support Analyst

NSC GlobalInformation Technology & Services, 501-1000 employees

View all 152 answers on this topic

We use Jabber globally in our company and Symphony (no relevant app in able list) in some of the teams as well. All these are instant messenger tools, but Sametime is the easiest one to be used and its chat history is easy to be searched. Sametime can be used to contact almost all internal staff as it’s included in default computer package. Symphony is used to chat with front end business while Jabber is used for call.

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Verified User

Technician in Information Technology

Financial Services Company, 10,001+ employees

View all 10 answers on this topic

Scalability

No score

No answers yet

No answers on this topic

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM) 10.0

Based on 1 answer

Sametime is rock solid. It runs on WebSphere, DB2 and other related IBM technologies. This does mean the back-end is highly complex and very difficult to learn and get comfortable with, however.

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Verified User

Employee in Information Technology

Plastics Company, 1001-5000 employees

View all 1 answers on this topic

Return on Investment

Its a tool that provides enhanced customer service capability to our user community. The users are able remain available while working in almost any location.
More work gets done when people can collaborate and communicate better. Our efficiency is increasing as we continue to roll out the application to our user community.

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Eric Taylor

VoIP Network Administrator

Penn State UniversityHigher Education, 10,001+ employees

View all 152 answers on this topic

Sametime keeps many of our team members in contact throughout the day which leads to increased productivity which makes everyone happy.
We use the team chat room feature every day. This allows a team to stay focused on the task without any extra messages that are not on topic.
The split between IBM Sametime, Slack and Google Hangouts has caused some issues when team members are not checking for messages on a certain app.

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Verified User

Analyst in Product Management

Sporting Goods Company, 501-1000 employees

View all 10 answers on this topic

Cisco Jabber

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

Cisco Jabber

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

Task Management

Gantt Charts

Scheduling

Workflow Automation

Mobile Access

Search

Visual planning tools

Cisco Jabber

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

Chat

Notifications

Discussions

Surveys

Internal knowledgebase

Integrates with GoToMeeting

Integrates with Gmail and Google Hangouts

Integrates with Outlook

Cisco Jabber

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

Versioning

Video files

Audio files

Document collaboration

Access control

Advanced security features

Integrates with Google Drive

Device sync

Cisco Jabber

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

Hosted PBX

Multi-level Interactive Voice Response (IVR)

User templates

Call reports

Directory of employee names

Cisco Jabber

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

Answering rules

Call recording

Call park

Call screening

Message alerts

Cisco Jabber

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

Video conferencing

Audio conferencing

Video screen sharing

Instant messaging

Cisco Jabber

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

Mobile app for iOS

Mobile app for Android

Cisco Jabber

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

Cisco Jabber

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

Cisco Jabber

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

Cisco Jabber

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

Cisco Jabber

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

Cisco Jabber

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

Cisco Jabber

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

Likelihood to Recommend

Cisco Jabber

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

Pros

Cisco Jabber

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

Cons

Cisco Jabber

HCL Sametime (formerly from IBM)

Pricing Details

General