CloudTalk vs. HCL Sametime

Cloudtalk is by far the best value-for-price software out there for call center solutions. Packed with features, very accessible, kind and accessible customer support, and cheap, especially when compared with their competitors for the same range of features. Easy entry-level software, especially if you're a startup that doesn't want to make big initial commitments but needs a solution that scales with the business.

Sametime is well suited for very quick conversations, where you know the person is an active Sametime user. It also serves as an easy way to reach out to someone you may not know when looking for an answer to a quick question, as they are likely to be a Sametime user. Do not, under any circumstances, attempt to use Sametime for Audio or Video chat. The quality and reliability are horrendous.

Incentivized

• It's extremely simple to install and integrate
• Their smart dialer option reduces time spent typing in number and helps make more calls
• It makes life super easy to keep track of calls being made and how long calls are but also to listen back on calls made

Incentivized

• 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.

Incentivized

• A lot of features are still missing, some of which are pretty basic like being able to select multiple filters instead of one.
• Desktop app has had some instability issue.
• IVR needs to be self-recorded which can lead to a lower quality.

Incentivized

• 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

Incentivized

It is working and affordable

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

CloudTalk is super easy to use and has a great quality. It helps to communicate with the clients easily and we can feel that the sound quality is high, while speaking to the client and while listening to the recordings. This is for our department essential in our day to day work.

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.

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

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

Incentivized

They are skilled, experienced, and anytime I need something and contact the support time, I get the right person who understands my needs and reacts to them accordingly. So far I was only pleasantly surprised by the level of support these guys provide and coming from a customer service oriented background myself, I can only say keep it up guys, you are doing a fantastic job!

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

Incentivized

It was a gamble if I'm being honest, plus this is a very nuanced and intricate topic. We didn't necessarily substitute one for the other, it was a much needed state of affairs where we needed the call monitoring and agent tracking pros of CloudTalk more so than ever before.

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.

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

• For a similar price it is not necessary to manage so many cell phone accounts
• Unlike basic telephony. It is possible to have more control of the interactions with our clients.
• For administrators it allows better control of commercial actions or the corresponding area for communication issues

• 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.

Incentivized