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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    ContactOffice

    Score4 out of 10
    Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
    ContactOffice is a private label cloud collaboration suite including messaging, collaboration and mobility technologies. It is a suite of web applications (Mail, Docs, Calendar, Contacts) that are accessible anytime, anywhere and from any device.N/A

    HCL Notes

    Score3.5 out of 10
    N/ANotes from HCL (formerly from IBM, acquired by HCL in late 2018) is a collaboration platform based on the Lotus platform.N/A
    Pricing
    ContactOfficeHCL Notes
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    ContactOfficeHCL Notes
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Features
    ContactOfficeHCL Notes
    Project Management
    Comparison of Project Management features of ContactOffice and HCL Notes
    Feature
    ContactOffice
    7.8
    3 Ratings
    1% above category average
    HCL Notes
    6.9
    10 Ratings
    11% below category average
    Task Management8.73 Ratings7.09 Ratings
    Gantt Charts7.13 Ratings6.03 Ratings
    Scheduling8.13 Ratings8.09 Ratings
    Workflow Automation7.12 Ratings5.06 Ratings
    Mobile Access7.33 Ratings8.010 Ratings
    Search7.12 Ratings6.09 Ratings
    Visual planning tools9.01 Ratings8.03 Ratings
    Communication
    Comparison of Communication features of ContactOffice and HCL Notes
    Feature
    ContactOffice
    7.9
    3 Ratings
    1% below category average
    HCL Notes
    9.2
    10 Ratings
    14% above category average
    Chat8.73 Ratings6.010 Ratings
    Notifications8.73 Ratings9.010 Ratings
    Discussions9.02 Ratings9.57 Ratings
    Surveys8.62 Ratings9.14 Ratings
    Internal knowledgebase8.02 Ratings10.06 Ratings
    Integrates with GoToMeeting7.01 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    Integrates with Gmail and Google Hangouts6.01 Ratings10.02 Ratings
    Integrates with Outlook7.01 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    File Sharing & Management
    Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of ContactOffice and HCL Notes
    Feature
    ContactOffice
    7.9
    3 Ratings
    2% below category average
    HCL Notes
    7.6
    9 Ratings
    6% below category average
    Versioning7.82 Ratings9.04 Ratings
    Video files7.42 Ratings6.05 Ratings
    Audio files8.13 Ratings6.05 Ratings
    Document collaboration9.03 Ratings8.08 Ratings
    Access control8.12 Ratings6.08 Ratings
    Advanced security features7.01 Ratings8.08 Ratings
    Integrates with Google Drive7.92 Ratings10.02 Ratings
    Device sync00 Ratings8.05 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    ContactOfficeHCL Notes
    Small Businesses
    Flock
    Score9.5 out of 10
    Flock
    Score9.5 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Troop Messenger
    Score9.8 out of 10
    Troop Messenger
    Score9.8 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued)
    Score9 out of 10
    Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued)
    Score9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    ContactOfficeHCL Notes
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.3
    (3 ratings)
    7.0
    (16 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    1.7
    (5 ratings)
    Usability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    ContactOfficeHCL Notes
    Likelihood to Recommend
    ContactOffice
    1. Its cloud-based messaging and collaboration suite includes among others an email solution, calendars, address books, documents, polling tool and more. 2. Handling big data, managing events, and reminders. 3. Rich API allowing for a deep integration of the Contact Office applications. 4. Universal access to your data through desktop and mobile. 5. Almost every device supported.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    HCLSoftware
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    ContactOffice
    • Can use it from anywhere, can access your documents, emails and others.
    • Can message your group and arrange meetings, and it will notify you.
    • Can manage tasks.
    • Fairly good customer support
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    HCLSoftware
    • It has a really strong and robust database that's extremely scalable and holds up well to thousands of users and many different environments.
    • It has a really good enterprise-grade framework for development custom database applications
    • All of the custom database applications along with the email all have a nice uniform look and feel so their easy-to-use.
    • I really like how it's developed and supported on every client OS (Windows, OSX, Linux)! The competitors definitely do NOT offer this (M$).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    ContactOffice
    • Data safety concerns
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    HCLSoftware
    • 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).
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    ContactOffice
    No answers on this topic
    HCLSoftware
    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.
    Read full review
    Usability
    ContactOffice
    No answers on this topic
    HCLSoftware
    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.
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    ContactOffice
    No answers on this topic
    HCLSoftware
    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.
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    ContactOffice
    No answers on this topic
    HCLSoftware
    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.
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    ContactOffice
    ContactOffice handles almost all data, all files like doc, pdf, mp3 etc. Task management. Worksection is an all-around project management app that gives users visibility and organization. ContactOffice is a contact management software that helps you to easily manage your data from any computer with a web browser. Worksection is Free: no charge. ContactOffice offers four plans for its Individual version. ContactOffice has more supported Integrations than Worksection.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    HCLSoftware
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    ContactOffice
    • Can get documents from anywhere if you forgot your files.
    • Can connect with anyone in your group, chat, share ideas, and requirements in a single instance.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    HCLSoftware
    • 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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    ContactOffice Screenshots

    Screenshot of Easily manage your data in your virtual office