Dropbox vs. HCL Notes

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Dropbox
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
Dropbox is a cloud storage solution, equipped with features that help users to save time, improve productivity, and collaborate with others. Users can edit PDFs, share videos, sign documents, and collaborate with stakeholders without leaving Dropbox.
$9.99
per month
HCL Notes
Score 3.5 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.N/A
Pricing
DropboxHCL Notes
Editions & Modules
Plus
$9.99
per month
Essentials
$18
per month
Business
$20
per month per user
Business Plus
$26
per month per user
Basic
Free
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
DropboxHCL Notes
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
DropboxHCL Notes
Considered Both Products
Dropbox

No answer on this topic

HCL Notes
Chose HCL Notes
As I stated previously, mail is mail. Notes is a fantastic option as a frontend for mail. On top of that, a business can be built from the custom applications that can be developed in it. We do have gmail as an option, but the vast majority of users are on Notes. We also choose …
Chose HCL Notes
I've already answered this question in the previous questions however to sum it up IBM Notes stacks up VERY WELL! It has a LOT of really good business/enterprise features like enterprise-grade Dropbox-like storage, synced email/calendar/contacts, it supports a LOT of …
Features
DropboxHCL Notes
File Sharing & Management
Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of Product A and Product B
Dropbox
8.0
1336 Ratings
4% below category average
HCL Notes
7.6
9 Ratings
5% below category average
Versioning8.11110 Ratings9.04 Ratings
Video files7.91092 Ratings6.05 Ratings
Audio files8.2988 Ratings6.05 Ratings
Document collaboration7.81162 Ratings8.08 Ratings
Access control8.41234 Ratings6.08 Ratings
File search7.61280 Ratings00 Ratings
Device sync8.31230 Ratings8.05 Ratings
Advanced security features00 Ratings8.08 Ratings
Integrates with Google Drive00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Cloud Storage Security & Administration
Comparison of Cloud Storage Security & Administration features of Product A and Product B
Dropbox
8.5
1265 Ratings
1% below category average
HCL Notes
-
Ratings
User and role management8.41130 Ratings00 Ratings
File organization8.41246 Ratings00 Ratings
Device management8.61110 Ratings00 Ratings
Cloud Storage Platform
Comparison of Cloud Storage Platform features of Product A and Product B
Dropbox
8.3
1255 Ratings
4% below category average
HCL Notes
-
Ratings
Performance7.81244 Ratings00 Ratings
Reliability8.91251 Ratings00 Ratings
Storage Reports8.2954 Ratings00 Ratings
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Dropbox
-
Ratings
HCL Notes
6.9
10 Ratings
12% below category average
Task Management00 Ratings7.09 Ratings
Gantt Charts00 Ratings6.03 Ratings
Scheduling00 Ratings8.09 Ratings
Workflow Automation00 Ratings5.06 Ratings
Mobile Access00 Ratings8.010 Ratings
Search00 Ratings6.09 Ratings
Visual planning tools00 Ratings8.03 Ratings
Communication
Comparison of Communication features of Product A and Product B
Dropbox
-
Ratings
HCL Notes
9.2
10 Ratings
14% above category average
Chat00 Ratings6.010 Ratings
Notifications00 Ratings9.010 Ratings
Discussions00 Ratings9.57 Ratings
Surveys00 Ratings9.14 Ratings
Internal knowledgebase00 Ratings10.06 Ratings
Integrates with GoToMeeting00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
Integrates with Gmail and Google Hangouts00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Integrates with Outlook00 Ratings10.05 Ratings
Best Alternatives
DropboxHCL Notes
Small Businesses
SugarSync
SugarSync
Score 4.1 out of 10
Stackby
Stackby
Score 8.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Druva Security Cloud
Druva Security Cloud
Score 9.4 out of 10
Troop Messenger
Troop Messenger
Score 9.8 out of 10
Enterprises
Druva Security Cloud
Druva Security Cloud
Score 9.4 out of 10
HCL Connections
HCL Connections
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
DropboxHCL Notes
Likelihood to Recommend
8.6
(1348 ratings)
7.0
(16 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.1
(41 ratings)
1.7
(5 ratings)
Usability
8.1
(496 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Availability
6.8
(3 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
6.0
(8 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
6.6
(38 ratings)
9.0
(2 ratings)
Online Training
8.2
(2 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.5
(4 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Configurability
6.4
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
6.6
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
DropboxHCL Notes
Likelihood to Recommend
Dropbox
Let me describe a scenario that happened recently in our organization's marketing team storing thousands of images videos and pdfs and Dropbox is done a great perfomer in this situation by the product features which is very helpful for the team, such as smart sync reduces disc usage, preview support for many media formats & Integrate with Adobe Creative Cloud.
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HCL Technologies
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.
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Pros
Dropbox
  • I can share projects I need feedback on.
  • I can make projects available to editors so that they can do their work.
  • Dropbox is a place where I can store files that I can access from anywhere, even if I don't have my laptop with me at the time.
  • I have an old friend who is an acting professor in Tokyo. He loves the dialogue that I write in my novels. He converts chapters into scenework for his acting students. They get very excited when there's new material!
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HCL Technologies
  • 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$).
Read full review
Cons
Dropbox
  • I’d like to be able to hover over an image/document and have it expand/enlarge without actually opening it
  • I’d love to see a carousel that lets me thumb through more quickly
  • I’m almost always in thumbnail view. I’d like to see them re-organize automatically when something is moved or deleted instead of leaving an empty space.
  • AI options for photo editing.
  • Easier pdf markups
Read full review
HCL Technologies
  • 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).
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Likelihood to Renew
Dropbox
Dropbox is a user-friendly, easy tool which requires little to no skill and they offer a free version with a good amount of storage available. There are other file sharing tools available however at a cost. Dropbox free version I have used for years and it serves every purpose I need.
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HCL Technologies
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.
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Usability
Dropbox
It works extremely well, and we have never had any issues with connecting or sharing files. It's very easy to use, and any team member can share, add, and delete files to a virtual drive. This is extremely helpful, and it's an amazing tool to use, ensuring everyone can connect and work together effectively.
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HCL Technologies
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
Reliability and Availability
Dropbox
I really recommend the product for the Dropbox availability is a great having very very less downtimes, they errors are less I have been faced yet, due to connectivity sometimes we are getting errors. Only sometimes the limitations of some features show some errors.
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HCL Technologies
No answers on this topic
Performance
Dropbox
Dropbox is really useful, you can access any file from anywhere and you can upload and even edit files online, but, sometimes it can be slow. Downloading, uploading, and syncing is a bit slow, it can take several minutes. Furthermore, the search engine for large amounts of data can be slow too and it is not powerful.
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HCL Technologies
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Dropbox
They immediately responded like in an example that I gave where one of our staff members accidentally deleted the whole Special Hope Network Dropbox, we immediately contacted Dropbox they walked us through the steps of how to retrieve the information and luckily enough we were able to retrieve the entire Dropbox and we have had back and forth with Dropbox on what to do when an employee leaves how to remove them how to add another employee.
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HCL Technologies
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.
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In-Person Training
Dropbox
The person for corporate product dealing and knowledge of the product explore and better and secure use are properly handover to us. Also provide full software and tool training from the basic to the pro level with each and every possible explanation. Provide many sessions regarding every doubt. Also Guide better suitable options for our business to migrate and integrate for the expansion in all places employee smoothly.
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HCL Technologies
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Dropbox
I did not personally take any training for Dropbox so I am self taught but I know when our Vice President selected Dropbox, he personally did do some training modules on it and I'm assuming it was very easy and simple to understand since he now acts like he is a pro at it!
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HCL Technologies
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Dropbox
I needed to stay current in improving my daily operations. Dropbox
was suggested to me by a former colleague two-years ago and I've been using it just fine ever since.
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HCL Technologies
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.
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Alternatives Considered
Dropbox
I prefer the layout and visual aspect of Dropbox as it mirrors my files on my computer. I feel that I am more organized, and it's easier to find my files in Dropbox than it was with Google Drive.
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HCL Technologies
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.
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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Dropbox
I would recommend to this product directly to the sales team of Dropbox for the best deal provide to my referred person and provide the best service to them.
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HCL Technologies
No answers on this topic
Scalability
Dropbox
It's easy to integrate with the systems of Windows and Linux, easy to have web versions accessible, which provide the web login credentials. Also, it can be installed for individuals for the best autosync features.
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HCL Technologies
No answers on this topic
Professional Services
Dropbox
Their services are highly rated for moving massive, complex data sets from legacy on-premise servers to the cloud with minimal downtime.
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HCL Technologies
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Dropbox
  • When it works (usually if a client already has Dropbox, so they don't get the solicitation to sign up), it works flawlessly.
  • I've had multiple clients not see the "continue with download only" at the bottom and email me to resend the media another way because they don't have a Dropbox account.
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HCL Technologies
  • 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.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Dropbox Screenshots

Screenshot of the action bar, that sits across the browser page can be used to record the screen, edit PDFs, upload files, create folders, get signatures, or send and track documents.Screenshot of Dropbox Replay, that lets collaborators leave frame-accurate feedback and markups directly on project files.Screenshot of Dropbox Capture, which can be used to take screen recordings, screenshots, and GIFs with one click and share them with a link.Screenshot of the interface where Dropbox lets users upload, edit, send, and sign PDFs in one place.