HCL Notes vs. IBM B2B Cloud Services

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
HCL Notes
Score 6.6 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
IBM B2B Cloud Services
Score 9.3 out of 10
N/A
IBM B2B Cloud Services provide capabilities for streamlining on-boarding of trading partners. It also allows shared business process to be handled more effectively due to better visibility and control.N/A
Pricing
HCL NotesIBM B2B Cloud Services
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
HCL NotesIBM B2B Cloud Services
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
Features
HCL NotesIBM B2B Cloud Services
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
HCL Notes
6.9
10 Ratings
13% below category average
IBM B2B Cloud Services
8.2
4 Ratings
4% above category average
Task Management7.09 Ratings8.74 Ratings
Gantt Charts6.03 Ratings7.94 Ratings
Scheduling8.09 Ratings8.74 Ratings
Workflow Automation5.06 Ratings8.74 Ratings
Mobile Access8.010 Ratings6.63 Ratings
Search6.09 Ratings8.44 Ratings
Visual planning tools8.03 Ratings8.64 Ratings
Communication
Comparison of Communication features of Product A and Product B
HCL Notes
9.2
10 Ratings
14% above category average
IBM B2B Cloud Services
8.4
4 Ratings
5% above category average
Chat6.010 Ratings7.83 Ratings
Notifications9.010 Ratings8.74 Ratings
Discussions9.57 Ratings8.64 Ratings
Surveys9.14 Ratings8.04 Ratings
Internal knowledgebase10.06 Ratings9.54 Ratings
Integrates with GoToMeeting10.03 Ratings7.02 Ratings
Integrates with Gmail and Google Hangouts10.02 Ratings8.02 Ratings
Integrates with Outlook10.05 Ratings9.63 Ratings
File Sharing & Management
Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of Product A and Product B
HCL Notes
7.6
9 Ratings
7% below category average
IBM B2B Cloud Services
8.3
3 Ratings
2% above category average
Versioning9.04 Ratings8.92 Ratings
Video files6.05 Ratings8.92 Ratings
Audio files6.05 Ratings7.92 Ratings
Document collaboration8.08 Ratings8.92 Ratings
Access control6.08 Ratings7.93 Ratings
Advanced security features8.08 Ratings8.82 Ratings
Integrates with Google Drive10.02 Ratings6.02 Ratings
Device sync8.05 Ratings8.92 Ratings
Best Alternatives
HCL NotesIBM B2B Cloud Services
Small Businesses
Stackby
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Score 9.8 out of 10
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Score 9.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Troop Messenger
Troop Messenger
Score 9.7 out of 10
Troop Messenger
Troop Messenger
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
HCL Connections
HCL Connections
Score 8.7 out of 10
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Score 8.7 out of 10
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User Ratings
HCL NotesIBM B2B Cloud Services
Likelihood to Recommend
7.0
(16 ratings)
8.6
(4 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
1.7
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
HCL NotesIBM B2B Cloud Services
Likelihood to Recommend
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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IBM
We have just started to use IBM B2B Cloud Services within our department. We were looking for a cloud-based solution to manage all of our partner's B2B processes within a single interface. We did not want to have to go through the hassle of managing any sort of solution ourselves; thus, we came to the conclusion that a cloud-based solution would work best for our department. So far, we have found that the product has been reliable, and not having to worry about maintenance and patch cycles is always a good thing.
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Pros
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$).
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IBM
  • Document process management
  • Transition services, including planning, design, project management and testing
  • Translation, community and visibility service
  • Trading partner community support
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Cons
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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IBM
  • Can't rely on huge data sets
  • Organizations is huge, it's tough to handle
  • Limited feature sets
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Likelihood to Renew
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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IBM
No answers on this topic
Usability
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.
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IBM
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
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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IBM
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
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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IBM
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
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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IBM
IBM B2B Cloud Services stands out among the competition with its solid performance, wealth of features, and multiple platform compatibility. While it can be more expensive than competitive services, its core components are powerful enough to work with multiple levels of marketing campaigns and outreach efforts. The service works well among different levels of clients and can be utilized better across different viewing devices
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Return on Investment
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.
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IBM
  • We feel that IBM B2B Cloud Services will drive down our maintenance costs because my group is no longer responsible for patching and maintaining infrastructure.
  • High availability of IBM B2B Cloud Services will allow us to have a greater up time with less downtime.
  • Having a single platform where all B2B integrations are shown and presented in a single interface will allow us to quickly and effectively manage those integrations and see which ones are really needed. A single view will provide instant visibility into any sort of problems that may arise as well.
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