HCL Notes vs. Slingshot

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
HCL Notes
Score 8.4 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
Slingshot
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
Slingshot, from Infragistics, helps users manage work from a single app. The solution brings all the apps that a team already uses into the Slingshot workflow.
$12
per year per user
Pricing
HCL NotesSlingshot
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Slingshot
$12
per year per user
Slingshot Enterprise
$20
per year per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
HCL NotesSlingshot
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
HCL NotesSlingshot
Features
HCL NotesSlingshot
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
HCL Notes
6.9
10 Ratings
11% below category average
Slingshot
-
Ratings
Task Management7.09 Ratings00 Ratings
Gantt Charts6.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Scheduling8.09 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow Automation5.06 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Access8.010 Ratings00 Ratings
Search6.09 Ratings00 Ratings
Visual planning tools8.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Communication
Comparison of Communication features of Product A and Product B
HCL Notes
9.2
10 Ratings
14% above category average
Slingshot
-
Ratings
Chat6.010 Ratings00 Ratings
Notifications9.010 Ratings00 Ratings
Discussions9.57 Ratings00 Ratings
Surveys9.14 Ratings00 Ratings
Internal knowledgebase10.06 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrates with GoToMeeting10.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrates with Gmail and Google Hangouts10.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrates with Outlook10.05 Ratings00 Ratings
File Sharing & Management
Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of Product A and Product B
HCL Notes
7.6
9 Ratings
5% below category average
Slingshot
-
Ratings
Versioning9.04 Ratings00 Ratings
Video files6.05 Ratings00 Ratings
Audio files6.05 Ratings00 Ratings
Document collaboration8.08 Ratings00 Ratings
Access control6.08 Ratings00 Ratings
Advanced security features8.08 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrates with Google Drive10.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Device sync8.05 Ratings00 Ratings
BI Standard Reporting
Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Product A and Product B
HCL Notes
-
Ratings
Slingshot
9.1
2 Ratings
11% above category average
Customizable dashboards00 Ratings9.12 Ratings
Report Formatting Templates00 Ratings9.12 Ratings
Ad-hoc Reporting
Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Product A and Product B
HCL Notes
-
Ratings
Slingshot
9.1
2 Ratings
13% above category average
Formatting capabilities00 Ratings9.12 Ratings
Report sharing and collaboration00 Ratings9.12 Ratings
Report Output and Scheduling
Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Product A and Product B
HCL Notes
-
Ratings
Slingshot
9.1
1 Ratings
10% above category average
Publish to PDF00 Ratings9.11 Ratings
Data Discovery and Visualization
Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Product A and Product B
HCL Notes
-
Ratings
Slingshot
9.1
2 Ratings
13% above category average
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)00 Ratings9.12 Ratings
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization00 Ratings9.11 Ratings
Predictive Analytics00 Ratings9.11 Ratings
Access Control and Security
Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Product A and Product B
HCL Notes
-
Ratings
Slingshot
9.1
2 Ratings
7% above category average
Multi-User Support (named login)00 Ratings9.12 Ratings
Role-Based Security Model00 Ratings9.11 Ratings
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)00 Ratings9.11 Ratings
Single Sign-On (SSO)00 Ratings9.11 Ratings
Mobile Capabilities
Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Product A and Product B
HCL Notes
-
Ratings
Slingshot
9.1
2 Ratings
16% above category average
Responsive Design for Web Access00 Ratings9.12 Ratings
Mobile Application00 Ratings9.12 Ratings
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile00 Ratings9.12 Ratings
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HCL NotesSlingshot
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User Ratings
HCL NotesSlingshot
Likelihood to Recommend
7.0
(16 ratings)
9.1
(2 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 NotesSlingshot
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.
Read full review
Infragistics
Slingshot has improved communication, streamlined task, and project management, and provided data-driven insights, resulting in increased productivity, efficiency, and the ability to get the work done on time.
Read full review
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$).
Read full review
Infragistics
  • Slingshot has a very friendly and easy-to-use interface while at the same time being packed with useful features. I am able to collaborate fast and in context of projects and tasks, as well as find any file easily. Files and documents are pinned directly in the collaboration app, no matter the size, so everyone involved has visibility and the most recent update. The Inbox feature keeps me in the loop with everything I am involved in – my mentions, my messages, my organization updates.
Read full review
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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Infragistics
  • Slingshot could add more options for task views and a calendar where all tasks and projects are in one place.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Infragistics
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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Infragistics
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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Infragistics
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.
Read full review
Infragistics
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.
Read full review
Infragistics
Far superior in its ease of use.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Infragistics
  • Slingshot has been a game-changer for task management, resulting in improved productivity.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Slingshot Screenshots

Screenshot of a team’s work broken down into tasks with due dates, dependencies and blockers, to make work understandable.Screenshot of the consolidated workspace where users can manage, share and access files and documents in the same place collaboration happens.Screenshot of Slingshot’s dashboard templates that have the essential KPIs for each use case, Interactives and features such as drill-down, and exporting to Excel or PowerPoint built right in.Screenshot of where chats and discussions from tasks, dashboards, and pinned content can be created. This allows team to move straight into collaborating with one click and stay informed.Screenshot of Slingshot's range of workspace and project templates, designed for simplicity, that enable users to handle, distribute, and retrieve files and documents while collaborating with a team.