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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    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

    Nextcloud

    Score8.6 out of 10
    N/ANextcloud offers their open source, self-hosted Content Collaboration Platform, combining what they describe as an easy user interface for consumer-grade cloud solutions with the security and compliance measures enterprises need. Nextcloud brings together universal access to data through mobile, desktop and web interfaces with next-generation, on-premise secure communication and collaboration features like real-time document editing, chat and video calls, putting them under…N/A
    Pricing
    HCL NotesNextcloud
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    HCL NotesNextcloud
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    HCL NotesNextcloud
    Considered Both Products
    HCLSoftware
    No answer on this topic
    Nextcloud
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Would buy again
    13 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    13 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    13 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    11 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    13 Answers
    Features
    HCL NotesNextcloud
    Project Management
    Comparison of Project Management features of HCL Notes and Nextcloud
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    6.9
    10 Ratings
    11% below category average
    Nextcloud
    -
    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 HCL Notes and Nextcloud
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    9.2
    10 Ratings
    14% above category average
    Nextcloud
    -
    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 HCL Notes and Nextcloud
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    7.6
    9 Ratings
    6% below category average
    Nextcloud
    8.9
    13 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Versioning9.04 Ratings8.511 Ratings
    Video files6.05 Ratings8.012 Ratings
    Audio files6.05 Ratings9.511 Ratings
    Document collaboration8.08 Ratings8.010 Ratings
    Access control6.08 Ratings9.013 Ratings
    Advanced security features8.08 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integrates with Google Drive10.02 Ratings00 Ratings
    Device sync8.05 Ratings10.013 Ratings
    File search00 Ratings9.012 Ratings
    Cloud Storage Security & Administration
    Comparison of Cloud Storage Security & Administration features of HCL Notes and Nextcloud
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    -
    Ratings
    Nextcloud
    9.2
    13 Ratings
    6% above category average
    User and role management00 Ratings8.013 Ratings
    File organization00 Ratings9.512 Ratings
    Device management00 Ratings10.010 Ratings
    Cloud Storage Platform
    Comparison of Cloud Storage Platform features of HCL Notes and Nextcloud
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    -
    Ratings
    Nextcloud
    8.5
    12 Ratings
    2% below category average
    Performance00 Ratings8.012 Ratings
    Reliability00 Ratings9.012 Ratings
    Storage Reports00 Ratings8.510 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    HCL NotesNextcloud
    Small Businesses
    Flock
    Score9.5 out of 10
    IDrive Online Backup and Object Storage e2
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Troop Messenger
    Score9.8 out of 10
    Apple iCloud
    Score8.4 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued)
    Score9 out of 10
    ownCloud
    Score9.2 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    HCL NotesNextcloud
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.0
    (16 ratings)
    8.5
    (13 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    1.7
    (5 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Online Training
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    HCL NotesNextcloud
    Likelihood to Recommend
    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
    Nextcloud
    For a SOHO business, this solution is ideal. You don't need to administrative overhead of other products like GSuite, and it saves licensing costs. The maintenance effort is minimal as long as you use their default applications. Migrations to newer versions can be done with a few commands and run automatically. If you're planning on using Nextcloud in large deployments with many users, you'll start to see higher costs on your resources and maintenance. There will be a point at which Gsuite becomes easier to manage.
    Read full review
    Pros
    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
    Nextcloud
    • Remote collaboration platform with just the right tools.
    • Ease of access from any device, anywhere.
    • Solid templates for development teams to collaborate without distraction.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    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
    Nextcloud
    • Slow in comparison to other solutions
    • May be complex for the start since there are lots of apps and features
    • May be not focusing on core topics
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    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
    Nextcloud
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    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
    Nextcloud
    It's easy to use and easy to maintain. It also provides many useful programs and plugins to make work even more productive; just check what's available and how you could use them to your advantage. Also, check the Nextcloud Files app on your phone, which makes everything available at the touch of your fingers.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    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
    Nextcloud
    I never needed support as everything always worked fine. The documentation on Nextcloud website is extensive and clear. The community is very active on the forum and should support you if you don't already find what you are looking for.
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    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
    Nextcloud
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    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
    Nextcloud
    Nextcloud stacks up pretty well against Mattermost and ownCloud. I really appreciate the fact that Nextcloud seems to integrate with other products pretty seamlessly and allows for extensibility that our product team can extend and improve functionality without a tremendous ramp-up time. We once used ownCloud in previous years, but they went the wrong way, and have found Nextcloud to be the right direction over time.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    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
    Nextcloud
    • It allowed us access to our files from any device over the internet.
    • It helped manage and organize our file sharing with third parties.
    • It provided a secure wrapper for accessing files.
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Nextcloud Screenshots

    Screenshot of Nextcloud HubScreenshot of Nextcloud CalendarScreenshot of Nextcloud Talk