TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

Save this comparison

Save this comparison

Add Product

Recommended Comparisons

    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

    Sage CRM

    Score8.9 out of 10
    Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
    Sage CRM is an SMB-oriented CRM platform offered in both SaaS and on-premise editions. Unlike the Sage SalesLogix product, the SaaS version is a true multi-tenant offering. The platform offers excellent integration with Sage ERP and accounting products. It is also a good global solution and is available in many languages and is used by over 12,000 customers worldwide, with many customers in Europe.

    $33

    per month

    Pricing
    HCL NotesSage CRM
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Sage CRM (cloud)
    $45
    Per User per Month
    Sage CRM (on premise)
    $0
    Lifetime License per Seat
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    HCL NotesSage CRM
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details—Tiered pricing is available for multiple users.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    HCL NotesSage CRM
    Considered Both Products
    HCLSoftware
    No answer on this topic
    Sage
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Would buy again
    8 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    86%
    Delivers good value for the price
    6 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    8 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    8 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    8 Answers
    Features
    HCL NotesSage CRM
    Project Management
    Comparison of Project Management features of HCL Notes and Sage CRM
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    6.9
    10 Ratings
    11% below category average
    Sage CRM
    -
    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 Sage CRM
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    9.2
    10 Ratings
    14% above category average
    Sage CRM
    -
    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 Sage CRM
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    7.6
    9 Ratings
    6% below category average
    Sage CRM
    -
    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
    Sales Force Automation
    Comparison of Sales Force Automation features of HCL Notes and Sage CRM
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    -
    Ratings
    Sage CRM
    8.8
    17 Ratings
    12% above category average
    Customer data management / contact management00 Ratings9.017 Ratings
    Workflow management00 Ratings8.616 Ratings
    Territory management00 Ratings8.517 Ratings
    Opportunity management00 Ratings8.917 Ratings
    Integration with email client (e.g., Outlook or Gmail)00 Ratings9.016 Ratings
    Contract management00 Ratings8.614 Ratings
    Quote & order management00 Ratings9.016 Ratings
    Interaction tracking00 Ratings9.216 Ratings
    Channel / partner relationship management00 Ratings8.716 Ratings
    Customer Service & Support
    Comparison of Customer Service & Support features of HCL Notes and Sage CRM
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    -
    Ratings
    Sage CRM
    8.1
    16 Ratings
    5% above category average
    Case management00 Ratings8.016 Ratings
    Call center management00 Ratings8.215 Ratings
    Help desk management00 Ratings8.214 Ratings
    Marketing Automation
    Comparison of Marketing Automation features of HCL Notes and Sage CRM
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    -
    Ratings
    Sage CRM
    8.7
    16 Ratings
    12% above category average
    Lead management00 Ratings8.816 Ratings
    Email marketing00 Ratings8.715 Ratings
    CRM Project Management
    Comparison of CRM Project Management features of HCL Notes and Sage CRM
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    -
    Ratings
    Sage CRM
    9.0
    17 Ratings
    16% above category average
    Task management00 Ratings9.016 Ratings
    Billing and invoicing management00 Ratings9.015 Ratings
    Reporting00 Ratings9.113 Ratings
    CRM Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of CRM Reporting & Analytics features of HCL Notes and Sage CRM
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    -
    Ratings
    Sage CRM
    8.6
    17 Ratings
    12% above category average
    Forecasting00 Ratings8.716 Ratings
    Pipeline visualization00 Ratings8.416 Ratings
    Customizable reports00 Ratings8.717 Ratings
    Customization
    Comparison of Customization features of HCL Notes and Sage CRM
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    -
    Ratings
    Sage CRM
    8.6
    17 Ratings
    12% above category average
    Custom fields00 Ratings8.517 Ratings
    Custom objects00 Ratings8.516 Ratings
    Scripting environment00 Ratings9.016 Ratings
    API for custom integration00 Ratings8.314 Ratings
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of HCL Notes and Sage CRM
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    -
    Ratings
    Sage CRM
    8.7
    17 Ratings
    4% above category average
    Single sign-on capability00 Ratings8.717 Ratings
    Role-based user permissions00 Ratings8.813 Ratings
    Social CRM
    Comparison of Social CRM features of HCL Notes and Sage CRM
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    -
    Ratings
    Sage CRM
    9.4
    13 Ratings
    22% above category average
    Social data00 Ratings9.513 Ratings
    Social engagement00 Ratings9.313 Ratings
    Integrations with 3rd-party Software
    Comparison of Integrations with 3rd-party Software features of HCL Notes and Sage CRM
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    -
    Ratings
    Sage CRM
    9.0
    14 Ratings
    18% above category average
    Marketing automation00 Ratings9.114 Ratings
    Compensation management00 Ratings8.912 Ratings
    Platform
    Comparison of Platform features of HCL Notes and Sage CRM
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    -
    Ratings
    Sage CRM
    7.8
    16 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Mobile access00 Ratings7.816 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    HCL NotesSage CRM
    Small Businesses
    Flock
    Score9.5 out of 10
    Salesflare
    Score10 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Troop Messenger
    Score9.8 out of 10
    Kintone
    Score9.7 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued)
    Score9 out of 10
    Oracle Sales
    Score8.9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    HCL NotesSage CRM
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.0
    (16 ratings)
    8.9
    (28 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    1.7
    (5 ratings)
    5.1
    (11 ratings)
    Usability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.9
    (11 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    7.9
    (8 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    Online Training
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    HCL NotesSage CRM
    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
    Sage
    as it is a very flexible software that can be adapted to any business model, other functions human resource management, manufacturing and supply chain planning, all these functions are housed in a highly technological interface. I liked this system because it made automating accounts payable so much easier.the control of the basic accounting of any type of company
    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
    Sage
    • When in client profile, it is very intuitive, allowing you to easily transcribe notes in the clients profile.
    • Sage allows 3rd party plugins, so if you utilize a particular phone services or would like to import something as simple as google drive, its compatible.
    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
    Sage
    • Reliance on Apache Tomcat causes a lot of headaches. There are common issues trying to start up the server, resulting from Apache Tomcat misconfigurations, or Java. Some forum posts on Sage City address common issues, but digging into server logs seems to be an often occurrence.
    • Support is somewhat lacking, less user install base means error messages are sometimes hard to find quick answers for. Most of the knowledge found on the internet is in the Sage City forum.
    • Integration with Microsoft 365 causes you to have to turn off some security features. This will result in your 365 tenants running lower security standards than recommended, it may put you at risk for targeted attacks.
    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
    Sage
    There are really no other words to say, it is a very easy to use application that is more straightforward and has provided better results with the bulk of features that appeal to a very broad amount of users. There may be other CRM platforms out there that are more prevalent, but I have found them to be much more clunky and less intuitive than Sage CRM.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Sage
    Excellent integration with the most important social networks (LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter) to get leads. The mobile app is quite useful for speeding up the tasks at hand and not relying on the computer or being in the office to get them done.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Performance
    HCLSoftware
    No answers on this topic
    Sage
    Sage works very quickly based on the network you are using it on. It is internet based so if your network is slow, it will perform slowly. Reports seem to run reasonably fast, if there is too much information it is trying to populate that could slow it down a little. When Sage CRM is integrated with a Sage ERP product it doesn't tend to slow down either system at all
    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
    Sage
    Support team is really slow and they need to work on this really. Sometimes it takes days to resolve a simple query and there is no way to get it expedited. Rest the product is is amazing but the team should look into the costumer support and get it working
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    HCLSoftware
    No answers on this topic
    Sage
    Most training would come after a upgrade. Otherwise we would self teach new employees. Training was with a Sage Software partner SWK technologies.
    Incentivized
    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
    Sage
    The implementation and upgrades were rather quick and straight forward. Attempting to link Sage CRM with Sage 100 ERP however was a nightmare and will be avoided by us in the future due to numerous issues.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Sage
    Whilst SAGE CRM was selected around 10 years ago and we became a partner, the main contenders would have been at the time Sales Logix and MS CRM 4.0. However, we had extensive experience of the mid-market CRM's and decided on SAGE CRM since it had a clean, easy to understand interface and importantly offered both workflow automation and Self Service capability, all of which across both the Case and Sales and Marketing functionality was seamless and saved time. As it was pure browser based, access was from anywhere we wanted. In my view, SAGE CRM still stacks up well against all the other mid-market CRM systems and offers good value for money, but more importantly, it is an easy to operate and customisable solution which user like. Again, we can teach administration users very quickly to support and customise themselves since the admin. function are clear as well.
    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
    Sage
    • It is very affordable in pricing, compared to competitors
    • Lead management and convertion into prospects is also a very easy process
    • Lead capture from web pages should be available, and better ways to capture leads from tradeshows by uploading directly from scanned business cards
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots