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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

    SAP Build

    Score8 out of 10
    N/ASAP Build is a business application development and automation solution with a comprehensive suite of low-code, pro-code, and generative AI tools. SAP Build is for developers, IT professionals, and business users/citizen developers who want to create and customize business applications.

    $1.82

    per month per user

    Pricing
    HCL NotesSAP Build
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    SAP Build Process Automation - Standard User
    $1.82
    per month per user
    SAP Build Process Automation - Advanced User
    $15
    per month per user
    SAP Build Process Automation - Attended Automation
    $534
    per month
    SAP Build Process Automation - Unattended Automation
    $534
    per month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    HCL NotesSAP Build
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    HCL NotesSAP Build
    Considered Both Products
    HCLSoftware
    No answer on this topic
    SAP
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    94%
    Would buy again
    103 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    96%
    Delivers good value for the price
    86 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    94%
    Happy with the feature set
    103 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    87%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    62 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    90%
    Implementation went as expected
    83 Answers
    Features
    HCL NotesSAP Build
    Project Management
    Comparison of Project Management features of HCL Notes and SAP Build
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    6.9
    10 Ratings
    11% below category average
    SAP Build
    -
    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 SAP Build
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    9.2
    10 Ratings
    14% above category average
    SAP Build
    -
    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 SAP Build
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    7.6
    9 Ratings
    6% below category average
    SAP Build
    -
    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
    Low-Code Development
    Comparison of Low-Code Development features of HCL Notes and SAP Build
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    -
    Ratings
    SAP Build
    8.0
    100 Ratings
    5% below category average
    Visual Modeling00 Ratings8.092 Ratings
    Drag-and-drop Interfaces00 Ratings8.191 Ratings
    Platform Security00 Ratings8.394 Ratings
    Platform User Management00 Ratings7.895 Ratings
    Reusability00 Ratings7.895 Ratings
    Platform Scalability00 Ratings7.996 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    HCL NotesSAP Build
    Small Businesses
    Flock
    Score9.5 out of 10
    Zoho Creator
    Score7.7 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Troop Messenger
    Score9.8 out of 10
    AppSheet
    Score8.2 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued)
    Score9 out of 10
    Oracle APEX
    Score9.1 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    HCL NotesSAP Build
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.0
    (16 ratings)
    8.0
    (98 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    1.7
    (5 ratings)
    8.5
    (6 ratings)
    Usability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    7.6
    (95 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    6.4
    (5 ratings)
    Online Training
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    HCL NotesSAP Build
    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
    SAP
    SAP Build is a strong and reliable partner with a rich FAQ and consulting power. New features make sense and are easy to distribute within the team and to end users. The community is nice, and there are many discussions on product development, shared solutions, and productivity improvements. UI is also one of the strongest points.
    Incentivized
    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
    SAP
    • SAP Build Workzone is a cloud ready service that it can provide access to users over cloud. It really liked it because for Non-SAP users they don't need to have seperate logins to access SAP systems
    • SAP Build LCNC helps to create an app either from scratch or take reference from existing apps and develop on top of it
    • SAP Build Code is pro-developer tool helps for creating enterprise ready web apps
    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
    SAP
    • Comparing to other RPA Tools, SAP Build automation lacks enough user guidance.
    • Licensing is a little bit confusing.
    • From a technical perspective, older versions of the automation part are not always stable, but the other services (workflow, business rules, apps, etc.) are much more stable.
    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
    SAP
    SAP Build that enables rapid creation of enterprise-grade applications, automations, and business sites. It empowers both business users and developers to collaborate effectively while leveraging SAP-grade security, identity, and integration capabilities. SAP Build integrates seamlessly with SAP systems, supports governance and lifecycle management, and accelerates digital transformation by reducing development time and effort.
    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
    SAP
    The overall re-usability is very good for SAP Build app. Rating 9 shows that it is very effectively uses the No code or low code functionality. Drag and drop of UI components is very effective in this SAP Build app. No prior coding experience is needed but to develop some logic flow you need to be very logical and optimistic thinker
    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
    SAP
    There are, for example, great blog writings about automation cases and examples. The studio version is updated often. There are also useful OpenSAP online courses.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Online Training
    HCLSoftware
    No answers on this topic
    SAP
    Online training helped to understand the drag and drop processes, building UI. Creating a workflow and process automation. Developing workflow and deploying WF. Helped to reduce the errors. It helped to understand the training easily. And online training gave good insights for low code no code solutions and create actions, forms.
    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
    SAP
    Yes we are implementing a custom solution of Customer PO on sap build code and BPA
    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
    SAP
    Seamlessly connected to SAP S4 Hana systems and development and deployment is easy as compared to Microsoft Visual Studio. Low code no code facility is awesome in SAP Build app where as in Visual Studio drag and drop of components is provided but still needs to write bulky code for functionality. Performance is better for SAP Build app.
    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
    SAP
    • SAP Build apps has a high ROI. Development is fast and cloud pricing is good.
    • Business objectives are handled better than any other solution for custom app development in the SAP ecosystem.
    • Process Automation workflows are very fast to develop, mostly graphically, and work very well.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    SAP Build Screenshots

    Screenshot of the SAP Build Portfolio, which includes:
1- SAP Build Apps to create business application
2- SAP Build Process Automation to automate end to end business processes
3- SAP Build Work Zone to design and create business sites