Notes from HCL (formerly from IBM, acquired by HCL in late 2018) is a collaboration platform based on the Lotus platform.
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SAP Business Network
Score 8.6 out of 10
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SAP Business Network is a comprehensive B2B collaboration platform that connects people, processes, and systems across multiple enterprises, digitizing transactions, and creating transparent, resilient, and sustainable supply chains.
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.
If your organization processes a large number of purchase orders and invoices every month/year, SAP Business Network is very effective, whereas smaller vendors without strong IT support sometimes struggle with setup and ongoing use. making onboarding and training a barrier.
The clients can link with different systems and data sources, making the functioning of various processes more accessible and more efficient.
The audience can interact with high-performance and meaningful analytics that reveal all the critical indicators of influencers and campaigns based on the data/information approach.
It includes a marketplace for brands, which makes the search process easier to find companies to partner with.
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 Menus are cluttered with extraneous, outdated options and features that modern users will never use, and Preferences are often difficult to navigate for those coming from Gmail or Outlook.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).
User Interface Complexity This interface can feel overwhelming and difficult to use, mainly for new users. A more streamlined, role-specific layout will help decrease the learning curve and enhance productivity.
Limited Small Vendor Integration for smaller vendors to adopt. Introducing a Modified or simplified version for smaller suppliers will make it more accessible.
Enhanced Predictive Analytics and Automation—The platform's predictive capabilities are limited, particularly in demand risk assessment.
Adding advanced automation analytics will help users proactively address supply chain needs.
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.
I will give it a 9, one is deducted for business inspection and improvement i feel that they are in the right direction and streamlined our flow of business agility also helped us get the R.o.i and helped with more sales and visibility over business and its metrics.
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.
There is still a ton of flexability on the customer's end of the platform, which makes standard onboarding for suppliers a challenge. Customers are allowed to ask for things, or customize certain things that are not standard for us, so we have to have special rules set up to complete an integration. There are also some limitations to automate invoice rejections that happen on the platform when a customer rejects an invoice
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.
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.
Good performance from SAP as key deployment partner; collaboration and deployment with additional business partner for data provision and business partner onboarding was rather difficult, slowing down the project progress and overall success perception
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.
Before we chose SAP Business Network, we looked at Oracle Supply Chain Management Cloud and Infor Supply Chain Management. While SAP Business Network boasted robust features, the fact that our existing ERP system could be integrated with the tool in a better fashion, and it was more intuitive, sealed the deal for us.
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.
SAP Business Network's streamlined supply chain and procurement processes have significantly reduced operational costs and improved resource allocation, leading to enhanced overall efficiency.
The platform's robust analytics have provided valuable insights, facilitating data-driven decision-making and enabling us to make more informed strategic choices, ultimately contributing to improved business performance.
Implementing and integrating the SAP Business Network initially required a substantial financial investment, impacting short-term cash flow and potentially delaying other critical business initiatives.
