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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Shift
Score 9.1 out of 10
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The Shift browser merges web apps into a single window, streamlining work online and providing access to thousands of apps without leaving the browser.
$0
per year
Titan.email
Score 7.9 out of 10
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Titan is a customer-centric email suite created specifically for professionals and small business owners, with features designed to enable deeper, more meaningful relationships with customers. With features such as Email templates, the ability to Schedule sends, Follow-up reminders, Read receipts and a lot more, Titan provides an email experience that streamlines productivity. Users can also manage a Calendar, Contact list, and storage which offers efficiency from within the…
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.
I believe that Shift is suitable for everyone, even those with only one email account. Just being able to group email, along with Messenger, WhatsApp, and other apps, together is, in itself, a productivity hack. I have already recommended it to some of my other business owner friends.
Titan is a company that is well suited for corporations who need to manage professional services like data sheets and provide information to their clients. It is helpful to create more profitable margins and track excactly what is going on. They have great environmental resources and can support any going green initiatives
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 Menus are cluttered with extraneous, outdated options and features that modern users will never use, and Preferences are often difficult to navigate for those coming from Gmail or Outlook.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).
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.
Shift has significantly streamlined your daily operations by bringing together all your tools, accounts, and workflows into one platform. This has reduced context-switching and improved overall productivity across Bamboo Orchard’s Innovation Studio and Venture Studio operations.The ability to create custom workspaces tailored to different projects, clients, and teams ensures that each aspect of your business is optimized for performance. This flexibility supports the unique, bespoke solutions Bamboo Orchard is known for delivering. Shift has enhanced collaboration by integrating communication tools like Slack, Zoom, and email with task management platforms. This has allowed teams to work together seamlessly, even in remote or hybrid environments. By eliminating the need for constant tab-switching and manual management of accounts, Shift has saved considerable time and effort for the team, allowing you to focus more on strategic innovation and client support. Shift’s functionality aligns perfectly with Bamboo Orchard’s mission to deliver bold, transformative innovation and tailored solutions. It supports your ability to execute efficiently and maintain focus on reshaping industries for your clients.
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.
Setting up Shift is very simple and highly intuitive, making it easy to use. Once you set up the accounts and program integrations, you can easily click on precisely what you need, requiring barely any thought or effort. It feels truly seamless and straightforward to use. I have no issues with use, and I use it every day.
Its basically been great. In 3 years I had one issue of repeated crashes which was fixed with a version change and an issue where slack wouldn't load after a slack update but that fixed within a few weeks
Its pretty performant on my GPU based laptop as it can use the hardware to accelerate processing. However it is memory hungry. If I had a normal amount of RAM on my laptop I wouldn't imagine it would be a little slower
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.
I have only had to use their support a couple of times, but was able to get an answer and things resolved within a couple of hours. There was no issue with contacting them, received responses and updates in a timely manner and they were able to resolve the small issues we had. It was a pleasure to work with them
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.
I was completely satisfied with the implementation of Shift, rating it a 10. The process was straightforward and required minimal effort to get started. Key insights include the importance of pre-configuring the app with essential tools and accounts for the team to ensure a smooth transition. Shift’s intuitive setup and integration process allowed us to onboard quickly without disrupting workflows. Additionally, its user-friendly design made it easy for team members to adapt without extensive training.
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.
I used to use a similar product called Station. In all honesty, Station was better but was discontinued. Shift is the nearest equivalent and works just as well. Station was free, Shift is an annual payment so I have peace of mind it's more likely to be around for the long term.
Titan is better for just managing documents and planning in comparsion with GitHub which we still use in order to manage branches and builds of software that we are working on
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.
