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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

    Zoho Mail

    Score9.2 out of 10
    N/AZoho offers their business email suite, which includes Calendar, Tasks, Notes, and Contacts bundled with an inbox.

    $1

    per user/per month

    Pricing
    HCL NotesZoho Mail
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Mail Lite
    $1
    per user/per month
    Workplace
    $3
    per user/per month
    Mail Premium
    $4
    per user/per month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    HCL NotesZoho Mail
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    HCL NotesZoho Mail
    Considered Both Products
    HCLSoftware
    No answer on this topic
    Zoho
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    86%
    Would buy again
    6 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
    86%
    Happy with the feature set
    6 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    71%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    5 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    6 Answers
    Features
    HCL NotesZoho Mail
    Project Management
    Comparison of Project Management features of HCL Notes and Zoho Mail
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    6.9
    10 Ratings
    11% below category average
    Zoho Mail
    -
    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 Zoho Mail
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    9.2
    10 Ratings
    15% above category average
    Zoho Mail
    -
    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 Zoho Mail
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    7.6
    9 Ratings
    5% below category average
    Zoho Mail
    -
    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
    Secure Email Gateway
    Comparison of Secure Email Gateway features of HCL Notes and Zoho Mail
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    -
    Ratings
    Zoho Mail
    8.5
    7 Ratings
    1% above category average
    Anti-malware00 Ratings9.57 Ratings
    Customizability00 Ratings9.17 Ratings
    Data Loss Protection00 Ratings7.96 Ratings
    Threat Detection00 Ratings7.06 Ratings
    Sandboxing00 Ratings6.53 Ratings
    End-to-End Encryption00 Ratings10.06 Ratings
    Management Tools00 Ratings9.57 Ratings
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    HCL NotesZoho Mail
    Small Businesses
    Flock
    Score9.5 out of 10
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    Score8.9 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Troop Messenger
    Score9.8 out of 10
    Barracuda ESG (discontinued)
    Score6.2 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued)
    Score9 out of 10
    Microsoft Exchange
    Score8.6 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    HCL NotesZoho Mail
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.0
    (16 ratings)
    8.5
    (7 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    1.7
    (5 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.9
    (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 NotesZoho Mail
    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
    Zoho
    If you don't have a huge budget and want something that works with minor quirks here and there then Zoho Mail is definitely something you should look into. For half the price of Google G Suite or Office account you get 5GB of storage per user and can send up to 25MB emails without restrictions. Great for small businesses in my opinion. I have had some issues with their spam filter, but we use SpamTitan and just shut off the one that comes with Zoho Mail. Zoho's spam filter isn't horrible but you should definitely use something in addition or instead of what comes with Zoho.
    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
    Zoho
    • I really like that there is a free version in which a single user can be created. It is really useful because it allows you to evaluate each characteristic of the service without having to buy it.
    • I also really like the visual aspect of the inbox, which is partially customizable. Because you can make small changes such as changing the color, the language, and among other things.
    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
    Zoho
    • It does allow for notifications for various things, but I am not sure where to turn them all off
    • It only counts to 9 the unread email alert, then says 9+
    • Overall I don't think there is much they need to work on.
    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
    Zoho
    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
    Zoho
    It is very easy to use and does all you need. It sends newsletters to their own folder. A notification folder for more important things. The Spam folder collect the right amount of spam emails
    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
    Zoho
    I have spoken with Zoho several times and their support is always friendly and helpful. I have always been asked for security pins and codes when seeking assistance which helps me to feel my accounts are secure and I have never had to wait on hold to speak with someone for more than 5 minutes. They always seem to have someone available to help. If you call asking for instructions on how to do something they gladly walk you through the process and if you just need something done and don't have time to do it yourself they will happily customize whatever you need without you having to spend all day with it.
    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
    Zoho
    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
    Zoho
    Zoho is free. Also, there is no need for a separate IT guy for creating mail, or if any issues come you don't have to find anyone anyone can check and fix all issues from their super admin panel. Zoho overview is much better than outlook and its appearance of getting mail popup and functionality is better than outlook. My friend suggested for this and also after using I have referred my friend
    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
    Zoho
    • It has a direct impact on the commercial communications of the company since with this application we send the economic proposals for services.
    • Thanks to the fact that we can configure our corporate domain and a signature, we show a corporate professional image.
    • Allows you to manage and store internal and external communications
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Zoho Mail Screenshots

    Screenshot of All in one viewScreenshot of CalendarScreenshot of TaskScreenshot of NotesScreenshot of Contact managementScreenshot of Instant Chat