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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    HCL Sametime

    Score8 out of 10
    N/AHCL Sametime (formerly IBM Lotus Sametime, acquired by HCL Technologies from IBM in 2018) is an enterprise-level unified communications and VoIP platform. It includes features such as instant messaging, web conferencing, voice and video integration, telephony capabilities, and presence information.N/A

    Join.me (discontinued)

    Score9.8 out of 10
    N/AJoin.me, once acquired by LogMeIn in 2019, was an audio, video, and web conferencing tool targeted at SMBs. Its software can be used across various devices and includes features such as one-click scheduling, personal links, interactive whiteboards, and presenter swapping. It has since been discontinued.

    $10

    per month

    Pricing
    HCL SametimeJoin.me (discontinued)
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Lite
    $10.00
    Month
    Pro
    $10.00
    Month
    Business
    $10.00
    Month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    HCL SametimeJoin.me (discontinued)
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    HCL SametimeJoin.me (discontinued)
    Considered Both Products
    HCLSoftware
    No answer on this topic
    Discontinued Products
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    77%
    Would buy again
    30 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    91%
    Delivers good value for the price
    29 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    85%
    Happy with the feature set
    33 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    83%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    20 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    93%
    Implementation went as expected
    26 Answers
    Features
    HCL SametimeJoin.me (discontinued)
    Cloud PBX
    Comparison of Cloud PBX features of HCL Sametime and Join.me (discontinued)
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    8.4
    7 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Join.me (discontinued)
    -
    Ratings
    Hosted PBX9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multi-level Interactive Voice Response (IVR)9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
    User templates8.02 Ratings00 Ratings
    Call reports8.02 Ratings00 Ratings
    Directory of employee names8.07 Ratings00 Ratings
    Call Management
    Comparison of Call Management features of HCL Sametime and Join.me (discontinued)
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    8.0
    8 Ratings
    3% below category average
    Join.me (discontinued)
    -
    Ratings
    Answering rules8.05 Ratings00 Ratings
    Call recording8.02 Ratings00 Ratings
    Call park8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Call screening8.02 Ratings00 Ratings
    Message alerts8.06 Ratings00 Ratings
    VoIP system collaboration
    Comparison of VoIP system collaboration features of HCL Sametime and Join.me (discontinued)
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    8.0
    6 Ratings
    1% above category average
    Join.me (discontinued)
    -
    Ratings
    Video conferencing8.06 Ratings00 Ratings
    Audio conferencing8.05 Ratings00 Ratings
    Video screen sharing8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Instant messaging8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile apps
    Comparison of Mobile apps features of HCL Sametime and Join.me (discontinued)
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    8.0
    8 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Join.me (discontinued)
    -
    Ratings
    Mobile app for iOS8.08 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile app for Android8.07 Ratings00 Ratings
    Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software
    Comparison of Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software features of HCL Sametime and Join.me (discontinued)
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    -
    Ratings
    Join.me (discontinued)
    7.8
    75 Ratings
    1% below category average
    High quality audio00 Ratings8.566 Ratings
    High quality video00 Ratings8.269 Ratings
    Low bandwidth requirements00 Ratings7.059 Ratings
    Mobile support00 Ratings7.336 Ratings
    Screen Sharing
    Comparison of Screen Sharing features of HCL Sametime and Join.me (discontinued)
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    -
    Ratings
    Join.me (discontinued)
    7.9
    73 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Desktop sharing00 Ratings8.573 Ratings
    Whiteboards00 Ratings7.433 Ratings
    Online Meetings / Events
    Comparison of Online Meetings / Events features of HCL Sametime and Join.me (discontinued)
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    -
    Ratings
    Join.me (discontinued)
    8.0
    69 Ratings
    2% below category average
    Calendar integration00 Ratings8.551 Ratings
    Meeting initiation00 Ratings8.464 Ratings
    Integrates with social media00 Ratings7.121 Ratings
    Record meetings / events00 Ratings8.052 Ratings
    Slideshows00 Ratings8.035 Ratings
    Online Events Collaboration
    Comparison of Online Events Collaboration features of HCL Sametime and Join.me (discontinued)
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    -
    Ratings
    Join.me (discontinued)
    8.1
    59 Ratings
    0% above category average
    Live chat00 Ratings8.759 Ratings
    Audience polling00 Ratings7.720 Ratings
    Q&A00 Ratings7.826 Ratings
    Online Events Security
    Comparison of Online Events Security features of HCL Sametime and Join.me (discontinued)
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    -
    Ratings
    Join.me (discontinued)
    8.3
    58 Ratings
    3% above category average
    User authentication00 Ratings8.244 Ratings
    Participant roles & permissions00 Ratings8.251 Ratings
    Confidential attendee list00 Ratings8.433 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    HCL SametimeJoin.me (discontinued)
    Small Businesses
    CallFire
    Score9.7 out of 10
    ClickMeeting
    Score9.5 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Fuze
    Score8.2 out of 10
    JioMeet
    Score9.8 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
    Score8.3 out of 10
    Webex Meetings
    Score8.7 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    HCL SametimeJoin.me (discontinued)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.0
    (10 ratings)
    7.1
    (76 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (5 ratings)
    Usability
    8.6
    (2 ratings)
    10.0
    (7 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.3
    (4 ratings)
    8.8
    (25 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    HCL SametimeJoin.me (discontinued)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    HCLSoftware
    Sametime is well suited for very quick conversations, where you know the person is an active Sametime user. It also serves as an easy way to reach out to someone you may not know when looking for an answer to a quick question, as they are likely to be a Sametime user. Do not, under any circumstances, attempt to use Sametime for Audio or Video chat. The quality and reliability are horrendous.
    Incentivized
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    Discontinued Products
    I would neither recommend nor dissuade anyone from using Join.Me. When it first came on the scene, it was a game-changer as far as providing remote access to other authorized individuals and helped save a great deal of time trying to walk someone less proficient through all the detailed steps of computer repair. However, with the proliferation of Zoom and other conferencing products that also provide built-in remote access through its service, the need for a separate application is now limited and not as essential as its own product.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    HCLSoftware
    • Sametime's web-based interfaces are "zero load", requiring no plug-ins to be installed to join a meeting, launch a meeting, or use chat in a browser. A plugin is required only if you want to share your screen.
    • Integration with IBM Notes is very tight. Sametime's chat status can change according to your Notes calendar. You can easily see if someone who just emailed you is available to chat. Your chat History is right inside Notes as well.
    • IBM's mobile apps are top notch. We automated the apps for our users thanks to IBM's work with third party MDMs. This made it very simple for us to deploy the Sametime mobile apps -- Chat and Meetings -- and get new capabilities such as Audio & Video mobilized quickly.
    • No down time, ever. The rock solid WebSphere back-end of Sametime means the environment is always up. Period.
    Incentivized
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    Discontinued Products
    • No need to download anything to get started. Once you sign up you can get started from within your browser. This is probably the single best feature, its a get up and go solution for video conferencing and you do not need any software for it to work.
    • The one click join a meeting URL is genius. Users who struggle with remembering passwords or invites can just click a link and immediately participate in a meeting which means one email and a couple of clicks and a meeting can start.
    • Good control features - As the main user, you have many control features including deciding who can speak, annotations, screen sharing easily.
    • Screen Recordings to the Cloud - This can save on time when you have had a long conference, you can save a recording to the cloud and download it later.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    HCLSoftware
    • Not convenient for a large group meeting.
    • Very basic tool for internal communication only not available for third party communication
    • Very basic and limited mobile app features.
    • High speed connection is needed to connect to Sametime
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    • There should be a complete guide to understand its features before installation because if one feature will be missed then, we can’t get them working properly.
    • Furthermore, there should be high-quality internet for getting its function and it won’t work without good network coverage.
    • I think its interface is a little hard for beginners and is not that user friendly.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    HCLSoftware
    Sametime is now an embedded experience for our users. They know it, they like it, they use it, and they expect it to be wherever they are. Because it is pretty easy to use and NEVER goes down, users know they can rely on it and won't be frustrated by it. Sametime is right up with there with Microsoft Office in terms of user adoption and appreciation.
    Incentivized
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    Discontinued Products
    This platform enables a very high ROI for the solution that it provides to our team to support our end-users.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    HCLSoftware
    Just about everything works the way you expect it would and it's relatively easy for users to figure out. Sametime was one of those things that we started with only a few people as a "test" and before the test period was done we discovered a few hundred people had figured out how to log in and most got it working all on their own. Many of our users want to use Sametime and do so regularly; we do not have to create policies enforcing its usage. Users find it practical to use Sametime to do things like chat, transfer files, share their screen, and so forth.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    Join.me is one of the easiest programs I've ever used. It's so easy to get it set up and installed and even easier for someone to join a meeting. The controls are very intuitive and labeled appropriately. The UIX makes sense. It's been a reliable product in my app stack-I love it!
    Incentivized
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    Reliability and Availability
    HCLSoftware
    Typically if Sametime is not available, it's because Windows Updates were done on the servers and they were not rebooted. However, that's not a problem with Sametime -- in fact, if you have Linux you could probably run Sametime for years without any hiccups whatsoever. We have no internal Linux expertise.
    Incentivized
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    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    HCLSoftware
    Generally very good. Occasionally AV or screen-sharing will stutter and every now and then I hear of it dropping out altogether, but in all cases it was easy to re-establish
    Incentivized
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    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    HCLSoftware
    I have not needed to use the Sametime support team. Our local support team was able to configure it for me.
    Incentivized
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    Discontinued Products
    I honestly haven't reached out to their Support team. I get notifications of what they are working on which is good to see, but I haven't directly spoken with any of them. I think my main reason for this is that join.me gives me just what I need (not much more and not much less).
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    HCLSoftware
    No answers on this topic
    Discontinued Products
    This is a fairly simple product which doesn't require much "implementation" work for our use cases.
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    HCLSoftware
    We use Jabber globally in our company and Symphony (no relevant app in able list) in some of the teams as well. All these are instant messenger tools, but Sametime is the easiest one to be used and its chat history is easy to be searched. Sametime can be used to contact almost all internal staff as it’s included in default computer package. Symphony is used to chat with front end business while Jabber is used for call.
    Incentivized
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    Discontinued Products
    If you're looking for something basic that handles a little bit of everything when it comes to meetings, screen shares and remote desktop control join.me is a great options. If you're a super user and really wanting a lot of detailed features and rich user interfaces and money is not an issue you may want to consider use specific options.
    Incentivized
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    Scalability
    HCLSoftware
    Sametime is rock solid. It runs on WebSphere, DB2 and other related IBM technologies. This does mean the back-end is highly complex and very difficult to learn and get comfortable with, however.
    Incentivized
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    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    HCLSoftware
    • Sametime keeps many of our team members in contact throughout the day which leads to increased productivity which makes everyone happy.
    • We use the team chat room feature every day. This allows a team to stay focused on the task without any extra messages that are not on topic.
    • The split between IBM Sametime, Slack and Google Hangouts has caused some issues when team members are not checking for messages on a certain app.
    Incentivized
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    Discontinued Products
    • Customer support solution - join.me has made it so much easier to quickly get with a customer and see their trouble and show them a solution. This saves lots of back and forth time and gives the customer more power over owning their solution.
    • More efficient communication - without join.me we would waste time going back and forth on emails or slack trying to get our message across. Join.me lets us quickly show AND tell others what's going on. I honestly don't know how we ever functioned without it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots