TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

Save this comparison

Save this comparison

Add Product

Recommended Comparisons

    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

    Microsoft Viva Engage

    Score8.6 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft Viva Engage, formerly Yammer, is used for private communication within organizations or between organizational members and pre-designated groups.

    $24

    per year per user

    Pricing
    HCL SametimeMicrosoft Viva Engage
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft Viva Employee Communications and Communities
    $24
    per year per user
    Microsoft Viva Suite
    $144
    per year per user
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    HCL SametimeMicrosoft Viva Engage
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details—Microsoft Viva Engage is also available in some Microsoft 365 packages.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    HCL SametimeMicrosoft Viva Engage
    Considered Both Products
    HCLSoftware
    No answer on this topic
    Microsoft
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    86%
    Would buy again
    19 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    94%
    Delivers good value for the price
    17 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    95%
    Happy with the feature set
    21 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    10 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    13 Answers
    Features
    HCL SametimeMicrosoft Viva Engage
    Cloud PBX
    Comparison of Cloud PBX features of HCL Sametime and Microsoft Viva Engage
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    8.4
    7 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Microsoft Viva Engage
    -
    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 Microsoft Viva Engage
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    8.0
    8 Ratings
    3% below category average
    Microsoft Viva Engage
    -
    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 Microsoft Viva Engage
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    8.0
    6 Ratings
    1% above category average
    Microsoft Viva Engage
    -
    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 Microsoft Viva Engage
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    8.0
    8 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Microsoft Viva Engage
    -
    Ratings
    Mobile app for iOS8.08 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile app for Android8.07 Ratings00 Ratings
    Project Management
    Comparison of Project Management features of HCL Sametime and Microsoft Viva Engage
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft Viva Engage
    8.7
    46 Ratings
    12% above category average
    Task Management00 Ratings9.128 Ratings
    Gantt Charts00 Ratings8.815 Ratings
    Scheduling00 Ratings8.423 Ratings
    Workflow Automation00 Ratings8.723 Ratings
    Mobile Access00 Ratings8.843 Ratings
    Search00 Ratings8.343 Ratings
    Visual planning tools00 Ratings8.926 Ratings
    Communication
    Comparison of Communication features of HCL Sametime and Microsoft Viva Engage
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft Viva Engage
    8.6
    49 Ratings
    7% above category average
    Chat00 Ratings9.444 Ratings
    Notifications00 Ratings8.349 Ratings
    Discussions00 Ratings9.748 Ratings
    Surveys00 Ratings9.638 Ratings
    Internal knowledgebase00 Ratings9.338 Ratings
    Integrates with GoToMeeting00 Ratings7.314 Ratings
    Integrates with Gmail and Google Hangouts00 Ratings6.713 Ratings
    Integrates with Outlook00 Ratings8.632 Ratings
    File Sharing & Management
    Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of HCL Sametime and Microsoft Viva Engage
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft Viva Engage
    9.1
    42 Ratings
    12% above category average
    Versioning00 Ratings9.728 Ratings
    Video files00 Ratings9.436 Ratings
    Audio files00 Ratings9.434 Ratings
    Document collaboration00 Ratings9.135 Ratings
    Access control00 Ratings9.035 Ratings
    Advanced security features00 Ratings8.433 Ratings
    Integrates with Google Drive00 Ratings8.014 Ratings
    Device sync00 Ratings9.528 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    HCL SametimeMicrosoft Viva Engage
    Small Businesses
    CallFire
    Score9.7 out of 10
    Flock
    Score9.5 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Fuze
    Score8.2 out of 10
    Troop Messenger
    Score9.8 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
    Score8.3 out of 10
    Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued)
    Score9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    HCL SametimeMicrosoft Viva Engage
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.0
    (10 ratings)
    8.9
    (59 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (11 ratings)
    Usability
    8.6
    (2 ratings)
    8.9
    (9 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.3
    (4 ratings)
    7.0
    (12 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (2 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    HCL SametimeMicrosoft Viva Engage
    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
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Yammer is great when you have a company culture that encourages friendly collaboration and communication. It can be a great supplement (but certainly not a substitute) for bonding and sharing ideas and thoughts. Certain channels can be really successful, too, like a channel where people can post dog pictures or something fun like that!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Providing a platform for social news in the company where "bottom up" topics can percolate freely across department
    • Social networking across the company where folks can divide their work into topics instead of teams
    • Basic collaboration within a group including document sharing with ability to pin documents to a team
    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
    Microsoft
    • Although the social enterprise network works very well, there is room for some slight improvement - such as the ability to attract users. By being part of the Microsoft Office Suite, it is offered as an "add-on" and many overlook it and see it as unnecessary at first. It would be smart for Microsoft to sell it as its own product so it could gather more popularity as a "social network".
    • Giving an option to filter results could be better as well as giving an option to turn off the "recent activity" bar on the home page.
    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
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Microsoft is dedicated to continual improvement on Yammer. They realize the value that Yammer brings to the table with their clients. In the short time that we have had Yammer implemented, we are just now beginning to see the strong impact it has on becoming more effective and efficient around collaboration.
    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
    Microsoft
    Overall easy to use and intuitive, although limited in the possibility to personalize layout and look & feel of a site. Some functionalities are not easy to use, like document editing, but some others are quick and effective (posts and tagging above all). Performance and responsiveness of the Yammer site is typically acceptable, in my experience.
    Read full review
    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
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Very available
    Read full review
    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
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    It's a simple product but it does provide value.
    Read full review
    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
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    We have never had to use the support for Yammer. The tool works well and we have not come across any bugs. User Interface is simple and easy to use, similar to other forum type products, thereby removing the need for any extensive training. Team members are invited in and immediately are able to start using the tool.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Online Training
    HCLSoftware
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    The training that Microsoft provides is very generic training for Yammer. I like the fact the training is short and easy to understand
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    HCLSoftware
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    We organically implemented the product
    Read full review
    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
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Our team briefly used Salesforce.com's Chatter product before switching over to Yammer in 2012. While Chatter is essentially the same product as Yammer, it left much to be desired. Chatter's design was (and remains) clunky and difficult to navigate. Yammer is a simple, easy-to-use product that offers similar functionality as Salesforce's Chatter.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    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
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • My company is pleased with the positive impact Yammer has created departmentally and on an individual basis with work flow efficiency.
    • Adversely, most old and new employees are more familiar with SharePoint, causing the company to pay for training for all current and incoming employees.
    • As Yammer becomes more widely used, the need for training may diminish, which is where we will see our return on investment, as the product clearly provides a more effective form of file sharing and communication between employees and their department.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots