HCL 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.
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Nextiva
Score 9.2 out of 10
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Nextiva is a business communications platform that includes a VoIP solution, CRM software, BI software, cloud storage, phone and device rentals, email marketing automation software, and a contact center solution. These products can be purchased individually or together.
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.
We have had great service with Nextiva Business Phone Service and it is reliable and reasonably priced for the offered features. User Friendly and minimal issues. We are able to control most of the set up for new users and or new phones when needed. Only would like to see the app - Nextiva One be enhanced with more features than it currently has.
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.
The use of two apps when you're a supervisor. We have to use Unity and the Nextiva app instead of one app. It can be cumbersome.
Better integration with CRM's. We use Zendesk and it works ok as it does pull up customer records if we have their phone number on file. But it would be better if we could have more functionality from one place and have it write to the CRM directly.
Accept higher quality audio for greeting recordings. We had to trim the file size down several times losing a lot of audio quality in the process. Mono is fine since callers will only need to hear the one channel. But the Hz limit and file size limit were rough.
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.
Its user friendly, easy to use and has been very reliable. We have nothing but good things to say about our service with Nextiva Business Phone Service. When needed their support team has always resolved any and all issues one way or another. They have been helpful, knowledgeable and very friendly. The features vs the cost is wonderful compared to other service providers.
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.
Nextiva Business Phone Service system is very usable. We have desk phones, that were included at no cost. The function just as one would expect from an office phone system. I can also answer my calls from my PC and even on my cell phone if I have to leave the office.
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.
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
Support is great. We usually get someone on the phone; they answer our questions and help us with our issues. They are responsive when we call, and there is also a wealth of information on their online help center, which will typically answer our question or send us in the right direction.
No was done by Agency Owner and was done with the help of Nextiva Support and Sales team. Went very well and has been working great since then. Was originally only two phones and then we continue to add to that. We did not have any reported issues and was a great experience for our Agency and Small Business.
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.
We switched for better uptime, ease of use, and better tech support and got all that from Nextiva. We were constantly losing connection with our previous provider, a package service for internet and phone. The web portal is much easier to use, and the call center offers many more features.
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.
ROI - we are saving money, a lot of money, and we have a MUCH better phone system
Consolidation - we migrated 6 different phone systems in 6 different counties into one, and it's been wonderful!
Management - managing this system is so much better than Mitel, Panasonic, and any other system I have used. We are able to assign rights to certain staff to also make changes, and it's user friendly and almost fool proof.
