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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

    ON24

    Score7.5 out of 10
    N/AON24 is an intelligent engagement platform, that enables customers to continuously engage audiences with AI-powered, hyper-personalized webinar, virtual event and content experiences.N/A
    Pricing
    HCL SametimeON24
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    HCL SametimeON24
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    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 SametimeON24
    Considered Both Products
    HCLSoftware
    No answer on this topic
    Cvent
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    94%
    Would buy again
    137 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    94%
    Delivers good value for the price
    102 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    95%
    Happy with the feature set
    143 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    95%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    88 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    94%
    Implementation went as expected
    94 Answers
    Features
    HCL SametimeON24
    Cloud PBX
    Comparison of Cloud PBX features of HCL Sametime and ON24
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    8.4
    7 Ratings
    6% above category average
    ON24
    -
    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 ON24
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    8.0
    8 Ratings
    3% below category average
    ON24
    -
    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 ON24
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    8.0
    6 Ratings
    1% above category average
    ON24
    -
    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 ON24
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    8.0
    8 Ratings
    2% above category average
    ON24
    -
    Ratings
    Mobile app for iOS8.08 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile app for Android8.07 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Capabilities
    Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of HCL Sametime and ON24
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    -
    Ratings
    ON24
    9.7
    1 Ratings
    12% above category average
    Responsive Design for Web Access00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Mobile Application00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
    Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Online Meetings / Events
    Comparison of Online Meetings / Events features of HCL Sametime and ON24
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    -
    Ratings
    ON24
    8.3
    413 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Calendar integration00 Ratings8.1356 Ratings
    Meeting initiation00 Ratings10.04 Ratings
    Integrates with social media00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    Record meetings / events00 Ratings7.1395 Ratings
    Slideshows00 Ratings7.2392 Ratings
    Event registration00 Ratings7.4389 Ratings
    Online Events Collaboration
    Comparison of Online Events Collaboration features of HCL Sametime and ON24
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    -
    Ratings
    ON24
    8.3
    416 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Live chat00 Ratings10.04 Ratings
    Audience polling00 Ratings6.8377 Ratings
    Q&A00 Ratings8.1413 Ratings
    Online Events Security
    Comparison of Online Events Security features of HCL Sametime and ON24
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    -
    Ratings
    ON24
    9.0
    384 Ratings
    5% above category average
    User authentication00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    Participant roles & permissions00 Ratings8.9374 Ratings
    Confidential attendee list00 Ratings8.0357 Ratings
    Online Events Marketing
    Comparison of Online Events Marketing features of HCL Sametime and ON24
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    -
    Ratings
    ON24
    8.0
    390 Ratings
    6% below category average
    Branding options00 Ratings8.5382 Ratings
    Integration to Marketing Automation00 Ratings7.9335 Ratings
    Attendee list export00 Ratings7.638 Ratings
    Virtual Event
    Comparison of Virtual Event features of HCL Sametime and ON24
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    -
    Ratings
    ON24
    8.8
    42 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Registration, RSVP, and ticketing00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Email marketing00 Ratings6.538 Ratings
    Livestreaming00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Audience engagement00 Ratings8.042 Ratings
    Event recording00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Virtual booths00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Networking00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
    Event analytics00 Ratings7.342 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    HCL SametimeON24
    Small Businesses
    CallFire
    Score9.7 out of 10
    Whova
    Score9.6 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Fuze
    Score8.2 out of 10
    Splash
    Score7.7 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
    Score8.3 out of 10
    Webex Events (formerly Socio)
    Score8.9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    HCL SametimeON24
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.0
    (10 ratings)
    6.8
    (461 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.9
    (44 ratings)
    Usability
    8.6
    (2 ratings)
    9.0
    (28 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (210 ratings)
    Performance
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    7.7
    (8 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.3
    (4 ratings)
    9.9
    (33 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (4 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    3.7
    (5 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.5
    (12 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (6 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    7.7
    (5 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    6.4
    (231 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (6 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.7
    (7 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    HCL SametimeON24
    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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    Cvent
    I find that ON24 caters for all types of organisations, having it allows for more choice/options. The experience around virtual events if fantastic and the ON24 team is constantly improving the platform. If you want to run a virtual events programme where you want to generate leads and track engagement, then ON24 is the platform for you
    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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    Cvent
    • Registration pages are easy to build and look clean
    • Console (audience view) offers many tools to use for presentations and to engage the audience
    • Reporting and analytics are robust and provide detailed reports that help us process attendees in our marketing database
    • Support team and responsive and helpful
    Incentivized
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    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
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    Cvent
    • There was a recent update within the past year where the UX designer or developer thought it would be best to wide all titles from the audience view until they placed their mouse on top of the window. That was the worst mistake, as we have a moderator script where we tell the audience what each of the tool bars are and they can’t grasp what the tool is without putting their mouse there. From an accessibility standpoint point, it’s back to 1999 when there was no laws about accessibility.
    • Number one above is a major pain point.
    • ON24 needs to do a better job of introducing features and soliciting feedback from their customers vs making a high impactful change like #1 described above.
    Incentivized
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    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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    Cvent
    ON24 is everything we expected and everything we needed. It's simple to use, extremely customizable, and scales very easily. The integration to our CRM makes ON24 major lead generator for our sales team from our established webinars series. We can automate lead delivery to our sales team as well. If anything, we will look to expand our partnership in the future.
    Incentivized
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    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
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    Cvent
    97% of our attendees say it is the best trainings they have every attended. But they other 3% have a horrible experience (while watching the event live) interesting fact. On24 uses two different encoders for live vs OnDemand. I have never had issues with the On-Demand experience. My only complaints come during live events
    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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    Cvent
    ON24 is always available when I have a question about a new feature, if I'm having issues during a live webinar, or if I'm having issues with a webinar on the backend. Our client support specialist, Heather Haines, has always been incredibly consistent with getting me the answers I need when I need them.
    Incentivized
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    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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    Cvent
    Sometimes (it may be my computer) i cant login to ON24. I create a new PW and then i still cant get in. I clear cache/try new browser etc. and nothing works. I come back in a few hours and its like the problem never existed, its the strangest thing. Outside of that everything works pretty seamless. We've ran into a few bumps with Marketo talking to ON24 and passing reg through but have that figured out now. Not being able to be on a VPN when connecting to webcam on the presenter side does cause issues for our government speakers.
    Incentivized
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    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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    Cvent
    ON24 support is really good with the 24/5 support chat line, where someone actually responds within 30 seconds. The customers success team is also really good and our rep is very helpful with all our questions. Whenever we have more technical questions, she will bring on a IT designer or a tech specialist on our calls for additional comments and help.
    Incentivized
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    In-Person Training
    HCLSoftware
    No answers on this topic
    Cvent
    Great communication and clarity
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    Online Training
    HCLSoftware
    No answers on this topic
    Cvent
    On24 has amazing ON-Demand trainings that you can use at anytime and they walk you through step by step on different topics/ they are always updating and innovating and putting out new trainings. I would highly reccomend the trainings and reading the documents they have created. They also do live webinars on a rolling basis that are filled with so much knowledge and Information
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    HCLSoftware
    No answers on this topic
    Cvent
    We had a few training's, which were broken up, and focused on specific areas of how to use the platform. Mostly though, a lot of it is just dedicating your time to learning and exploring what the possibilities are for enhancing your webinars
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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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    Cvent
    From what I've seen, ON24 is built specifically to meet the needs of event marketing (or marketing generally), versus the other platforms which are more about simply providing a mechanism to hold virtual meetings. The integration with sales and marketing systems is really valuable. I don't know about pricing differences, but if the competitors were comparable, I would still select ON24.
    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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    Cvent
    The ON24 platform is straightforward to use and train clients on, which is a huge plus. Clients appreciate its features and simplicity. Internally, we receive valuable analytical data from webinar events, enabling the organization to make data-driven decisions. This helps us optimize strategies and drive success for B2B businesses effectively.
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    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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    Cvent
    • We get a lot of MQLs from our webinars. The integration with SFDC is a game changer over platforms that don't offer that integration.
    • The addition of emojis and chat to our event consoles has greatly increased our engagement.
    • We love marketing the fact that on-demand viewers can still submit questions and we'll answer them by email. Who else can say that?
    • We would like to be able to make changes to all console elements after events have taken place. Sometimes stuff just needs to be updated.
    • As we improve our audience segmentation, we are looking forward to the segment customization options that are now available on the console.
    • The webinars ON24 sponsors provide us with some great ideas for improving our overall strategic marketing.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots

    ON24 Screenshots

    Screenshot of Red Whale creates webinar series, Deep Dives, to engage General Practitioners.Screenshot of SAP Concur takes its customer activation workshops virtual with ON24.Screenshot of Atheanhealth broadcasts an authentic conversation with industry thought leaders to its audience.Screenshot of SAS creates webinar series, Analytics in 20, to education product best practices in short amount of time.Screenshot of NVIDIA creates always-on content library filled with webinars with ON24 Engagement Hub, segmented by different languages and geo-locations.Screenshot of ADP, using ON24 Target, creates personalized landing pages to encourage and accelerate ADP benefit enrollment.  This resource page has on-demand webinars, help articles and ways to immediately enroll.