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

    Vonage Business Communications

    Score8.7 out of 10
    N/AVonage Business Cloud is a communication solution aimed at small-midsize companies. It integrates with third party applications, and includes IP-PBX capabilities, video conferencing, and collaboration tools. Pricing starts at $19.99 per month and increases with the amount of phone lines needed.

    $19

    per month per extension

    Pricing
    HCL SametimeVonage Business Communications
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Mobile
    $19.99
    per month per extension
    Premium
    $29.99
    per month per extension
    Advanced
    $39.99
    per month per extension
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    HCL SametimeVonage Business Communications
    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 SametimeVonage Business Communications
    Considered Both Products
    HCLSoftware
    No answer on this topic
    Vonage
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    86%
    Would buy again
    18 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    89%
    Delivers good value for the price
    17 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    95%
    Happy with the feature set
    20 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    79%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    11 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    85%
    Implementation went as expected
    11 Answers
    Features
    HCL SametimeVonage Business Communications
    Cloud PBX
    Comparison of Cloud PBX features of HCL Sametime and Vonage Business Communications
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    8.4
    7 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Vonage Business Communications
    9.7
    11 Ratings
    14% above category average
    Hosted PBX9.02 Ratings9.78 Ratings
    Multi-level Interactive Voice Response (IVR)9.02 Ratings10.09 Ratings
    User templates8.02 Ratings00 Ratings
    Call reports8.02 Ratings00 Ratings
    Directory of employee names8.07 Ratings9.711 Ratings
    Call Management
    Comparison of Call Management features of HCL Sametime and Vonage Business Communications
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    8.0
    8 Ratings
    3% below category average
    Vonage Business Communications
    9.4
    12 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Answering rules8.05 Ratings9.912 Ratings
    Call recording8.02 Ratings9.29 Ratings
    Call park8.01 Ratings9.710 Ratings
    Call screening8.02 Ratings9.910 Ratings
    Message alerts8.06 Ratings8.812 Ratings
    Business SMS/External Messaging00 Ratings9.17 Ratings
    Online Fax00 Ratings8.64 Ratings
    Voicemail Transcription00 Ratings10.06 Ratings
    VoIP system collaboration
    Comparison of VoIP system collaboration features of HCL Sametime and Vonage Business Communications
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    8.0
    6 Ratings
    1% above category average
    Vonage Business Communications
    -
    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 Vonage Business Communications
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    8.0
    8 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Vonage Business Communications
    9.8
    12 Ratings
    10% above category average
    Mobile app for iOS8.08 Ratings9.912 Ratings
    Mobile app for Android8.07 Ratings9.69 Ratings
    Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software
    Comparison of Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software features of HCL Sametime and Vonage Business Communications
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    -
    Ratings
    Vonage Business Communications
    9.8
    7 Ratings
    15% above category average
    High quality audio00 Ratings9.97 Ratings
    High quality video00 Ratings9.74 Ratings
    Screen Sharing
    Comparison of Screen Sharing features of HCL Sametime and Vonage Business Communications
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    -
    Ratings
    Vonage Business Communications
    9.6
    4 Ratings
    12% above category average
    Desktop sharing00 Ratings9.64 Ratings
    Online Meetings / Events
    Comparison of Online Meetings / Events features of HCL Sametime and Vonage Business Communications
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    -
    Ratings
    Vonage Business Communications
    9.8
    6 Ratings
    14% above category average
    Calendar integration00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    Meeting initiation00 Ratings9.95 Ratings
    Record meetings / events00 Ratings9.45 Ratings
    Online Events Collaboration
    Comparison of Online Events Collaboration features of HCL Sametime and Vonage Business Communications
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    -
    Ratings
    Vonage Business Communications
    10.0
    3 Ratings
    19% above category average
    Live chat00 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    Online Events Security
    Comparison of Online Events Security features of HCL Sametime and Vonage Business Communications
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    -
    Ratings
    Vonage Business Communications
    9.7
    4 Ratings
    20% above category average
    User authentication00 Ratings9.74 Ratings
    Participant roles & permissions00 Ratings9.74 Ratings
    Unified Communications Platform and Collaboration
    Comparison of Unified Communications Platform and Collaboration features of HCL Sametime and Vonage Business Communications
    Feature
    HCL Sametime
    -
    Ratings
    Vonage Business Communications
    9.7
    6 Ratings
    13% above category average
    Centralized communications management00 Ratings9.66 Ratings
    Team messaging00 Ratings9.96 Ratings
    Team document sharing00 Ratings9.44 Ratings
    Call and meeting analytics00 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    HCL SametimeVonage Business Communications
    Small Businesses
    CallFire
    Score9.7 out of 10
    Broadvoice | GoContact
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Fuze
    Score8.2 out of 10
    8x8 Work
    Score8.7 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
    Score8.3 out of 10
    Webex Calling
    Score8.8 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    HCL SametimeVonage Business Communications
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.0
    (10 ratings)
    9.7
    (29 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    5.0
    (2 ratings)
    Usability
    8.6
    (2 ratings)
    9.9
    (6 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.3
    (4 ratings)
    1.0
    (11 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    HCL SametimeVonage Business Communications
    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
    Vonage
    Vonage Business Communications excels in scenarios requiring seamless remote work, such as virtual teams and remote workers. It's also ideal for businesses needing reliable disaster recovery solutions. However, it may be less appropriate for very small businesses with minimal communication needs or those with limited budgets, as the comprehensive features might be more than necessary.
    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
    Vonage
    • Eliminates physical phone consoles that can be pricey and unnecessary for staff.
    • Has a companion app that allows you to use your personal cell phone to check messages or make calls.
    • The desktop application is easy to use and has a number of customizable settings so that the app can be minimized but alert you of incoming calls.
    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
    Vonage
    • The extension can only have three devices which is difficult if you work in multiple locations. Your cell phone is one of the three, so you really only get two. I have three office locations that I work out of and it would be nice to have my extension at each.
    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
    Vonage
    I think it will be renewed as overall it is a midrange product that mostly does what we need it to
    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
    Vonage
    I thought it had very practical and useful usability. It has a clean and simple interface with large fonts that make it easy to read. It isn't particularly difficult, although figuring out some operations may be a bit challenging. For the most part though, it isn't very difficult to use
    Incentivized
    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
    Vonage
    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
    Read full review
    Vonage
    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
    Read full review
    Vonage
    We hardly have any issues with it to where we need to call them. There was a point where our connections across the board were terrible and it held us up in production quite a bit but since then things have been pretty simple and streamlined.
    Incentivized
    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
    Vonage
    We believe Vonage Business Cloud is best for our organization over the AT&T and the Verizon platforms for several reasons including price, ease of use, connectivity, and other options. Since we have implemented this solution along with newer Polycom phones, we have had very few issues with our phones or our phone platform.
    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
    Vonage
    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
    Vonage
    • Cut down phone hardware expense since the soft phone is free and easier to use.
    • Text is becoming a more important and effective way to reach clients. Some will not answer a call or accept voicemail but respond quickly to text messages.
    • Allows me to work from anywhere with smart phone app saving hours at work.
    Read full review
    ScreenShots