HCL Sametime vs. Webex App

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

It can be useful for organizations which uses hybrid and work from home model. By using this application we can seamlessly connect with each and every person in the organization. Used to conduct meetings about progress of project and can be able to present our data to others by screensharing option.

Incentivized

• 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

• The online meeting within the internal team using Webex App is always a good experience as it helps well in sharing screen, and any content for that matter.
• It helps in arranging online interviews and it is also very good experience using the web version of Webex App.
• It also helps in arranging online training sessions and webinars which generally involve huge number of participants generally over 200+ participants and Webex App handles it very well.

Incentivized

• 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

• Compared to zoom, I think the user experience is not as good.
• I am not familiar with more detailed options; maybe they are too hidden: how do I integrate Slido better?
• Not a fan of a mobile app. Maybe needs some improvement.

Incentivized

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

While Webex has strong adoption on the administrative side, the LTI tool for Webex is lacking some important support for teaching and learning. Therefore, faculty do not see much value in Webex and prefer to use other tools that are easier to access and more likely to benefit their students within the LMS. Webex has not been the easiest to work with for identifying pedagogical roadmap improvements, especially compared to competitors who work closely in the education space

Incentivized

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

Webex is quite usable, and it is, in fact very easy to use as well. You don't need a lot of documentation to learn how to use the app as it's mostly self-explanatory. The user interface is easy on the eyes, and people can see buttons without issues. Overall, WebEx's front-end design is great and I don't have much issue with it.

Incentivized

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

I would say every time I open it, it is there, there are times that our users have to sign out and back in to get it to work or even do a full exit as the app will disconnect from the controlling the desk phone, but some easy steps to sign-out or fully exit the app gets the user back up and running quickly.

Incentivized

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

On standalone it works fine, it used to consume a considerable amount of system resources in the past, but with updates and upgrades, this has improved quite a lot. As far as integrations with other systems, we have not come across any critical issues with the app.

Incentivized

I have not needed to use the Sametime support team. Our local support team was able to configure it for me.

Incentivized

Talking about Webex App technical support is talking about the quality because they are always attentive and willing to attend to our needs, and the response is immediate; every time we have needed help to solve a problem or find out a function, they have not responded quickly, Cisco has always been characterized by being efficient and deserving 10 points.

Incentivized

I am very satisfied with my experience with Webex App in online training. The creation of the event is very easy with the possibility of scheduling it in advance. The management of participants, organizers, and animators is complete. The invitations are automated and by simply using emails we can create all the schedules of the training session

I would rate the online training 8/10. It provided clear and well-structured content, making it easy to understand the core features of Webex. However, I believe it could have been more interactive, with practical exercises or real-life scenarios to enhance user engagement. More advanced topics or troubleshooting guides could also be helpful for deeper learning.

Incentivized

There was quite a bit of back and forth with TAC and Cisco Reps to get it fully up and running but we did get there. Some of which had to do with documentation was not fully understandable. But with Cisco TAC we were able to get fully up and running.

Incentivized

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

Microsoft Teams, while being built for more file sharing, completely misses the mark. I prefer Webex App which focuses on being a great chat tool, rather than trying to become something it is not. Slack is preferred over Webex App, but just barely, and it is only because Slack has a slightly more intuitive group discussion function.

Incentivized

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

Once everything is in place on the back end getting Webex on a user's PC is now very easy and with single sign-on, users are able to sign in without having to remember another password. Just make sure you have all the user settings in CUCM, CUC set right, and that they have the needed licenses in Webex Control Hub.

Incentivized

• 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

• Comfort in switching multiple OS platforms, when there is similar UI design.
• HD video quality and HD screen share, make up presentations look more professional and standardized.
• Less call/meeting drops as seen in other platforms applications.
• Builds a level of trust, when we connect on Cisco's application platform with customers who are having their whole communication infrastructure shifted to Cisco Webex App.

Incentivized