Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
HCL Sametime
Score 7.5 out of 10
N/A
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.N/A
Webex Calling
Score 8.4 out of 10
N/A
Webex Calling is Cisco’s flagship cloud calling solution with over 12 million users worldwide. It delivers an enterprise-grade calling experience that enables customers to replace PBX hardware with a cloud calling solution. Webex Calling's connectivity and collaboration experience includes calling, meetings, messaging, contact center, and integrated devices.
$11.95
per month per user
Pricing
HCL SametimeWebex Calling
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Basic Plan
$0.00
user/month
Cisco Unified Communications Manager
$0
Call Plan
$17.00
user/month
Call + Meet Plan
$25.00
user/month
Enterprise Plan
Contact Sales
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
HCL SametimeWebex Calling
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
HCL SametimeWebex Calling
Considered Both Products
HCL Sametime
Chose HCL Sametime
Cisco Jabber and Teams are the competitors for HCL Sametime but the thing that makes Sametime better is the cost. Cisco and Microsoft are big players and have [higher license cost than] HCL Sametime has.

For a small and medium size companies HCL can be a recommended if they want …
Chose HCL Sametime
Sametime is very similar to the other chats I have used, with some better features, such as the screenshot feature and file sharing, which demonstrates to be faster than the others.
Webex Calling

No answer on this topic

Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
HCL SametimeWebex Calling
Cloud PBX
Comparison of Cloud PBX features of Product A and Product B
HCL Sametime
8.4
7 Ratings
2% above category average
Webex Calling
8.1
143 Ratings
0% below category average
Hosted PBX9.02 Ratings8.1106 Ratings
Multi-level Interactive Voice Response (IVR)9.02 Ratings7.9107 Ratings
User templates8.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Call reports8.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Directory of employee names8.07 Ratings8.5135 Ratings
Call Management
Comparison of Call Management features of Product A and Product B
HCL Sametime
8.0
8 Ratings
5% below category average
Webex Calling
7.6
148 Ratings
8% below category average
Answering rules8.05 Ratings8.4132 Ratings
Call recording8.02 Ratings8.6126 Ratings
Call park8.01 Ratings8.5120 Ratings
Call screening8.02 Ratings8.3115 Ratings
Message alerts8.06 Ratings8.4128 Ratings
Online Fax00 Ratings4.51 Ratings
Voicemail Transcription00 Ratings6.42 Ratings
VoIP system collaboration
Comparison of VoIP system collaboration features of Product A and Product B
HCL Sametime
8.0
6 Ratings
3% below category average
Webex Calling
-
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 Product A and Product B
HCL Sametime
8.0
8 Ratings
4% below category average
Webex Calling
8.4
143 Ratings
2% below category average
Mobile app for iOS8.08 Ratings8.2127 Ratings
Mobile app for Android8.07 Ratings8.6115 Ratings
Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software
Comparison of Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software features of Product A and Product B
HCL Sametime
-
Ratings
Webex Calling
8.0
4 Ratings
1% below category average
High quality audio00 Ratings8.04 Ratings
High quality video00 Ratings8.04 Ratings
Screen Sharing
Comparison of Screen Sharing features of Product A and Product B
HCL Sametime
-
Ratings
Webex Calling
8.2
4 Ratings
2% above category average
Desktop sharing00 Ratings8.24 Ratings
Online Meetings / Events
Comparison of Online Meetings / Events features of Product A and Product B
HCL Sametime
-
Ratings
Webex Calling
7.6
4 Ratings
5% below category average
Calendar integration00 Ratings8.04 Ratings
Meeting initiation00 Ratings6.64 Ratings
Record meetings / events00 Ratings8.24 Ratings
Online Events Collaboration
Comparison of Online Events Collaboration features of Product A and Product B
HCL Sametime
-
Ratings
Webex Calling
8.2
2 Ratings
7% above category average
Live chat00 Ratings8.22 Ratings
Online Events Security
Comparison of Online Events Security features of Product A and Product B
HCL Sametime
-
Ratings
Webex Calling
8.0
3 Ratings
6% above category average
User authentication00 Ratings7.93 Ratings
Participant roles & permissions00 Ratings8.23 Ratings
Unified Communications Platform and Collaboration
Comparison of Unified Communications Platform and Collaboration features of Product A and Product B
HCL Sametime
-
Ratings
Webex Calling
7.0
4 Ratings
6% below category average
Centralized communications management00 Ratings7.74 Ratings
Team messaging00 Ratings6.84 Ratings
Team document sharing00 Ratings6.44 Ratings
Call and meeting analytics00 Ratings7.34 Ratings
Best Alternatives
HCL SametimeWebex Calling
Small Businesses
CloudTalk
CloudTalk
Score 9.5 out of 10
Nextiva Business Phone Service
Nextiva Business Phone Service
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
CloudTalk
CloudTalk
Score 9.5 out of 10
Nextiva Business Phone Service
Nextiva Business Phone Service
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued)
Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued)
Score 9.1 out of 10
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Call Manager)
Score 8.6 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
HCL SametimeWebex Calling
Likelihood to Recommend
7.0
(10 ratings)
7.9
(161 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.8
(2 ratings)
Usability
8.6
(2 ratings)
9.2
(4 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.3
(4 ratings)
8.7
(3 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
HCL SametimeWebex Calling
Likelihood to Recommend
HCL Technologies
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.
Read full review
Cisco
I just deploy WebEx calling for one customer a few months ago and yes there was using an old infrastructure OnPrem on-premise. They have migrated to WebEx calling and they're very happy with this solution because they have some new features that they don't have with their old infrastructure. Now they have some new features even if they don't really pay for it, they have it and they are very happy. For example, they don't own a Cisco Unity server and now it's WebEx calling. They have the SVI function, they have the voicemail function and even if they don't have in mind to merge to WebEx calling in order to have these features, they have these features and they're happy to discover it and now they're using it. So it's very a good experience.
Read full review
Pros
HCL Technologies
  • 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.
Read full review
Cisco
  • In addition, Webex Calling makes it simple to add people and manage teams.
  • It also seamlessly integrates with a variety of other applications, making it a versatile choice.
  • Furthermore, it boasts good audio and video quality, making it ideal for conducting meetings and remote communications.
Read full review
Cons
HCL Technologies
  • 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
Read full review
Cisco
  • It might be that we didn't have this package, but transcription capabilities were not included.
  • Sometimes, using Webex Calling would make my computer and other programs run slow
  • If screens were being shared, it required a lot of bandwidth and sometimes froze or glitched.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
HCL Technologies
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.
Read full review
Cisco
because have been using it and its easy to configure and manage
Read full review
Usability
HCL Technologies
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.
Read full review
Cisco
It is a very easy product to deploy and configure and to really take advantage of. It does not matter if you are using it in an office or your home, or for a security office or a collaboration meeting room - you have the right endpoint available for each case and the configuration parameters to improve the functionality you need.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
HCL Technologies
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.
Read full review
Cisco
No answers on this topic
Performance
HCL Technologies
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
Read full review
Cisco
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
HCL Technologies
I have not needed to use the Sametime support team. Our local support team was able to configure it for me.
Read full review
Cisco
I have been working for a long time with Cisco as a provider and also Cisco TAC and Cisco Support Engineers. The support starts right beforehand in the documentation of the product you are interested in. From the start you have a good, complete, and detailed and easy to read datasheet and there's always someone available to answer any questions.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
HCL Technologies
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.
Read full review
Cisco
The differences between both software can be marginal in some aspects,
but for the campaign in a proffessional level it was a clear win to
Webex due the quality and security of the platform, being a Cisco
product has more impact on the final decision, and in the end the
overall experience has been great, having used Twilio in the past, that
last part is my personal opinion.
Read full review
Scalability
HCL Technologies
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.
Read full review
Cisco
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
HCL Technologies
  • 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.
Read full review
Cisco
  • I don't make decisions on ROI, but Webex Calling is used quite widely in the organization.
  • The ease of calling definitely makes it easy to coordinate across teams and geographies.
  • Good performance in low bandwidth situations means that employees with lower bandwidths don't necessarily need to upgrade internet speeds to have video calling.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Webex Calling Screenshots

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