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HCL Sametime

HCL Sametime
Formerly from IBM

Overview

What is HCL Sametime?

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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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

Sametime is widely used for internal communication purposes within organizations, enabling seamless collaboration across different …
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Sametime review

9 out of 10
June 04, 2019
Incentivized
IBM Sametime is being used globally in almost all departments from down to top in our company. We use it as a instant messenger to …
Continue reading
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Popular Features

View all 16 features
  • Directory of employee names (7)
    8.0
    80%
  • Message alerts (6)
    8.0
    80%
  • Mobile app for iOS (8)
    8.0
    80%
  • Mobile app for Android (7)
    8.0
    80%
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Pricing

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N/A
Unavailable

What is HCL Sametime?

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.

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services

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What is 8x8 Work?

8x8 Work is a collaboration hub for phone, video, and messaging. It brings secure unified communication and collaboration experiences to every employee.

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Product Demos

HCL Sametime v12 Demo

YouTube
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Features

Cloud PBX

A cloud PBX system is based on cloud computing technology where data is stored and transferred over the intenet without any need for on-site PBX equipment

8.4
Avg 8.2

Call Management

Customized phone system settings

8
Avg 8.4

VoIP system collaboration

Team collaboration via cloud phone system

8
Avg 8.3

Mobile apps

Apps are compatible with mobile devices.

8
Avg 8.3
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Product Details

What is HCL Sametime?

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.


HCL Sametime is ideal for cross-team chat in countries with strict data privacy and gravity laws, companies in regulated industries, and government entities who need to be able to ensure the security and auditability of their data.  ​ 


HCL Sametime Technical Details

Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationNo

Frequently Asked Questions

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.

Reviewers rate Directory of employee names and Answering rules and Message alerts highest, with a score of 8.

The most common users of HCL Sametime are from Enterprises (1,001+ employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(21)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

Sametime is widely used for internal communication purposes within organizations, enabling seamless collaboration across different departments and locations. It provides a range of features including instant messaging, persistent chat rooms, meetings, and VOIP to address various business needs. Many IBM customers rely on Sametime as their go-to instant messaging platform due to its integration with email and web-based programs. Additionally, its compatibility with telephony systems and availability of free mobile iOS and Android clients make it a versatile choice for users.

One of the main use cases for Sametime is facilitating quick internal team meetings and project discussions. Users appreciate the convenience of being able to connect with colleagues in different offices across regions without the need for constant emails. The platform's integration with IBM Notes allows for easy booking of web meetings and checking availability for chat. Furthermore, its centralized settings and preferences management reduces the learning curve for users.

Another advantage of Sametime is its flexibility in deployment options. Organizations can choose between on-premises, cloud-based, or hybrid setups based on their specific needs. This adaptability enables teams to communicate efficiently regardless of their location or work environment.

Users have found Sametime invaluable in improving productivity, collaboration, and communication within their organizations. For example, savvy users utilize Sametime as a tool for presentations instead of searching through shared drives for files. Salespeople rely on the mobile app to obtain quick responses to time-sensitive questions while on-site with customers. The ability to record meetings and transfer files faster than email further enhances workflow efficiency.

Sametime is widely used as a standard text-based chat tool across organizations, especially for quick questions. Its REST API allows for easy integration of chat functionality into existing web apps. While Sametime is a preferred messaging app within many organizations, it may not be suitable for all teams, leading to competition from other messaging tools like Slack, Google Hangouts, and Skype. Organizations need to evaluate which solution best fits their specific requirements.

Based on user reviews, users recommend Sametime for its basic instant messaging capabilities and easy setup. They find it convenient for quick chats and collaboration, making it a suitable tool for internal team communication. Reviewers appreciate its features for file transfer and texting.

Users suggest using other apps like Microsoft Workspace, Slack, Google Chat, or Hangouts instead of Sametime. They feel that Sametime requires infrastructure, feels outdated compared to other solutions, and lacks updates. Users prefer these alternatives due to their ease of use, additional features, and better integration with video and audio.

Reviewers recommend Sametime for secure communication within companies. They appreciate it as a good software for video conferencing and messaging with most of the required features, such as an AI assistant, backup, video conferences, and multichats. However, some users mention slow service, frustrating attachment loading and transferring, and suggest making Sametime less resource-consuming and more affordable.

Overall, users have mixed opinions about Sametime but commonly recommend it as a basic communication tool while suggesting using other platforms for additional features.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-10 of 10)
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Bhawnish ㅤkumar | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
If you don't require a lot of features and looking for a low price solution this is the best one. It gives a lot of basic features and is suited for small to medium environments. Although troubleshooting is a bit difficult.

An environment without Cisco or any other hardphones is suited for it as you don't require any hardware. You can go for cloud-based solution and save a lot of money.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized

Overall, Sametime is a great feature for global teams to communicate, since you can chat quickly and efficiently with Sametime. Also, the file transfer is really fast and it downloads to any folder you choose. The chat history is easy to use and it is easy to find keywords.

The feature of creating "emoticons" sometimes can jeopardize the team's efficiency.

June 04, 2019

Sametime review

Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Sametime is good at day to day communication. It’s fast, simple and easy to use, especially good for text or even screen capture communications. However, it does not support attachments. If we need to discuss file content with other parties, we can either capture a screen or send the attachment via email which is not very efficient, especially during a crisis.
Score 6 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
If you are looking to chat with other team members that also use IBM Sametime, share files and create team chat rooms then Sametime will work great for you. If you are looking to integrate tools from other products or use the video chat feature, then there are other chat apps that are much better suited for this.
Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
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.
Score 5 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
IBM Sametime is your basic instant messaging tool, it works well if you need to message people across the organization. My biggest pet peeve is that you are unable to send someone a message if they are offline which is really annoying. Sometimes people "sign-off" when they walk away from your computer, so they would see your message when they get back, but you can't even send them a message. This, along with the fact that IBM's UI looks very dated and is confusing, is actually why our company is in the midst of moving away from Sametime.
Chris Whisonant | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
ResellerIncentivized
Sometimes it may be overkill for small companies, however the IBM Cloud option definitely makes up for this. I wouldn't necessarily recommend that Sametime be used to fully replace or become the primary VOIP installation, however it is well-suited for being able to provide a quick and reliable way to reach out to others from IM and then take that from a text-only conversation to either a voice/video call or a full-blown meeting with additional people.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
IBM Sametime is extremely well suited in an environment where IBM Notes is used for collaboration, since this is what it was designed for. IBM Sametime is also designed to scale well to handle thousands of users (or more), so it is suitable for large to very large deployments.

IBM Sametime would probably not be well suited for environments smaller than, say, 500 users. This is primarily due to the high cost of consulting to get the environment installed and kept up to date. However, organizations that size are probably looking at cloud services anyway.
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