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Cisco Meeting Server vs HCL Sametime comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 3, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Meeting Server
Ranking in Virtual Meetings
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.9
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
HCL Sametime
Ranking in Virtual Meetings
19th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Virtual Meetings category, the mindshare of Cisco Meeting Server is 7.9%, up from 7.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HCL Sametime is 0.3%, down from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Meetings
 

Featured Reviews

Ahmed Elrayes - PeerSpot reviewer
A scalable tool useful to hold conferences and video meetings
I use Cisco Meeting Server for conferences and video meetings, which are crucial for my company The share screen option available during conferences is one of the best features of Cisco Meeting Server. In Cisco Meeting Server, GUI is an area of concern where improvements are required. In the…
Bogdan Chechlowski - PeerSpot reviewer
Stable product, communicate very fast and allows to see who's online in the office or work environment
It was used for communication through text messages, primarily Being able to see who was online and communicate very fast was a good feature.  The security was quite good. However, when we tried to implement it for email at a high level, we had to use another solution, FortiMail Gateway. I view…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The share screen option available during conferences is one of the best features of Cisco Meeting Server."
"What I like most about Cisco Meeting Server is its quick management. The solution also has a straightforward configuration."
"The UI is user-friendly and very good overall."
"Cisco Meeting Server is an easy and less complex solution."
"You can use the Cisco Meeting Server to set up conference calls and virtual meetings. Those are the two primary functions of Meeting Server. Most people in the company are using Microsoft Teams, so we only use Meeting Server when we have an internal meeting for all staff."
"The security was quite good."
"I can view the status and availability of colleagues or team members, which makes it easy to approach them when they are available."
 

Cons

"In Cisco Meeting Server, GUI is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"A few features are missing on the Meetings app, like a recording function. My understanding is that you need to buy a separate recording solution. It's modular, so you have to enable some functions if you want to use them. For example, we had to enable the Mood function. Recording is the primary feature we'd like to see in the app."
"What would make Cisco Meeting Server better is integrating it with Zoom and Teams so that you can connect or make a call through any of the two third-party solutions."
"Cisco Meeting Server should include a feature to control another user's screen during a remote session."
"This is a difficult solution to install and it should be made easier."
"The webinar should be integrated into Sametime for a larger number of participants."
"It lacks some features compared to modern solutions. For example, it doesn't allow sending screenshots or other files."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing fees are billed yearly."
"Price-wise, Cisco Meeting Server is a product that falls in a mid-range category."
"Cisco Meeting Server has reasonable licensing costs."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
26%
Government
14%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco Meeting Server?
Cisco Meeting Server is an easy and less complex solution.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Meeting Server?
Price-wise, Cisco Meeting Server is a product that falls in a mid-range category.
What needs improvement with Cisco Meeting Server?
Cisco Meeting Server should include a feature to control another user's screen during a remote session.
What needs improvement with HCL Sametime?
I view it as part of HCL Notes and Domino, and my opinion is similar to those products. It lacks some features compared to modern solutions. For example, it doesn't allow sending screenshots or oth...
What is your primary use case for HCL Sametime?
It was used for communication through text messages, primarily.
What advice do you have for others considering HCL Sametime?
Overall, it was quite good. I would rate it an eight out of ten. It's a better product than some others from HCL, but overall, I wouldn't recommend it, given the availability of superior alternatives.
 

Also Known As

Acano
Lotus Sametime, IBM Lotus Sametime
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Starz
Connect2Cloud, Superior Group, Daifuku Co. Ltd., Seaward, The City of Fort Worth, Christian Brothers Services, Berlitz, Deutsche Notes User Group, Danske Fysioterapeuter, Slumberland, La Vacanza, Rheinmetall AG
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Meeting Server vs. HCL Sametime and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
846,617 professionals have used our research since 2012.