HCL Domino vs HCL Notes vs Microsoft Exchange comparison

The compared HCL Domino and HCL Notes solutions aren't in the same category. HCL Domino is ranked #19 in RADS , with an average rating of 7.8, and holds a 0.5% mindshare in the category. HCL Notes is ranked #9 in EA , with an average rating of 7.0, and holds a 3.3% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of HCL Domino users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 82% of HCL Notes users who would recommend it.

HCL Domino

Read 21 HCL Domino reviews

896 Views
382 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

HCL Notes

Read 16 HCL Notes reviews

1,371 Views
828 Comparison Views

82% willing to recommend

Microsoft Exchange

Read 91 Microsoft Exchange reviews

3,291 Views
2,842 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

HCL Domino

HCL Notes

Microsoft Exchange

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between HCL Domino, HCL Notes, and Microsoft Exchange based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

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Email Applications

Featured Reviews

FrederickLim

Technical Service Manager at Top Level Corporation Limited

Provides mobile email systems with solid stability and easy deployment

The initial setup is easy. You need to sign up. It depends on the scope. It will take longer if there are more than one or more applications. The project usually includes infrastructure and deployment may take anywhere from one month to six months. I rate the initial setup an eight out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy.

Read full review

Chiheb Charmiti

IS Manager & Consultant HCL Domino at JACOB & ASSOCIATES

Accessible from any device, good support, and works very well for emails, document sharing, and workflows

What I like about this solution is that you can use it for mailing, as a client for email, and you can also use it for workflows. So, you can easily develop applications. Even people who haven't got great IT skills can develop some basic applications to use in the company, especially a workflow application. So, it is for mailing and for applications, which is a great thing about HCL Notes. It is very good for managing and sharing documents on the network or inside the company. It works very well for sharing documents. It is one of the best products in the world for workflow applications. It works very well for workflows or decisional processes where a task needs to be first approved by someone. After that, the task moves to the next or final stage where another person approves it with some notes or attached documents. People who are on the move outside the company but need to interact with the database of the company can do some tasks in the HCL Notes application offline. When they have connectivity, the information is updated or replicated in real-time. They can install the application on different devices. They can use it on mobile phones or iPad.

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Hesham Hussain

Head Of Infrastructure at ValU

A good solution for large enterprises, but is expensive when compared to other solutions

Regarding the decision of increasing the number of users, it depends on the organization's choice, whether to opt for CapEx or OpEx. Both options involve expenses over the years. Building an in-house Exchange solution requires investing in hardware, storage, connectivity, and administrative resources. Office 365 shifts the budget solely to OpEx as a subscription service. Scalability is another factor. Starting a new company favors Office 365 due to cost efficiency. As the organization grows, the choice depends on available resources and technical expertise. An internal Exchange setup is feasible with skilled engineers, while Office 365 suits those lacking in-house resources.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We can scale it if we want to."

"The email system is the most valuable feature."

"HCL Domino is the best product from a security point of view."

"The most important benefit is security. The security architecture is very good. It's the best part of the solution."

"The pricing is excellent."

"I find the HCL Domino server scalable."

"HCL Domino is an application development and collaboration platform with strong stability and security. Deployment of this platform is easy and takes only 10 minutes."

"The DAOS feature is the most valuable. It helps to save some of my storage."

More HCL Domino pros

"Notes is a perfectly adequate front end. It's clear and straightforward."

"The most valuable feature is the UI."

"The product is very stable and scalable."

"The initial setup was easy for me."

"Its security is absolutely stratospheric. In an application, you can lock down to field-level security. For example, I could log in and see a field in an HR database with salaries. When you log in, you see exactly the same database, but the field with the salary just isn't there. So, you can literally have field-level security on it, and you can also have secure encryption. For example, I could give you that database allowing you to see the salary, but a calculation that shows how much they get per month in another field is encrypted. So, you won't be able to see that because you don't have the encryption key. You can implement high-level security very simply."

"The most valuable feature is the access that it provides to documents. This offers us an easy way to make changes."

"HCL Notes has fantastic built-in security. The email and personal communication components are excellent, but they are some applications provided by HCL that Notes previously provided when it was under IBM and Lotus. Everyone wants email, so that's just part of the product. However, more savvy users can build their own solutions for managing information, and that's the great thing about it."

"HCL Notes is stable most of the time."

More HCL Notes pros

"All of Exchange's features are valuable. For example, we can configure the MAPI profile, IM profile, or mobile profile."

"It is easy to use and we can allow many users because now our users are scattered They over a wide area. We can use it from anywhere. That is the main benefit for us."

"Support is very good."

"It is user friendly."

"The deployment is a plug-and-play process."

"I find the desktop version of Microsoft Exchange looks better than the online version. You can make it a white background. You might be able to make the online background white, but I have no idea how to do that. I know how to do it only on the desktop version"

"It's so much of a part of what I do every day that I don't give it a lot of thought. It just works, for the most part, until it doesn't, in which case I call tech support."

"Microsoft Exchange is a powerful solution. It can easily integrate with Active Directory and other business applications. It does not require any training, it is flexible and simple to use. When comparing Microsoft Exchange to other solutions, such as Lotus Note, it is more straightforward for business."

More Microsoft Exchange pros

Cons

"They should provide its integration with other AI applications."

"Designing a new template could provide a refreshed visual experience for users without significant changes to the underlying functionality."

"Many people are not very happy with its speed."

"Recently, IBM sold the product to HCL. Since Pakistan and India have some problems on a domestic level, we were actually considering replacing it with Indian products from the organization. We're just facing some regulatory issues."

"Scalability is also an issue. We have problems with large databases."

"Its performance and integration could be better. It has capabilities for large deployment with several servers, but in the latest interface, running with different servers isn't supported."

"The product's user interface is one of its shortcomings since it is outdated, making it an area for improvement."

"From the Domino side, it should support DKIM and DMARC."

More HCL Domino cons

"The interface could be more user-friendly. Some additional trainings could be added as well."

"The solution could improve by adding some more features."

"There is a chat component but it does not work properly."

"The only improvement that we're planning to do is that all our applications are still designed in the layout and format of Notes version 4, and our plan over the coming years is to modernize their look. One of the things they're developing or considering deploying is a program to automatically upgrade the look and feel of databases. If they deploy that, that will be revolutionary. In other words, we decide on a corporate look and feel for our database and press a button. We've probably got 50 different applications in Notes, and it would just go through the whole lot and upgrade all of them to look the same."

"GUI and replication can be improved."

"I would like to HCL update Notes' development tool and make it more attractive like Microsoft Visual Studio and similar products. For example, there's a programming language that I used for my product Woodpecker called LotusScript. LotusScript has been available since around 1995. When LotusScript was released, it was like the original Visual Basic, but it has improved since then."

"We had trouble connecting this solution to the database from Microsoft. We have done it, although it can be easier."

"While HCL has made significant advances in the user interface and diverse platform compatibility, some improvements could be made in user-friendliness and graphical interface enhancements."

More HCL Notes cons

"The support needs to be more knowledgeable."

"The setup is difficult so could be easier."

"We are not able to use Microsoft Teams due to connection issues. Thus, the product integration with Teams could be improved."

"There is a problem when scheduling an event for the whole day."

"Microsoft Exchange's customer support could be faster and more knowledgeable."

"In terms of probability, every now and then there are changes coming and going. The changes are not that frequent because every month they got updates back, so that is an issue."

"For the next release, there are some features on the cloud-based Exchange that aren't included on-prem. It would be great if these features were made available in the next release. For instance, integration between Exchange and its on-prem calendar is not available for the on-prem solution."

"The only thing that could be improved is the pricing."

More Microsoft Exchange cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We chose to pay for our licensing fees annually."

"The pricing is subjective and contingent on the intended usage."

"It is less expensive compared to other vendors."

"Price is reasonable compared to the other solutions."

"We're happy with the price of our license — it's pretty standard."

"HCL Domino has reasonable pricing. It's not expensive."

"For 30 licenses, we pay $1,500 every year. It is not an expensive product."

"HCL Domino is costly, but it still depends on how your organization views it price-wise."

More HCL Domino pricing and cost advice

"The price is reasonable."

"I don't remember how much we paid when we first bought the Domino license, but now, we pay only for the passport. For 30 client licenses, we pay about $1,500 per year, and we don't consider it very expensive for the quality of the product. In our case, we need 30 client licenses. So, we buy 30 client licenses independently of the server. It is very easy for us to choose and maintain this kind of license and get the passport advantage."

"The solution is expensive. There are many components or features which make the price very high."

"We pay annually for the use of the solution."

"We pay licensing fees on a yearly basis."

"It is far cheaper to license. It is a third of the cost of our Microsoft license for 10 times the amount of usage. Developing applications cost a fraction of anything else. There are two reasons for that. First of all, applications are very fast to build. All the security is already built into the platform, so you don't have to worry about security at all. The other thing is that because fewer people use it than, for example, Microsoft SharePoint, the salary commanded by programmers is slightly lower. So, it is not only faster; you also get cheaper programmers. So, you really win-win-win on it."

"It was reasonably priced, but the product itself was not worth the cost."

"We are currently using enterprise licenses for the solution. They are different pricing models available. There are individual, cloud-based, and enterprise licenses all with different pricing models. The larger the number of users, the lesser the price. For small to medium companies like us, we feel it is expensive."

"Licensing costs for Microsoft Exchange have increased, but are still fair. For some users, the cost is high considering the number of functions and features they will use."

"The price of Microsoft Exchange could improve. In Egypt, the price keeps increasing."

"Its price is okay."

"I have Outlook 365 Professional, and Exchange comes in the bundle with other solutions, such as Word and OneDrive. I pay for the use of the bundle monthly and I can imagine if you are a company with many licenses the pricing model would be a lot different."

"It's a little bit expensive."

"I rate Microsoft Exchange a four out of ten for pricing because it is quite cheap, and many companies use the solution."

"Microsoft Exchange is an inexpensive application."

More Microsoft Exchange pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

Construction Company

Government

14%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Computer Software Company

14%

Government

11%

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about HCL Domino?

The most valuable features of the solution are security and integration.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HCL Domino?

The Notes client is very expensive, costing around $105 per client. Overall, HCL Domino is a costly product.

See all answers

What needs improvement with HCL Domino?

The speed of the Notes client is an area that could be improved. Many people are not very happy with its speed. Addit...

See all answers

What do you like most about HCL Notes?

The security and performance of the solution are good even though our platform is variable, except for the mail servi...

See all answers

What needs improvement with HCL Notes?

While HCL has made significant advances in the user interface and diverse platform compatibility, some improvements c...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for HCL Notes?

I am a technician and software developer with a unique product called NotesTracker, a software product for users of H...

See all answers

How does Zimbra Collaboration compare with Microsoft Exchange?

Zimbra is a free, open source collaborative software suite. The features I like best are the ease of integration and ...

See all answers

What do you like most about Microsoft Exchange?

The initial setup was straightforward and fast.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Exchange?

The licensing and pricing are quite costly, which can demotivate customers from opting for features and upgrades. How...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 10% of the time

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Compared 9% of the time

Zimbra Collaboration vs HCL Domino

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Power Apps vs HCL Domino

Compared 8% of the time

ServiceNow vs HCL Domino

Compared 5% of the time

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HCL Verse vs HCL Notes

Compared 27% of the time

Google Workspace vs HCL Notes

Compared 11% of the time

Zimbra Collaboration vs HCL Notes

Compared 7% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs HCL Notes

Compared 4% of the time

IceWarp vs HCL Notes

Compared 4% of the time

More HCL Notes Competitors

Zimbra Collaboration vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 20% of the time

KerioConnect vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 18% of the time

Open-Xchange vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 13% of the time

IceWarp vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 6% of the time

Google Workspace vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 5% of the time

More Microsoft Exchange Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

HCL Domino

April 2025

Download HCL Domino product report

Buyer's Guide

HCL Notes

April 2025

Download HCL Notes product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Exchange

April 2025

Download Microsoft Exchange product report

Also Known As

IBM Lotus Domino, Lotus Domino

IBM Lotus Notes, Lotus Notes

Exchange, MS Exchange

Overview

HCL Domino (formerly IBM Domino) is a secure, enterprise-grade, application development platform. From IT to business, HCL Domino is the only low to pro-code application development platform that allows your business to build robust applications to solve workflow and process challenges fast. HCL Domino powers businesses around the world with 15,000 customers and 10 million apps built on our platform. HCL Domino has always been a secure, rock-solid, and proven solution.

Low cost of ownership - minimizing administration needs through automated installations, policies and monitoring helps staff focus on higher value tasks.
Minimized infrastructure - reducing costs by using less power, memory, data storage, network bandwidth and servers.
Rich application environment - supporting workflow-driven and people-oriented applications that help a wide variety of business operations deliver enhanced results.
Security-rich - helping protect your critical business assets. You can control information access, protect information and guarantee document authenticity.
High availability - featuring advanced clustering, replication, server fault recovery and automated diagnostic tools.

HCLSoftware

HCL Notes is a secure on-premises email client that allows teams access to email, calendar, and contact management capabilities. The solution integrates other collaboration tools seamlessly along with HCL Domino business applications, into a single workspace. HCL Notes is most commonly used in corporate environments for email, but can also be used to create websites, custom applications and business workflows, discussion groups, and document libraries. In addition, the solution enhances user experiences, helps internal teams collaborate with internal and external stakeholders, and streamline communication management operations.

HCL Notes is available for Windows, Apple iOS, and Android.

HCL Notes Features

HCL Notes has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

Instant Messaging with HCL Sametime.
Unified Inbox: This HCL Notes feature helps you consolidate multiple email accounts into one viewable platform.
Filters: The HCL Notes filters allow users to filter their emails by sender, date received, opened/unopened, and more.
Reminders: With the reminders feature, users are prompted with reminders to send or reply to emails.
Notifications: HCL Notes notifications feature pings users, notifying them when they receive new emails.
Task Management: HCL Notes has built-in task creation and assignment functionality.
Reporting & Statistics.

HCL Notes Benefits

Some of the benefits of using HCL Notes include:

Mobility and accessibility: HCL Notes provides users with access to their mail and calendar wherever and whenever they are doing work.

Easy integration: With HCL Notes, you can interact with files directly from your email messages — preview, download, follow, comment, or share them with your team.

Better access capabilities: HCL Notes makes it possible for you to access profiles, roles, skill sets, and areas of responsibility for all your contacts. It also allows you to view related blogs and collaboration histories of shared work.

Reviews from Real Users

Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by HCL Notes users.

An Administration & Technical Director at a tech services company says, "Its security is absolutely stratospheric. In an application, you can lock down to field-level security. For example, I could log in and see a field in an HR database with salaries. When you log in, you see exactly the same database, but the field with the salary just isn't there. So, you can literally have field-level security on it, and you can also have secure encryption. For example, I could give you that database allowing you to see the salary, but a calculation that shows how much they get per month in another field is encrypted. So, you won't be able to see that because you don't have the encryption key. You can implement high-level security very simply."

PeerSpot user Bogdan C., Kierownik Biura Informatyki at an insurance company, mentions, “The most valuable feature is the access that it provides to documents. This offers us an easy way to make changes.”

Marcos S., Diretor at MASTERDOM, comments, “The solution is practical, good interface, and performs well. The usability of the old applications to the new version of the client is very good. The migration is very good for some legacy applications.”

HCLSoftware

Built to deliver the enterprise-grade security and reliability that businesses require, Microsoft Exchange provides email, calendar and contacts on your PC, phone and web browser.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

A1 Telekom, Acubiz, Afrisam, E. A. Juffali & Brothers, Fiducia & GAD, and Pakistan State Oil

Connect2Cloud, Hansgrohe, Sauk County, Blue Water Shipping, FDBR, ibml, Multivac, Aarhus University Hospital, Hendricks Regional Health, Asian Paints, Integra Legal, Sunplus Technology, S¾SS, The Moroccan Ministry of Youth and Sports, Nicrometal, Doncasters Group, Practice Plan, Barr, RACV, Neotechnik, Deutsche Notes User Group

Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport, Scitec Nutrition, British Airways, InnoGames, Osteology Foundation, Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH, NTC Contracting

Buyer's Guide

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March 2025

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