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HCL Domino vs Salesforce Platform comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

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

HCL Domino
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
18th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Salesforce Platform
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
92
Ranking in other categories
PaaS Clouds (7th), Mobile Development Platforms (3rd), Low-Code Development Platforms (5th), No-Code Development Platforms (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of HCL Domino is 0.5%, down from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Salesforce Platform is 5.6%, down from 6.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rapid Application Development Software
 

Featured Reviews

Jason Levine - PeerSpot reviewer
A tool that offers great security and integration capabilities
The solution facilitates our company's workflow automation needs since it is a platform that allows users to build whatever workflows they want. The product is used for application development in our organization for our customers, as we operate as consultants. The features of the product that I found to be beneficial for the productivity of my company's team stems from the fact that it can be integrated directly into HCL Notes email so that you can manage your workflows there, and you don't have to change contacts a go to a separate application to deal with a document approval process since it can be done directly from emails. HCL Domino is one of the leading products in the industry, so it is definitely ahead of the other tools in the market. In our company, some departments use HCL Domino for emails rather than other solutions because it is more secure. The tool has an impact on the management of sensitive data in our company. My only suggestion to those who plan to use HCL Domino is that they should not be daunted by the old UI it offers. The collaboration tool of HCL Domino has affected the internal communication processes in our organization. The collaboration tool of HCL Domino is something that the solution has been offering from the time it was introduced in the market as an expensive product. The impact or value on our company from the use of the product can be proven by the fact that with the solution, it is possible to automate processes or workflows while ensuring that there is consistency, lack of human errors, and efficiency. Earlier, I would have rated the tool eight out of ten. Presently, considering the increase in the number of integrations that the product allows and its movement to meet industry standards, I rate the overall tool a nine out of ten.
Yasser_Anter - PeerSpot reviewer
Has customization and integration capabilities which increase efficiency
Salesforce could improve by offering AI features or functionalities to help business decision-makers analyze business history, suggest forward strategies, and participate in events. The previous version had a complicated interface where multiple pages and data entries were required, which was not pleasant for sales teams or business users. Also, deploying Salesforce took a long time, about four to five months, which is not ideal for any business.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Domino's dual functionality as both a messaging and application solution is a standout feature compared to Exchange, which solely focuses on messaging."
"It is an excellent solution."
"The most valuable feature of HCL Domino is how robust it is."
"It serves as a centralized solution that fulfills all my requirements from operating my email server to managing various aspects of my operations."
"The email system is the most valuable feature."
"I like that HCL Domino is stable. It's a great product. I also like that HCL Domino is a mature product under IBM, which is why many companies use it."
"HCL Domino is the best product from a security point of view."
"We have been able to set up a portal using a special XPage application that gives our customers access to this system."
"Salesforce offers control over the opportunities to see where we are and gives me high-level dashboards on each opportunity stage."
"Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten...I rate Salesforce Platform's technical support a ten out of ten."
"The reporting tools are very solid."
"The standard sales and marketing tools that Salesforce provides on the platform are the most valuable."
"The entire solution is very customizable and you are able to add many functionalities."
"We like that the technology is very agile and flexible in the sense that there's a large partner ecosystem within Salesforce Platform. This enables us to choose from many different partners with different advantages, and all of it can be done in a plug-and-play kind of way."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is its overall ability to manage everything, including the sales pipeline and quick creation of sales reports."
"Most of the apps allow you to try out the product before buying it. The trial period depends on the product and varies from a week to 30 days."
 

Cons

"When you compare with Microsoft Exchange, the UI could be more user-friendly."
"The solution is expensive."
"HCL Domino could improve by having integration with other solutions, such as Microsoft 365."
"It would be advantageous if the web server could seamlessly pick up configuration changes without the need for a complete restart."
"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."
"From the Domino side, it should support DKIM and DMARC."
"Scalability is also an issue. We have problems with large databases."
"They should provide its integration with other AI applications."
"Simplification is something it needs. Every time you get the engineers involved, they make things a little too complicated. It might be more beneficial to simplify everything for quick and easy reference."
"I would like to see the organizational details improved to make it less difficult to bring new clients on board."
"I think the search needs to be improved so as to allow for a broader keyword search."
"Salesforce could improve by offering AI features or functionalities to help business decision-makers analyze business history, suggest forward strategies, and participate in events."
"The general reports could be made easier in the Salesforce Platform. Generating needs extensive training to know the exact structure of the design. Whenever you search for something you need to know what are the exact fields that you need to view. It's not an easy process to learn."
"They should provide access to data quality tips and tricks to make it better."
"The initial setup process was a complex thing to do because four different organizations were working together."
"It could have a lot more customization options in terms of fonts and reports. There should be an even lighter version with just two or three fields. It could be a bit more light if the field guys want to use it on a mobile phone on the road. For deploying it for CRM, maybe we can have our customer database, project funnels, and projects to help us in managing our supply chain business."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"HCL Domino is costly, but it still depends on how your organization views it price-wise."
"We pay annually for the use of this solution and it is only a standard fee."
"We chose to pay for our licensing fees annually."
"The pricing is individually determined. For us, in our current deployment, we pay $12.50 Canadian per month per user."
"The pricing is subjective and contingent on the intended usage."
"My company's customers need to make monthly or yearly payments towards the license charges of the product."
"While I don't have precise pricing information at hand, my understanding is that it tends to be on the higher end."
"For 30 licenses, we pay $1,500 every year. It is not an expensive product."
"The licensing is on the expensive side, but most clients engage in negotiations to reach a more favorable agreement. For stand-alone or medium-sized clients, it can be relatively costly."
"I haven't had to buy Salesforce, however, I have heard it's $1500 a user."
"The cost of this solution depends on negotiations. It is somewhere between expensive and reasonable. There is always additional costs for consulting services. It's the kind of solution that requires consulting, but it is not a licensing cost. It is a consulting cost. It is CAPEX versus OPEX."
"In general, the price is an area where there is always room for improvement."
"The price varies depending on the cloud."
"It is a fair price for what it's offering, in comparison with other solutions that are available on the market."
"rice-wise, the solution is reasonable for what we're getting."
"It is expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

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.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HCL Domino?
The pricing is individually determined. HCL has a simple pricing model: per user per year. We pay $100 US per user per year. But "guest" users are permitted without any licence requirement. And any...
What needs improvement with HCL Domino?
Scalability needs to be improved to be on the level that's required. Support could also be enhanced.
How would you choose between Microsoft PowerApps and Salesforce Platform?
I think it depends on your use case. If your organization uses Microsoft Enterprise products, PowerApps will work better in your environment. Similarly, if you have a Salesforce integration in pla...
How does Salesforce Platform compare with Azure?
Microsoft’s Windows Azure platform is not easy or intuitive to deploy. The difficulty will be impacted by the type of application that you are trying to use the platform to build. Organizations tha...
Do you build applications using low-code or pro-code builders on Salesforce Platform?
At my organization, we have only used Salesforce Platform's low-code builder. The reason for this is not because we do not like the pro-code option, but because we do not see the need of using it, ...
 

Also Known As

IBM Lotus Domino, Lotus Domino
Salesforce1, Force.com, Salesforce App Cloud
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

A1 Telekom, Acubiz, Afrisam, E. A. Juffali & Brothers, Fiducia & GAD, and Pakistan State Oil
ADP
Find out what your peers are saying about HCL Domino vs. Salesforce Platform and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.