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HCL Domino vs Zimbra Collaboration comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
Rapid Application Development Software (19th)
Zimbra Collaboration
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
Email Applications (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

HCL Domino and Zimbra Collaboration aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. HCL Domino is designed for Rapid Application Development Software and holds a mindshare of 1.0%, up 0.7% compared to last year.
Zimbra Collaboration, on the other hand, focuses on Email Applications, holds 6.0% mindshare, down 8.0% since last year.
Rapid Application Development Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
HCL Domino1.0%
Microsoft Power Apps7.6%
Oracle Application Express (APEX)5.0%
Other86.4%
Rapid Application Development Software
Email Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Zimbra Collaboration6.0%
Google Workspace17.3%
Amazon WorkMail10.8%
Other65.9%
Email Applications
 

Featured Reviews

FN
Owner at Prodej a Správa Nemovitostí s.r.o.
Long-term platform has supported secure mail, custom workflows, and reliable on-premise apps
I have noticed some weak points and downsides. HCL Domino is a Swiss army knife, which is the downside as well. It does many things, which is an advantage. The biggest downside is that it is a good product, but there are not that many applications for it. There are not that many ready-made applications. When they do exist, they tend to be somewhat pricey. I have not actually used HCL Domino's low-code tools. There are no low-code tools. HCL says there are, but frankly speaking, I have tried it and I always come back to the classic, the original HCL Domino. I do not see it as truly low-code. They call it Leap. Even when you want to do something more specific or more complex, you do need programming logic and then it stops being low-code. I would say that there are much better low-code platforms. N8N, for instance, looks nice with nice diagrams, especially for workflow and automation, which is where HCL Domino is lacking. The evaluation of the security features of HCL Domino in handling sensitive business information is that it has a peculiar security model, which I view as acceptable. Sometimes it may get in your way, but sometimes it simplifies things. It depends.
Muhammad Talha Baig - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Analyst and Associate Project Manager at SAMI Pharmaceuticals
One of the premium features was customized rooms tailored to the collaboration needs
Zimbra's strength lies in its individuality, and it should focus on leveraging its unique features rather than trying to emulate competitors. My organization has certified Zimbra technicians, so we believe we can utilize Zimbra certification. However, I was recently informed by Zimbra that no such certification exists. I have recently completed the test kit, and after the training, I will gain access to tickets. Therefore, if any clients are experiencing issues, we have a certified technical team available to provide support 24/7. This is how we can cater to our client's needs. I recommend Zimbra to small-scale and enterprise customers. Anyone, even those with 5 users, can opt for Zimbra. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The fact is that it simply works."
"The most valuable feature of HCL Domino is how robust it is."
"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."
"The most important benefit is security. The security architecture is very good. It's the best part of the solution."
"One valuable feature of HCL Domino is its integration with other directories."
"We can scale it if we want to."
"The DAOS feature is the most valuable. It helps to save some of my storage."
"We use HCL Domino for collaboration; it is important for our company and customers."
"The backup and storage management features of Zimbra Collaboration are valuable."
"Network NG Modules are valuable to us."
"VMware Zimbra is an enterprise-class E-mail, calendar, and collaboration solution, built for both public and private clouds."
"The product is easy to set up."
"Zimbra Collaboration's sharing features are most valuable."
"The most valuable feature of Zimbra for our team's productivity is its efficiency in handling email communication."
"The web interface is powerful and easy to use."
"For a small company, Zimbra Collaboration is good because it is simple, inexpensive, and not very difficult to deploy."
 

Cons

"The solution is expensive."
"It would be advantageous if the web server could seamlessly pick up configuration changes without the need for a complete restart."
"When you compare with Microsoft Exchange, the UI could be more user-friendly."
"Designing a new template could provide a refreshed visual experience for users without significant changes to the underlying functionality."
"HCL Domino needs to be more user-friendly."
"Many people are not very happy with its speed."
"Scalability needs to be improved to be on the level that's required. Support could also be enhanced."
"One challenge I faced with HCL Domino was fully understanding its capabilities because initial use may lead to misconceptions based on simpler platforms."
"There are some security issues."
"We had a couple of issues with stability, but nothing that I couldn't work around or fix myself. Zimbra is a powerful product, but since VMware bought it, changes and bug fixes have been very slow in coming."
"Zimbra should provide a desktop client. Right now, we are using a web browser for accessing our emails. There should also be a desktop client."
"There are security and performance issues which is one of the concerns of using an open-source product."
"Because of the lack of this functionality, we are planning to migrate to Microsoft Exchange."
"There are some bugs we found that could be fixed."
"Server deployment and the GUI for emails should be better."
"Zimbra is not very stable, but it's okay."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"My company's customers need to make monthly or yearly payments towards the license charges of the product."
"HCL Domino has reasonable pricing. It's not expensive."
"The pricing is subjective and contingent on the intended usage."
"We pay annually for the use of this solution and it is only a standard fee."
"Customers have to pay for a license for the Notes Client, not for the Domino database. There is a quarter license that we use."
"The pricing is individually determined. For us, in our current deployment, we pay $12.50 Canadian per month per user."
"While I don't have precise pricing information at hand, my understanding is that it tends to be on the higher end."
"The license for Domino is yearly. The price is high."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the price a four"
"Zimbra Collaboration offers a good price-to-feature ratio."
"I use Zimbra Collaboration's community version. We may move to the enterprise version since prices are affordable."
"If you choose the network edition, it is a little pricier. They have the open-source edition too which is only community supported."
"We pay yearly licenses for Zimbra Collaboration."
"The solution is competitively priced."
"The solution is not expensive compared to other products."
"We do not pay for licenses to use this solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Construction Company
9%
Government
7%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

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.
What needs improvement with HCL Domino?
I am not missing anything significant from HCL Domino at the moment. There are some smaller things that can be improved, but these have already been posted on the HCL website where we can submit ou...
What is your primary use case for HCL Domino?
I have been using HCL Domino products since 1992, when it was known as Lotus Notes. I use it myself and also work as a consultant. We are an IBM Business Partner and HCL Business Partner. We are no...
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 the email, calendar, and collaboration server with web interface. In addition, I...
 

Also Known As

IBM Lotus Domino, Lotus Domino
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

A1 Telekom, Acubiz, Afrisam, E. A. Juffali & Brothers, Fiducia & GAD, and Pakistan State Oil
NEC Biglobe, City of Ventura, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Hola Publishing, BIG, Sleepwell, LaFayette College, Xmission, DNA, Ring Line, Future Group, TIGC
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