HCL Notes Reviews

Name: HCL Notes
Brand: HCLSoftware
Rating: 3.8 (18 reviews)

3.8 out of 5

18 reviews
78% willing to recommend

What is HCL Notes?

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.

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HCL Notes is the #8 ranked solution in top Email Applications. PeerSpot users give HCL Notes an average rating of 7.6 out of 10. HCL Notes is most commonly compared to Google Workspace: HCL Notes vs Google Workspace. HCL Notes is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 51% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a government, accounting for 15% of all views.

Helped 861,524 peers since 2012

Featured HCL Notes reviews

Herad Howell

Military Officer at a government with 5,001-10,000 employees

I primarily value HCL Notes for its security features. The software's secure communication is particularly useful when dealing with professional entities. It ensures that business is conducted smoothly, allowing me to use my organization's email confidently, as opposed to my personal Gmail, which might not prompt responses from some entities.

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Bogdan Chechlowski

Kierownik Biura Informatyki at EIB SA

The performance was terrible because we have a very large database with around three million records, including attachments and scanned comments. It was slow, and integrating new technologies or designs was also slow. The XPages technology we used was outdated, and development stopped, which is the main reason we're considering moving away from HCL Notes.

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Chiheb Charmiti

IS Manager & Consultant HCL Domino at JACOB & ASSOCIATES

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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HCL Notes mindshare

As of July 2025, the mindshare of HCL Notes in the Email Applications category stands at 3.4%, up from 3.3% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Email Applications

PeerResearch reports based on HCL Notes reviews

Type	Title	Date
Category	Email Applications	Jul 14, 2025	Download
Product	Reviews, tips, and advice from real users	Jul 14, 2025	Download
Comparison	HCL Notes vs Google Workspace	Jul 14, 2025	Download
Comparison	HCL Notes vs Microsoft Exchange Online	Jul 14, 2025	Download
Comparison	HCL Notes vs Microsoft Exchange	Jul 14, 2025	Download

Title	Rating	Mindshare	Recommending
Google Workspace	4.1	21.5%	95%	102 interviews Add to research
Microsoft Exchange Online	4.3	13.4%	96%	90 interviews Add to research

Valuable Features

HCL Notes is valued for its strong security, allowing high-level encryption and field-level limitations. It supports seamless integration with various systems, making it an ideal choice for developing workflow and groupware applications. Users appreciate backward compatibility, easy migration, and offline access. The interface offers practicality and ease of use, enabling users to develop applications without advanced IT skills. The ongoing cost is lower than competitors, making it a cost-effective option.

"It offers unique capabilities, excellent security, and replication features."
"The software's secure communication is particularly useful when dealing with professional entities."
"The most valuable feature is security. It's very easy to manage security on records, views, and tables."

Room for Improvement

HCL Notes requires modernization as its interface resembles older systems and lacks user-friendliness. The platform is sluggish, hampering performance, especially with large databases. Users desire improved UI, enhanced integration with modern solutions like Teams, and better support for web access. Updating development tools is essential to compete with products like Visual Studio. Current capabilities are outdated, impacting ease of management and user experience. Integration with spreadsheet software and improved replication are also needed.

"Regarding additional functions, the front end of the databases on the home screen looks somewhat old-fashioned. It could be modernized by the development team."
"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."
"One area for improvement would be making the interface more user-friendly."

ROI

Users of HCL Notes affirm a positive return on investment, with some utilizing it for over two decades. They report payment of $100 per user annually, with attained efficiencies valued significantly higher than costs. Specific financial metrics are unavailable, but HCL Notes enhances secure communications, leading to efficient operations. Long-term users suggest notable time savings and improved engagement with professional entities, highlighting its economic benefit.

Pricing

HCL Notes users experience a varied pricing landscape, with annual licensing seen as cost-effective compared to alternatives like Microsoft, particularly due to lower development costs. The solution is perceived as reasonably priced by many, though some find it expensive due to numerous features. Licensing is user-based monthly, with minimal setup costs and free "guest" access. HCL's flexible licensing allows enterprises to purchase essential features, enhancing cost management strategies for businesses.

"It was reasonably priced, but the product itself was not worth the cost."
"The solution is expensive. There are many components or features which make the price very high."
"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."

Popular Use Cases

HCL Notes is primarily used as an email client and CRM tool. Several organizations utilize it for managing production and administration databases. It supports application development, business processes, and email communication. Users leverage it for document management, workflow, and information sharing. Popular for handling CRM, HR tasks, and insurance processes, it's favored for its email and calendar functions. HCL Notes also integrates with proprietary software for enhanced application use.

Service and Support

HCL Notes support is generally rated highly, with consistent praise for knowledgeable and timely assistance, especially after transitioning from IBM. Some find it difficult to reach support, while others prefer using online resources. Customers appreciate dedicated representatives and find the technical team skilled. However, quick ticket closures are a concern when users cannot provide information promptly. Overall, many rate both customer service and technical support at 8 out of 10 or higher.

Deployment

Initial setup of HCL Notes is generally perceived as straightforward but differs based on technical expertise. IT professionals find it manageable, while non-technical users face difficulties. Some mention an easy half-hour setup, while others describe extensive processes for large deployments. Version upgrades, particularly in version 14.5, are highlighted for being efficient. Several users emphasize the straightforwardness when accompanied by proper documentation and examples, especially for enhancements like Notes Tracker. Complex scenarios require detailed design, especially with distributed systems.

Scalability

HCL Notes shows strong scalability attributes, handling diverse usage scenarios efficiently. Companies report diverse user counts, from dozens to tens of thousands, without performance degradation. Some express concern that less powerful systems might face challenges due to the software's substantial resource demands. Recent advancements improve stability and compatibility with major vendors. Large databases can pose issues, yet enhanced integration with mobile platforms boosts functionality. The solution's scalability impressively accommodates both small groups and extensive corporations.

Stability

HCL Notes is highly stable with most users noting minimal issues, especially after transitioning from IBM to HCL. Users report that large databases or outdated IT infrastructure can cause problems, not HCL Notes itself. The solution's stability rates 8 to 10 out of 10 by users. There are instances where heavy data loads impact performance, but generally, users find it reliable and secure, with only rare intervention needed over many years.

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

Download our HCL Notes Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.

Review data by company size

By reviewers

By visitors reading reviews

Top industries

By visitors reading reviews

Government

15%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Comms Service Provider

Real Estate/Law Firm

Insurance Company

Healthcare Company

Educational Organization

Retailer

University

Aerospace/Defense Firm

Construction Company

Hospitality Company

Wholesaler/Distributor

Energy/Utilities Company

Performing Arts

Non Profit

Legal Firm

Wireless Company

Computer Retailer

Consumer Goods Company

Logistics Company

Media Company

Compare HCL Notes with alternative products

Learn more about HCL Notes

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.”

HCL Notes was previously known as IBM Lotus Notes, Lotus Notes.

HCL Notes customers

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