HCL Connections vs Microsoft Office SharePoint Server comparison

The compared HCLSoftware and Microsoft solutions aren't in the same category. HCLSoftware is ranked #5 in CP , and holds a 6.0% mindshare in the category. Microsoft is ranked #5 in CCP , with an average rating of 8.4, and holds a 3.5% mindshare. Additionally, 93% of HCLSoftware users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 82% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

HCL Connections

Read 55 HCL Connections reviews

3,132 Views
1,190 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Microsoft Office SharePoint...

Read 40 Microsoft Office SharePoint Server reviews

2,729 Views
2,183 Comparison Views

82% willing to recommend

HCL Connections

Microsoft Office SharePoint...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between HCL Connections and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Atlassian, Drupal and others in Corporate Portals (Enterprise Information Portals).

To learn more, read our detailed Corporate Portals (Enterprise Information Portals) Report (Updated: August 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Corporate Portals (Enterprise Information Portals)

August 2026

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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:

Categories and Ranking

HCL Connections

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Corporate Portals (Enterprise Information Portals) (5th), Enterprise Social Software (11th)

Microsoft Office SharePoint...

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

4.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Content Collaboration Platforms (5th)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Messaging and Collaboration solutions, they serve different purposes. HCL Connections is designed for Corporate Portals (Enterprise Information Portals) and holds a mindshare of 6.0%, up 3.1% compared to last year.
Microsoft Office SharePoint Server, on the other hand, focuses on Content Collaboration Platforms, holds 3.5% mindshare, down 5.9% since last year.

Corporate Portals (Enterprise Information Portals) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
HCL Connections	6.0%
SharePoint	20.7%
Drupal	18.3%
Other	55.0%

Corporate Portals (Enterprise Information Portals)

Content Collaboration Platforms Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Office SharePoint Server	3.5%
Office 365	8.2%
Dropbox Business - Enterprise	7.7%
Other	80.6%

Content Collaboration Platforms

Featured Reviews

Hasnain Zahid

Talent acquisition & development specialist at Software Productivity Strategists, Inc. (SPS)

A stable tool useful to manage marketing-related activities

Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten. Sometimes, the portal hangs because I find that if I am on a web page, I have to log out, and then I have to log in to the portal again. Since I see that the portal hangs at times, I have to move from one side of the portal to the next, making me feel that some things are scattered in the product. I attended a meeting with IBM recently, and they are improving a few of the things, in my opinion. The concerns that I have related to the product are being improved since I think many other users have reported issues similar to the ones I faced.

Read full review

Daniel Giacomelli

Security and Compliance at a outsourcing company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Has transformed how I manage documents through metadata and automation while enabling structured collaboration

Microsoft should restore some functionalities from older versions of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2003 and 2010. Specifically, bringing back something similar to SharePoint Designer would be beneficial. SharePoint Designer was both advantageous and challenging - developers found it limiting and preferred Visual Studio, while non-developers struggled to use it effectively. A new tool for configuring webpage design and development for content pages would be valuable. The current system is too basic. While integration of filtered lists and libraries is possible, it requires knowledge of Python or jQuery. A WYSIWYG editor would be preferable to requiring programming knowledge or Visual Studio.

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

"The solution is useful for team engagement and team collaborations, so that everyone is working together towards the same objective and we are using the best practices among ourselves, sharing and craft sourcing."

"IBM Connections provides a single solution that offers profiles, communities, file sharing, wikis, blogs, surveys, activities, bookmarks, forums, ideation, activity streams and events."

"We used lots of products like wordpress to blog, docuwiki as wiki, bugtracker, todo apps and so on, but Connections delivers all of it integrated in one solution."

"Licensing price was very competitive compared to Jive or SharePoint, and we went from zero to pilot with business within eight weeks, making this a very cost efficient offering."

"The platform allows in a very easy way to create community and start collaborating."

"The blogs became the main source of information for the organisation and establishing dialogue."

"Sharing knowledge on IBM Connections will give you access to tap into all the knowledge that is accessible in your organization across the world."

"IBM Connections Pink means a new way of collaboration, like you have never seen before."

More HCL Connections pros

"The most valuable feature is the "Alert Me", which provides the ability to set an alert when content is either added or changed and that the alerts can be either real-time or aggregated for the day or the week."

"Microsoft has a very good product."

"Because of the integration of documents stored in SharePoint to be edited by any of the Office Suite products, that overpowers and is a greater good than what DocuShare brought to the company."

"It is a decent tool for collaboration, especially if you are already using other Office products."

"Overall, it is a good product, and I recommend it."

"The most valuable aspect of the solution is the fact that it doesn't require coding. You just need to configure it. You don't need to code before getting something running. It makes it very fast."

"The forms aspect of the solution, for example, the creation of surveys, is its most valuable aspect."

"The level of stability is good."

More Microsoft Office SharePoint Server pros

Cons

"Support needs improvement. The product seems to be released with a lot of bugs."

"The platform is too dispersive and rigid. It should improve in usability and user interface customization by the user (personalized menu, communities to keep close at hand, always available files, and so on)."

"Level 1 sometimes seems as if they are part of a call center."

"It would be helpful to have more interfacing of all the IBM platforms."

"The support is an area where the product can improve...If you are having an issue on a Monday, the support personnel will contact you next Monday."

"We've had some load time and performance issues with concurrent users. The page was just not coming up."

"File management is a little poor."

"Their testing, when they release new packs, is not where it should be. Their technical support suffers because of it."

More HCL Connections cons

"With the complexity and performance, it's hard to work with."

"The GUI is outdated."

"The product is behind in development and lacks some features."

"Microsoft Office SharePoint Server could be improved in terms of its user interface. While it is easy to work with, it could be more intuitive and could look more aesthetically pleasing."

"It is a bit restrictive to develop in the cloud version. A lot of features are in the cloud now, and you have to develop on the outside. As far as the platform and the programming side of things are concerned, it is moving more towards configuration management rather than programming. When we are doing solutions, we are basically just configuring it to make solutions happen rather than actually using the Visual Studio code and developing from scratch in the cloud. It is almost like creating an app. You have created an app for your phone, but the app doesn't really sit on your phone. It sits somewhere on a server, and the database sits on another server. The app is just pulling and pushing information. The whole development has changed. We used to install things directly on the server and then run the application from the server. Now, it is more of a modular architecture."

"The user interface needs improvement because there is a lot of stuff in there."

"The Microsoft support is not great."

"The solution could probably be improved by incorporating some of the power apps for workflow and easy setup."

More Microsoft Office SharePoint Server cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"One of the reasons why we don't recommend the cloud version of SharePoint is the cost. With the on premise version, you pay for the license once. For the cloud version, there is a recurring fee. It is very expensive. They expect everyone to pay $20 or $30 per user per month."

"Pricing plans may be flexible depending on volume usage and your corporate relationship with Microsoft."

"It can be expensive for on-premises deployments, especially when you have to support SQL Server as your backend database. That's where the cost comes into play. SQL Server has its own licensing, which Microsoft keeps on changing. Therefore, it can become costly. In the earlier versions of SharePoint, version 2007 or 2010, they had an express version where the SQL Server licensing was free. It wasn't like a full-blown SharePoint. It was only a slimmed-down version. It used to be whatever your hardware costs. You would install the free software and work with it, but you were very limited in what you could do in SharePoint. If you wanted the SharePoint Enterprise Server with all the bells and whistles, then you had to pay more to get the SQL Server license based on the number of users or servers. The subscription model is different for cloud deployments. Licensing is per user and per month. The cost also depends on the storage required. If you have a lot of sites or documents, then you need to expand it based on your needs."

"There are some aggressive discounts offered by Microsoft for organizations that are not for profit, which we are, and it makes it quite attractive to consider."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Construction Company

20%

Outsourcing Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Performing Arts

Construction Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	22
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	26

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	13
Midsize Enterprise	13
Large Enterprise	17

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with HCL Connections?

The support is an area where the product can improve. My company faces some support-related issues because whenever we create or generate a ticket, it takes two days for the product's support team ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for HCL Connections?

I use HCL Connections for marketing purposes. The IBM product in our company already provides us with direct links to the marketing and HR sides.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server?

I am not aware of the pricing, so I cannot say if the solution is expensive or quite affordable.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server?

My expectation when I start using a Microsoft product is that it would be easy to incorporate diagrams and such from other Microsoft Office products. Incorporating a diagram I've embedded in a slid...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server?

I produce content about the work I'm doing inside the company, making information about IT architecture, work processes within IT architecture, and security reviews of applications or infrastructur...

See all answers

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Compared 2% of the time

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Compared 9% of the time

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Compared 6% of the time

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Compared 6% of the time

Oracle Beehive vs Microsoft Office SharePoint Server

Compared 6% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

HCL Connections

July 2026

Download HCL Connections product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server

July 2026

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server report

Download Microsoft Office SharePoint Server product report

Also Known As

IBM Connections, Lotus Connections

Office SharePoint Server, MS Office SharePoint Server

Overview

HCL Connections offers a powerful collaboration platform designed for modern businesses, facilitating seamless communication and productivity enhancements.

HCL Connections helps organizations streamline internal communications with an array of tools that promote engagement and collaboration. Its ease of use enables teams to effectively manage projects, share knowledge, and foster innovation. This platform serves as a bridge for integrating social interactions with business processes, ensuring smooth workflows and increased productivity.

What are the critical features of HCL Connections?

Communities: Create and manage groups to collaborate on specific projects or topics.
Files: Share and manage documents securely, ensuring quick access for all team members.
Wikis: Collaboratively write and edit content for team reference and knowledge sharing.
Blogs: Allow individuals to express ideas, insights, and updates within the organization.
Activities: Organize tasks and discussions, enhancing project tracking and completion.

What benefits can HCL Connections bring?

Improved Collaboration: Enhances teamwork through centralized communication and resource sharing.
Increased Productivity: Streamlines workflows by aligning tools and processes.
Knowledge Sharing: Facilitates easy dissemination and accessibility of information.
Enhanced Engagement: Boosts employee involvement with interactive and accessible features.

In industries such as healthcare, finance, and education, HCL Connections is implemented to improve internal and external collaboration, drive competitive advantage, and meet compliance requirements. Its adaptable framework makes it suitable for different sectors, supporting better decision-making and strategic planning.

HCLSoftware

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server enhances collaboration, document management, and version control while integrating seamlessly with Office apps, Teams, and OneDrive for efficient communication and content sharing.

Offering automation, workflow management, and effective metadata usage, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server improves operational efficiency. It's user-friendly with low-code and no-code capabilities, ensuring accessibility for organizations. Robust security measures and access control with Active Directory integration provide secure data handling, while real-time editing allows multiple users to collaborate productively. Its search functionality streamlines information retrieval, although enhancing this feature could further improve usability. Addressing the need for a more intuitive interface, distinct integration between Team and SharePoint sites, workflow simplification, as well as improved performance with large data handling, would add to its practicality. Better third-party application integration, enhanced document sharing, and increased licensing flexibility are areas for potential development.

What are the key features?

Collaboration: Enables seamless team collaboration with integrated Office apps and Teams.
Document Management: Advanced version control and document sharing capabilities.
Automation: Streamlines processes with workflow management and metadata usage.
Security: Robust access control with Active Directory integration.
Real-Time Editing: Allows multiple users to edit documents simultaneously.
Search Functionality: Assists in swift information retrieval.

What benefits or ROI should users consider?

Improved Productivity: Real-time editing and seamless integration enhance work efficiency.
Security Assurance: Strong access control supports safe data management.
User Accessibility: Low-code and no-code features increase ease of use.
Operational Efficiency: Automates workflows and optimizes document handling.

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server is utilized in industries such as healthcare, finance, and manufacturing for document sharing, collaboration, and internal communications. It supports project management, custom application development, and acts as an enterprise content management system. Organizations leverage its integration with Microsoft Teams for coordination and use it as a corporate portal. It facilitates data management, serves as a document library, and supports workflows with advanced capabilities like integration with Power Apps and Power BI for enhanced data visualization and interaction.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Yamato Financial Co. Ltd., University of Zurich, Gwinnett County Public Schools, Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V., Telus, Rabobank, Christian Brothers Services, Grupo Financiero Banorte, The Loft Group, Dow Water & Process Solutions, JGC Corporation, College of Medicine, Swansea University, solvito GmbH, Loft Group, Hamm-Reno Group GmbH, Geno SA

Del Monte Foods, Unicredit Leasing, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, Nokia Czech Republic, Perkins Eastman, JLL, ICA, óxito Software, Dorset Software, PKP Cargo, Arcapita Bank B.S.C., AVE CZ, Chesapeake Energy

Buyer's Guide

Corporate Portals (Enterprise Information Portals)

August 2026

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