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HCL Domino vs Microsoft Exchange comparison

 

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
6.8
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
Rapid Application Development Software (19th)
Microsoft Exchange
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
91
Ranking in other categories
Email Applications (3rd), Wireless Email (1st), File Archiving (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

HCL Domino and Microsoft Exchange aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. HCL Domino is designed for Rapid Application Development Software and holds a mindshare of 0.5%, up 0.5% compared to last year.
Microsoft Exchange, on the other hand, focuses on Email Applications, holds 11.4% mindshare, down 12.5% since last year.
Rapid Application Development Software
Email Applications
 

Featured Reviews

FrederickLim - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Hesham Hussain - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The pricing is excellent."
"The email system is the most valuable feature."
"Overall, I would rate HCL Domino as eight out of ten. I would recommend HCL Domino and Notes applications for small and medium-sized companies since it offers a good return on investment."
"Domino's dual functionality as both a messaging and application solution is a standout feature compared to Exchange, which solely focuses on messaging."
"HCL Domino is the best product from a security point of view."
"The full-text searching capabilities are great."
"I find the HCL Domino server scalable."
"The most valuable feature of HCL Domino is how robust it is."
"The product can scale."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange is its ease of use."
"We've been using Exchange as an email platform. Our clients require multi-country, multi-regional email collaboration with controlled mail flow. The most valuable feature is the capability of message tracking and the protection of user data."
"The initial setup is quite a straightforward process. I don't think it is a very complicated solution. Plenty of things could be more complex, but the ordinary, general settings are quite simple."
"This solution handles all of our primary functionality including email, message delivery, message archiving and calendars."
"Customers can benefit from this new pricing model because it's expensive and now with the subscription they can budget for this."
"The initial setup was straightforward and fast."
"It is stable."
 

Cons

"The solution is expensive."
"For me, the one thing missing is a really good reporting engine."
"HCL Domino needs to be more user-friendly."
"HCL Domino could have a better interface."
"The client version of this solution could be faster and be made simpler for non-IT users. You will need to have some knowledge of Notes to correctly install this solution."
"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."
"It would be advantageous if the web server could seamlessly pick up configuration changes without the need for a complete restart."
"Scalability needs to be improved to be on the level that's required. Support could also be enhanced."
"For new users, it might take them some time to get used to the product."
"The solution is stable, but it could improve. It's crashing if there is a big mail database. The Zimbra solution is better in this area."
"Microsoft Exchange could improve by adding artificial intelligence."
"Microsoft Exchange needs to improve how it handles and assigns policy and security."
"The licensing model could be improved."
"They could offer simultaneous features for Exchange Online and on-premises versions. Specific features such as litigation hold and audit setups should be available on-premises."
"The default storage capacity is too small."
"Sometimes we don't get support quickly enough - for example, if there's some global hacker attack, we don't get served as quickly. The skills of the technical staff can also vary, and Microsoft could perhaps improve their training."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is subjective and contingent on the intended usage."
"We're happy with the price of our license — it's pretty standard."
"Price is reasonable compared to the other solutions."
"HCL Domino's pricing depends on the number of users, but its license is not cheap."
"I'd rate it a seven out of ten in terms of price."
"We chose to pay for our licensing fees annually."
"While I don't have precise pricing information at hand, my understanding is that it tends to be on the higher end."
"My company's customers need to make monthly or yearly payments towards the license charges of the product."
"Microsoft Exchange itself does not require a license, but users who will have mailboxes will require a license. It depends on the number of users to choose which license. If you exceed 2,000 mailboxes, it's preferable to get the enterprise license."
"There is an annual cost to use Microsoft Exchange, and the price could be less expensive."
"Microsoft Exchange is a very well-priced solution."
"The pricing is expensive."
"It would be nice if it used less resources to run on-premise."
"The solution's pricing is fine...I do think the tool offers value for money."
"Microsoft's licensing structure is too complex, but its prices are affordable, though not cheap."
"There are different prices depending on the customer's use cases and amount of users. The price of the solution could improve."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
7%
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
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 Notes client is very expensive, costing around $105 per client. Overall, HCL Domino is a costly product.
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. Additionally, in-line editing of documents and a document viewer are functionalities ...
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...
What do you like most about Microsoft Exchange?
The initial setup was straightforward and fast.
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. However, the solution provides value for money if one is well-acquainted with Excha...
 

Also Known As

IBM Lotus Domino, Lotus Domino
Exchange, MS Exchange
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

A1 Telekom, Acubiz, Afrisam, E. A. Juffali & Brothers, Fiducia & GAD, and Pakistan State Oil
Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport, Scitec Nutrition, British Airways, InnoGames, Osteology Foundation, Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH, NTC Contracting
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, ServiceNow, OutSystems and others in Rapid Application Development Software. Updated: March 2025.
845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.