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HCL Domino vs Zimbra Collaboration comparison

The compared HCLSoftware and Zimbra solutions aren't in the same category. HCLSoftware is ranked #19 in RADS , with an average rating of 7.8, and holds a 0.5% mindshare in the category. Zimbra is ranked #5 in EA , with an average rating of 8.0, and holds a 8.8% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of HCLSoftware users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Zimbra users who would recommend it.
HCL Domino
Read 21 HCL Domino reviews
  • 881 Views
  • 367 Comparison Views
80% willing to recommend
Zimbra Collaboration
Read 29 Zimbra Collaboration reviews
  • 2,827 Views
  • 2,188 Comparison Views
96% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary
We performed a comparison between HCL Domino and Zimbra Collaboration based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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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 Domino
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
Rapid Application Development Software (19th)
Zimbra Collaboration
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
Email Applications (5th)
 

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 0.5%, up 0.5% compared to last year.
Zimbra Collaboration, on the other hand, focuses on Email Applications, holds 8.8% mindshare, down 10.1% 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.
Read full review
Muhammad Talha Baig - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
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

"One valuable feature of HCL Domino is its integration with other directories."
"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."
"The DAOS feature is the most valuable. It helps to save some of my storage."
"The most valuable feature of HCL Domino is how robust it is."
"The most important benefit is security. The security architecture is very good. It's the best part of the solution."
"The full-text searching capabilities are great."
"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."
More HCL Domino pros
"The product is easy to set up."
"A lot of other products like Microsoft Exchange offer email or collaboration features, but they are not as fast as Zimbra."
"Zimbra Collaboration's sharing features are most valuable."
"The backup and storage management features of Zimbra Collaboration are valuable."
"The stability is good and keeps getting better with each new update."
"Zimbra Collaboration's best feature is its compatibility with Microsoft's ActiveSync protocol, which allows users to use Outlook on Windows or MacOS."
"Zimbra Collaboration is a good tool for video calls...Zimbra Collaboration's initial setup phase was easy."
"It has all collaboration features, such as document sharing, video conferencing, chatting, task sharing, and calendar sharing."
More Zimbra Collaboration pros
 

Cons

"An area for improvement in HCL Domino is security. New enhancements in the IT industry mean that security should be improved. The HCL Domino GUI also needs improvement."
"The solution could improve Kubernetes or Dockers migration to new environments in the cloud."
"The product's user interface is one of its shortcomings since it is outdated, making it an area for improvement."
"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."
"HCL Domino needs to be more user-friendly."
"Scalability needs to be improved to be on the level that's required. Support could also be enhanced."
"When you compare with Microsoft Exchange, the UI could be more user-friendly."
"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."
More HCL Domino cons
"It would be great if a group chat feature were created to allow for a team environment."
"The installation is not straightforward, it can take two days for the full implementation."
"Zimbra Collaboration could improve the migration from a basic solution to a more containerized solution. For example, the installation should be able to extend to the containers and manage them with some solution, such as OpenShift or Kubernetes."
"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."
"The solution’s forums don't have much information or documentation on administration tasks."
"There are some security issues."
"The tool should improve its multi-cloud feature."
"I would like to see a Microsoft schedule function added."
More Zimbra Collaboration cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We pay annually for the use of this solution and it is only a standard fee."
"We're happy with the price of our license — it's pretty standard."
"Customers have to pay for a license for the Notes Client, not for the Domino database. There is a quarter license that we use."
"We chose to pay for our licensing fees annually."
"HCL Domino has reasonable pricing. It's not expensive."
"While I don't have precise pricing information at hand, my understanding is that it tends to be on the higher end."
"I'd rate it a seven out of ten in terms of price."
"It is less expensive compared to other vendors."
More HCL Domino pricing and cost advice
"The solution is competitively priced."
"If you choose the network edition, it is a little pricier. They have the open-source edition too which is only community supported."
"The price of the solution is low."
"When it comes to the licensing of Zimbra Collaboration, my license covers the servers and I find its terms to be much simpler than those of Microsoft Exchange."
"Zimbra Collaboration is expensive, and there is no perpetual license option."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the price a four"
"We do not pay for licenses to use this solution."
"Zimbra Collaboration is less expensive than Microsoft Exchange. Zimbra works for small companies because it is not expensive. Zimbra Collaboration has more security tools than Microsoft Exchange. If you are choosing between Zimbra Collaboration and Microsoft Exchange, you have to take into account the cost of security tools with Microsoft Exchange. When you purchase Microsoft Exchange, you will also have to purchase tools for security, which adds to the cost. The migration from Zimbra Collaboration to another email solution is very simple and easy. Migration from Microsoft Exchange to another email solution is very difficult. Microsoft doesn't allow migration that easily. In fact, you have to pay for tools to do that. You have to buy some expensive tools to migrate."
More Zimbra Collaboration pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
8%
Computer Software Company
19%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

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.
See all answers
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.
See all answers
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 ...
See all answers
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...
See all answers
What do you like most about Zimbra Collaboration?
The most valuable feature of Zimbra for our team's productivity is its efficiency in handling email communication.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zimbra Collaboration?
The solution is competitively priced.
See all answers
 

Comparisons

Microsoft Exchange vs HCL Domino Logo
Microsoft Exchange vs HCL Domino
Compared 37% of the time
HCL Notes vs HCL Domino Logo
HCL Notes vs HCL Domino
Compared 14% of the time
Microsoft Exchange Online vs HCL Domino Logo
Microsoft Exchange Online vs HCL Domino
Compared 11% of the time
GitHub CoPilot vs HCL Domino Logo
GitHub CoPilot vs HCL Domino
Compared 10% of the time
Microsoft Power Apps vs HCL Domino Logo
Microsoft Power Apps vs HCL Domino
Compared 8% of the time
More HCL Domino Competitors
Microsoft Exchange vs Zimbra Collaboration Logo
Microsoft Exchange vs Zimbra Collaboration
Compared 29% of the time
Open-Xchange vs Zimbra Collaboration Logo
Open-Xchange vs Zimbra Collaboration
Compared 20% of the time
KerioConnect vs Zimbra Collaboration Logo
KerioConnect vs Zimbra Collaboration
Compared 16% of the time
IceWarp vs Zimbra Collaboration Logo
IceWarp vs Zimbra Collaboration
Compared 10% of the time
HCL Notes vs Zimbra Collaboration Logo
HCL Notes vs Zimbra Collaboration
Compared 3% of the time
More Zimbra Collaboration Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
HCL Domino
May 2025
HCL Domino reportDownload HCL Domino product report
Buyer's Guide
Zimbra Collaboration
April 2025
Zimbra Collaboration reportDownload Zimbra Collaboration product report
 

Also Known As

IBM Lotus Domino, Lotus Domino
No data available
 

Overview

HCL Domino (formerly IBM Domino) is a secure, enterprise-grade, application development platform. From IT to business, HCL Domino is the only low to pro-code application development platform that allows your business to build robust applications to solve workflow and process challenges fast. HCL Domino powers businesses around the world with 15,000 customers and 10 million apps built on our platform. HCL Domino has always been a secure, rock-solid, and proven solution.

  • Low cost of ownership - minimizing administration needs through automated installations, policies and monitoring helps staff focus on higher value tasks.
  • Minimized infrastructure - reducing costs by using less power, memory, data storage, network bandwidth and servers.
  • Rich application environment - supporting workflow-driven and people-oriented applications that help a wide variety of business operations deliver enhanced results.
  • Security-rich - helping protect your critical business assets. You can control information access, protect information and guarantee document authenticity.
  • High availability - featuring advanced clustering, replication, server fault recovery and automated diagnostic tools.
HCLSoftware
Zimbra Collaboration provides administrators and their end users innovative features that solve the challenges faced by organizations using today's legacy communications infrastructure.
Zimbra
 

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
Buyer's Guide
Rapid Application Development Software
May 2025
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