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HCL Sametime vs Skype for Business comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 3, 2025

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 Sametime
Ranking in Virtual Meetings
19th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Skype for Business
Ranking in Virtual Meetings
4th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
62
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Virtual Meetings category, the mindshare of HCL Sametime is 0.5%, down from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Skype for Business is 12.5%, up from 8.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Meetings
 

Featured Reviews

Bogdan Chechlowski - PeerSpot reviewer
Stable product, communicate very fast and allows to see who's online in the office or work environment
It was used for communication through text messages, primarily Being able to see who was online and communicate very fast was a good feature.  The security was quite good. However, when we tried to implement it for email at a high level, we had to use another solution, FortiMail Gateway. I view…
Magdalena Teodorczuk - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers great audio and video quality for virtual meetings
I like the instant messaging feature in the product since I prefer to use the chat functionalities provided by the solution. It is easy to integrate the product with some of the other solutions in the market. I rate the integration capabilities of the product a ten out of ten. The product's user interface is user-friendly. I use the product at a personal level, so I can't speak about the support it provides for the maintenance part. I rate the overall tool a ten 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

"I can view the status and availability of colleagues or team members, which makes it easy to approach them when they are available."
"The security was quite good."
"Using Skype allows us to connect with external agencies when a Skype call is set up and aids in sharing large files efficiently."
"The most valuable feature of Skype for Business is that it has many other tools that you can be integrated with it. It makes the meetings more interactive."
"I like the fact that it opens up your video conferencing, and, in many cases, the audio at the same time."
"It's a good product, we like using it."
"The tool's most valuable features are its audio and chat functions. They help us save time and have good telephone integration."
"Using this solution has helped us to cut long distance calls, as well as video services from third parties."
"We like the easy provisioning of Skype for Business Conferencing."
"We chose Skype for Business after other colleagues suggested that we give it a try. It has served us well."
 

Cons

"The webinar should be integrated into Sametime for a larger number of participants."
"It lacks some features compared to modern solutions. For example, it doesn't allow sending screenshots or other files."
"The video conferencing quality can be improved."
"I should be able to make a desktop phone call when I click a member of my Lync directory."
"The technical support from Microsoft needs to be improved."
"There are issues with the bandwidth, particularly for external meetings,"
"Skype's overall connectivity functionality or ability is one area with room for improvement."
"There might be some invitation issues with Skype for Business."
"Lacks a zoom-in feature for whoever is presenting."
"Skype for Business could improve by having a document channel or repository. Microsoft Teams has a better repository place for documents that you can share with your team. You can access it anywhere from any device."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The licensing is billed on a yearly basis."
"To realize value from the purchase of Skype Business, you need to take advantage of all the important functions of the program."
"A license is required to use the solution."
"I use the product's open-source version."
"The pricing is really good. It is quite affordable because it came with our Office 365. It is on a per-user license, which is nice. I quite like that they have made it very granular with all of their licensing."
"When it comes to the pricing of the solution, I rate it as a five out of ten. It falls somewhere in the middle between being cheap and expensive."
"We have been able to save money by moving our conferencing solution to Skype for Business Conferencing."
"The solution is priced fairly."
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860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Educational Organization
72%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Computer Software Company
3%
Manufacturing Company
3%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with HCL Sametime?
I view it as part of HCL Notes and Domino, and my opinion is similar to those products. It lacks some features compared to modern solutions. For example, it doesn't allow sending screenshots or oth...
What is your primary use case for HCL Sametime?
It was used for communication through text messages, primarily.
What advice do you have for others considering HCL Sametime?
Overall, it was quite good. I would rate it an eight out of ten. It's a better product than some others from HCL, but overall, I wouldn't recommend it, given the availability of superior alternatives.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Skype for Business?
Skype for Business is affordable and has decent pricing. The video quality is a bit lower than Teams or Zoom, but it remains a good solution overall.
What needs improvement with Skype for Business?
The video quality could be improved, possibly due to internet connection issues. However, there is no significant weakness in Skype for Business.
 

Comparisons

No data available
 

Also Known As

Lotus Sametime, IBM Lotus Sametime
Skype for Business Plan 1, Skype for Business Plan 2, Lync Server
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Connect2Cloud, Superior Group, Daifuku Co. Ltd., Seaward, The City of Fort Worth, Christian Brothers Services, Berlitz, Deutsche Notes User Group, Danske Fysioterapeuter, Slumberland, La Vacanza, Rheinmetall AG
EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Services,LA Fitness, MedcoEnergi International, Tampa General Hospital, and HopewellHoldings Limited.
Find out what your peers are saying about HCL Sametime vs. Skype for Business and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.