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HCL Sametime vs Zoom Workplace Business comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 2026

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
15th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Zoom Workplace Business
Ranking in Virtual Meetings
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
234
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Virtual Meetings category, the mindshare of HCL Sametime is 1.6%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zoom Workplace Business is 7.8%, down from 11.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Meetings Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Zoom Workplace Business7.8%
HCL Sametime1.6%
Other90.6%
Virtual Meetings
 

Featured Reviews

Bogdan Chechlowski - PeerSpot reviewer
Kierownik Biura Informatyki at EIB SA
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…
Yifate Yusuf - PeerSpot reviewer
Team Lead at GE
Unified communication has transformed our collaboration and consistently boosts project delivery
The best features Zoom Workplace Business offers include screen sharing, clear video and audio, online meetings, large-scale events, call management, mobile apps, unified communication platform, and collaboration. The feature I find myself using the most is an AI-powered collaboration platform that is used to streamline communication, increase employee engagement, optimize in-person time, and improve productivity. The screen sharing is very effective and a helpful tool where we are able to screen share with our colleagues and discuss different tasks and project management ideas. Collaboration has become very efficient, and remote working has also become efficient and prevalent in my organization. We have been able to save a lot of time using Zoom Workplace Business. It has been a game-changer. Zoom Workplace Business elevates the experience with Zoom AI Companion included at no additional cost. It is designed to help employees be more productive, collaborate better, enhance their skills, and unlock time savings.

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."
"Audio and video calls provide faster communication than chat."
"A very good communication and real-time collaboration software, it is simple, fast, reliable, keeps history and the best feature of all is its intelligence."
"This solution saves time and cost in communicating with team members, streamlines tasks in my organization by encouraging us to chat directly with the relevant person, and strengthens professional relationships through increased communication among peers."
"The security was quite good."
"The setup is simple, it only takes a few minutes and you can do it by yourself."
"Zoom is very convenient to use and the basic functions work well for us."
"I've been on a call with around a thousand students. So, it was quite scalable."
"The most valuable features are that you are able to share the screen, and draw on it."
"Zoom is mobile-ready and easy to use."
"Zoom has benefited our company because it is easy to set up and for clients to use."
"The stability is great."
"I like the filters and background filters that I can incorporate; I find they work better than competitors like Google Meet or Microsoft Teams."
 

Cons

"It seems that the software might in the future, support the software telephony exchange but at the current time, it is not doing that and because of that one key feature of real-time communication is missing from it."
"It lacks some features compared to modern solutions. For example, it doesn't allow sending screenshots or other files."
"Sametime hangs sometimes and therefore needs to get restarted."
"The interface is too colorful and looks like Windows XP."
"The webinar should be integrated into Sametime for a larger number of participants."
"One thing I do wish was that there was more visibility. Sometimes I have to click into a reply-all to find out who is in the meeting and whether they've accepted or not."
"In the future, I would like to see remote access control for other computers."
"There are some security issues with Zoom, which is something that needs to be resolved."
"We would like to have the ability to connect people using phone numbers so that non-Zoom users can join conversations."
"Occasional system overload that requires a restart."
"The security and chat features should improve in Zoom."
"The next version should include features like conflict resolution and Version Control."
"One thing that Zoom can improve is the chat. You can send messages to a specific person without messaging everyone. But everyone sees the whole chat if the administrator lets them see the chat. Maybe they could add an option to let you open a private conversation on the side with a person."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"There is a 40-minute time limit when you use the basic version, which is free."
"Zoom is free."
"The solution is affordable."
"I have been using the free version of Zoom."
"For personal use, I use the free version of Zoom, so I haven't paid anything."
"Zoom is licensed as a subscription model and it is available on a monthly or yearly basis."
"A licensing fee is required."
"Zoom is free."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Performing Arts
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Marketing Services Firm
8%
Construction Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business101
Midsize Enterprise33
Large Enterprise105
 

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.
LucidChart vs LucidSpark for brainstorming sessions over Zoom
Hi @Krista Thompson ​ - Yes, LucidSpark is a much more nimble and, in some ways, user-friendly tool than LucidChart. LucidSpark is designed to do a better job managing multiple users participating ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zoom?
I cannot say anything about pricing, setup costs, and licensing of Zoom Workplace Business since it is handled globally for us.
 

Also Known As

Lotus Sametime, IBM Lotus Sametime
No data available
 

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
Fortinet, Veeva, Proofpoint, Box, Ticketmaster, Trend Micro, Caesars Entertainment, Santa Clara University, Pandora, Stanford Continuing Studies
Find out what your peers are saying about HCL Sametime vs. Zoom Workplace Business and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
892,943 professionals have used our research since 2012.