Google Workspace vs HCL Notes comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Google Workspace and HCL Notes based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Email Applications solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed Google Workspace vs. HCL Notes Report (Updated: November 2023).
745,775 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The initial setup is simple.""Google Chat is the most valuable feature of the solution.""The email is excellent.""Valuable features of the solution are that it's simple and effective.""The initial setup of Google Workspace is straightforward.""It's easy to use.""Google Mail lets you link a task to a specific email and add a reminder. That's helpful for reviewing your schedule. It's based on Slack, so you don't have these folders like in Microsoft mail. Using Slack instead of folders is a bit more intuitive. It's easier to find again a specific email than using Microsoft Suite. If you misplace things, it's much easier to find them because of Google's search capability.""We value the collaboration levels that are offered. Having everything integrated in a single platform is a dream come true for us."

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"The security and performance of the solution are good even though our platform is variable, except for the mail services.""The initial setup was easy for me.""HCL Notes has fantastic built-in security. The email and personal communication components are excellent, but they are some applications provided by HCL that Notes previously provided when it was under IBM and Lotus. Everyone wants email, so that's just part of the product. However, more savvy users can build their own solutions for managing information, and that's the great thing about it.""Its security is absolutely stratospheric. In an application, you can lock down to field-level security. For example, I could log in and see a field in an HR database with salaries. When you log in, you see exactly the same database, but the field with the salary just isn't there. So, you can literally have field-level security on it, and you can also have secure encryption. For example, I could give you that database allowing you to see the salary, but a calculation that shows how much they get per month in another field is encrypted. So, you won't be able to see that because you don't have the encryption key. You can implement high-level security very simply.""HCL Notes is stable most of the time.""The most valuable feature is the access that it provides to documents. This offers us an easy way to make changes.""It is one of the best products in the world for workflow applications. It works very well for workflows or decisional processes where a task needs to be first approved by someone. After that, the task moves to the next or final stage where another person approves it with some notes or attached documents."

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Cons
"What needs improvement in Google Workspace is the Google Drive app, in particular, making the process of finding the shared and most used files and folders easier. The first time you get an invite to view a file or folder in Google Drive and you view that folder or file, it's pretty easy, but the next time you try to access it again, sometimes, it's a bit difficult to find what was shared with you. An additional feature I'd like to see in Google Workspace is the option to un-send messages in Gmail. Microsoft has a message recall feature, and this isn't available in Gmail, so it's the feature I'd like to be added to Gmail.""There are times the plugins or extensions in the solution do not work properly and I need to disable and enable the solution.""Everything is online, so you don't have a client on your desk. Working on email is online work, so can't do work offline and go back online. Sometimes it's not so intuitive. If you answer an email, it puts your answer at the bottom of the existing email.""I believe that Sheets could have a more functional and user-friendly interface. Google Sheets currently lacks macros and cross file links which can be found in Excel.""There are 120 different products and Google is ready to copy their competitors and vice versa. Some of them work, and some of them don't. There are many newer tools with no-code environments which allow for a leaner self-owned system, where I'm not tied to paying hundreds and thousands of dollars a year to another company.""With Microsoft, you can use it on the web version, and you can use Microsoft Outlook. Google has the web version.""And I think Google Translate could add more features. For example, it could be integrated when typing in a document or a web browser like Grammarly.""The initial setup is not intuitive at all."

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"The loading time can be excessive.""I would like to HCL update Notes' development tool and make it more attractive like Microsoft Visual Studio and similar products. For example, there's a programming language that I used for my product Woodpecker called LotusScript. LotusScript has been available since around 1995. When LotusScript was released, it was like the original Visual Basic, but it has improved since then.""Web support is very old and needs an upgrade. We can handle a different password for the client to access the mail services, compared to the web services. We need to implement many other components to get access to the web access. There could be a feature to interpret if the web access is available from any end-user equipment.""The only improvement that we're planning to do is that all our applications are still designed in the layout and format of Notes version 4, and our plan over the coming years is to modernize their look. One of the things they're developing or considering deploying is a program to automatically upgrade the look and feel of databases. If they deploy that, that will be revolutionary. In other words, we decide on a corporate look and feel for our database and press a button. We've probably got 50 different applications in Notes, and it would just go through the whole lot and upgrade all of them to look the same.""We had trouble connecting this solution to the database from Microsoft. We have done it, although it can be easier.""The interface could be more user-friendly. Some additional trainings could be added as well.""I love this product. I have used it for many years, and I have been a developer for it. If anything, it can be faster in the client version. The client version is a little bit hard. It is not fast. This is the only problem I see. Otherwise, it is a very good product."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "It's cheaper to run a couple of users in a Google platform than what it would be with Microsoft Exchange."
  • "The pricing is comparable, it's pretty decent."
  • "The price of G Suite Enterprise is reasonable compared to HotSpot. I'm not going to say G Suite Enterprise is affordable. It's valuable, you find value in paying your gas bill or your electricity bill, because of what it allows you to do."
  • "The overall cost is very reasonable when considering all of the security features that you are receiving. It is a bit more expensive than our local host and/or other hosting companies that are available on the market, but it is worth it."
  • "I can't recall the exact pricing per user for Google Workspace, but I know it's not that expensive. I'm in a mid-sized company that's able to maintain and afford Google Workspace, so it has competitive pricing, and I would rate its price as four out of five."
  • "You pay for Google Workspace based on your usage and the apps you use, but in my case, it's free, but if I used it a lot more, I'd probably need to pay. 15GB is enough for me, but I see myself upgrading and paying the additional charges for more storage regularly."
  • "I give the pricing an eight out of ten, with ten being the most affordable."
  • "There are different versions of the solution available, such as premium."
  • More Google Workspace Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "It is far cheaper to license. It is a third of the cost of our Microsoft license for 10 times the amount of usage. Developing applications cost a fraction of anything else. There are two reasons for that. First of all, applications are very fast to build. All the security is already built into the platform, so you don't have to worry about security at all. The other thing is that because fewer people use it than, for example, Microsoft SharePoint, the salary commanded by programmers is slightly lower. So, it is not only faster; you also get cheaper programmers. So, you really win-win-win on it."
  • "We pay licensing fees on a yearly basis."
  • "I don't remember how much we paid when we first bought the Domino license, but now, we pay only for the passport. For 30 client licenses, we pay about $1,500 per year, and we don't consider it very expensive for the quality of the product. In our case, we need 30 client licenses. So, we buy 30 client licenses independently of the server. It is very easy for us to choose and maintain this kind of license and get the passport advantage."
  • "The solution is expensive. There are many components or features which make the price very high."
  • More HCL Notes Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:The solution is easy to use, and you don't need a lot of knowledge for it.
    Top Answer:The security and performance of the solution are good even though our platform is variable, except for the mail services.
    Top Answer:Web support is very old and needs an upgrade. We can handle a different password for the client to access the mail services, compared to the web services. We need to implement many other components to… more »
    Top Answer:We use the solution for mail implementation, app development or business processes.
    Ranking
    2nd
    out of 23 in Email Applications
    Views
    6,268
    Comparisons
    5,439
    Reviews
    27
    Average Words per Review
    496
    Rating
    8.0
    5th
    out of 23 in Email Applications
    Views
    3,013
    Comparisons
    1,455
    Reviews
    7
    Average Words per Review
    720
    Rating
    8.4
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    G-Suite Enterprise, G-Suite, Google Apps for Business, G Suite Basic, G Suite Business, G-Suite Basic, G-Suite Business, Google Vault
    IBM Lotus Notes, Lotus Notes
    Learn More
    Overview

    Similar to G Suite, all Google Workspace plans provide a custom email for your business and include collaboration tools like Gmail, Calendar, Meet, Chat, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Sites, and more.

    As we’ve evolved G Suite into a more integrated experience across our communication and collaboration tools, we’ve rebranded to Google Workspace to more accurately represent the product vision.

    HCL Notes is a secure on-premises email client that allows teams access to email, calendar, and contact management capabilities. The solution integrates other collaboration tools seamlessly along with HCL Domino business applications, into a single workspace. HCL Notes is most commonly used in corporate environments for email, but can also be used to create websites, custom applications and business workflows, discussion groups, and document libraries. In addition, the solution enhances user experiences, helps internal teams collaborate with internal and external stakeholders, and streamline communication management operations.

    HCL Notes is available for Windows, Apple iOS, and Android.

    HCL Notes Features

    HCL Notes has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

    • Instant Messaging with HCL Sametime.

    • Unified Inbox: This HCL Notes feature helps you consolidate multiple email accounts into one viewable platform.

    • Filters: The HCL Notes filters allow users to filter their emails by sender, date received, opened/unopened, and more.

    • Reminders: With the reminders feature, users are prompted with reminders to send or reply to emails.

    • Notifications: HCL Notes notifications feature pings users, notifying them when they receive new emails.

    • Task Management: HCL Notes has built-in task creation and assignment functionality.

    • Reporting & Statistics.

    HCL Notes Benefits

    Some of the benefits of using HCL Notes include:

    • Mobility and accessibility: HCL Notes provides users with access to their mail and calendar wherever and whenever they are doing work.
    • Easy integration: With HCL Notes, you can interact with files directly from your email messages — preview, download, follow, comment, or share them with your team.
    • Better access capabilities: HCL Notes makes it possible for you to access profiles, roles, skill sets, and areas of responsibility for all your contacts. It also allows you to view related blogs and collaboration histories of shared work.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by HCL Notes users.

    An Administration & Technical Director at a tech services company says, "Its security is absolutely stratospheric. In an application, you can lock down to field-level security. For example, I could log in and see a field in an HR database with salaries. When you log in, you see exactly the same database, but the field with the salary just isn't there. So, you can literally have field-level security on it, and you can also have secure encryption. For example, I could give you that database allowing you to see the salary, but a calculation that shows how much they get per month in another field is encrypted. So, you won't be able to see that because you don't have the encryption key. You can implement high-level security very simply."

    PeerSpot user Bogdan C., Kierownik Biura Informatyki at an insurance company, mentions, “The most valuable feature is the access that it provides to documents. This offers us an easy way to make changes.”

    Marcos S., Diretor at MASTERDOM, comments, “The solution is practical, good interface, and performs well. The usability of the old applications to the new version of the client is very good. The migration is very good for some legacy applications.”

    Offer
    Learn more about Google Workspace
    Learn more about HCL Notes
    Sample Customers
    There are over five million businesses that use Google Apps for Business worldwide. Some key customers include The Roche Group, National Geographic, American Red Cross, City of Los Angeles, Flight Centre, and Konica Minolta.
    Connect2Cloud, Hansgrohe, Sauk County, Blue Water Shipping, FDBR, ibml, Multivac, Aarhus University Hospital, Hendricks Regional Health, Asian Paints, Integra Legal, Sunplus Technology, S¾SS, The Moroccan Ministry of Youth and Sports, Nicrometal, Doncasters Group, Practice Plan, Barr, RACV, Neotechnik, Deutsche Notes User Group
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company31%
    Manufacturing Company14%
    University8%
    Media Company6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company15%
    Comms Service Provider7%
    Government7%
    Financial Services Firm7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company17%
    Comms Service Provider10%
    Government10%
    Financial Services Firm8%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business61%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise24%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business33%
    Midsize Enterprise16%
    Large Enterprise51%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business54%
    Large Enterprise46%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business28%
    Midsize Enterprise18%
    Large Enterprise55%
    Buyer's Guide
    Google Workspace vs. HCL Notes
    November 2023
    Find out what your peers are saying about Google Workspace vs. HCL Notes and other solutions. Updated: November 2023.
    745,775 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Google Workspace is ranked 2nd in Email Applications with 29 reviews while HCL Notes is ranked 5th in Email Applications with 7 reviews. Google Workspace is rated 8.0, while HCL Notes is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of Google Workspace writes "It replaces a mishmash of different solutions with one fully integrated product". On the other hand, the top reviewer of HCL Notes writes "It's a user-friendly tool for knowledge-sharing applications with good backward compatibility". Google Workspace is most compared with Microsoft Exchange Online, Amazon WorkMail, Google Cloud Storage, Amazon WorkDocs and Box, whereas HCL Notes is most compared with HCL Domino, Microsoft Exchange, HCL Verse, Zimbra Collaboration and Microsoft Exchange Online. See our Google Workspace vs. HCL Notes report.

    See our list of best Email Applications vendors.

    We monitor all Email Applications reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.