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HCL Connections vs Webex 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.2
Users achieved ROI from HCL Connections in nine months by encouraging daily use and eliminating redundant features like chat.
Sentiment score
4.4
Webex is valued for cost-effectiveness, organizational benefits, security features, and facilitating meetings, though specific ROI measurements vary.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.5
HCL Connections' customer service varies, with mixed reviews on support responsiveness and challenges in reaching knowledgeable staff.
Sentiment score
6.6
Users generally praise Cisco Webex support, but some face response time and integration challenges, while internal teams often reduce direct interaction.
The support was fine, but it was not a product of Webex per se; it was a product of the third-party we were working with.
Program Manager at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Webex supports our daily communication and collaboration needs, but not extensively, as all support is via our service center.
System Egineer at Degroof-Petercam
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
HCL Connections offers high scalability with effective IBM WebSphere support, despite Solr search limitations and manageable storage challenges.
Sentiment score
7.0
Webex is scalable for various organizational sizes, supporting communications effectively with easy integration, despite some deployment challenges.
Webex can handle any organization's growth and increased users.
Product Specialist at Frontier Business systems
Webex is very scalable, and I do not think that our organization has ever reached its limit.
CTO at Trust-IT Solutions
I believe Webex should be performing fine scalability-wise since when we called, we should have been more than 20 in the call together.
Web Designer / Developer & Creative Professional at Federal University of Technology Akure
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
HCL Connections is stable on WebSphere but needs tuning for performance; IBM support addresses occasional instability effectively.
Sentiment score
7.5
Webex is stable and reliable with high ratings, despite minor connectivity issues and rare audio problems.
 

Room For Improvement

HCL Connections needs better document management, interface customization, third-party integration, collaboration, and cloud stability for improved usability.
Users seek Webex improvements in interface, performance, integration, cost, scalability, security, setup, file-sharing, and call quality.
Better integration with other productivity tools and a more streamlined user experience across desktop and mobile devices in Webex would be beneficial.
Full Stack Developer at a consultancy with 1-10 employees
Connecting to Webex can be technical, and it would be beneficial to have a way to connect anonymously using a simple code instead of going through microphone issues.
Web Designer / Developer & Creative Professional at Federal University of Technology Akure
Zoom has a big advantage in simplicity, especially for the other side to connect to a session.
CTO at Trust-IT Solutions
 

Setup Cost

HCL Connections pricing varies widely, offers discounts, flexible licensing, and competitive pricing compared to Jive or SharePoint.
Webex pricing varies widely, often seen as expensive, with costs improving on bulk purchases and advanced features included.
The licensing model doesn't work because if I want to implement it for an organization, I need to pay a per-user license, which makes it very restrictive.
Program Manager at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Webex is expensive.
CTO at Trust-IT Solutions
 

Valuable Features

HCL Connections enhances collaboration with file sharing, tool integration, expert profiles, mobile access, and efficient content management.
Webex offers high-quality sound, video, seamless integration, security, collaboration tools, AI meeting notes, and real-time translation.
The third feature is the AI-powered intelligence that notes down minutes of the meeting, allowing us to concentrate on the content rather than jotting down points.
Product Specialist at Frontier Business systems
It has improved the incident resolution time by getting into a call in Webex rooms and remediating the issues together as soon as possible.
Senior Consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Screen sharing is appreciated as a feature. During discussions and demos, it makes collaboration more effective, especially when reviewing designs, websites, or project progress with clients and team members.
Full Stack Developer at a consultancy with 1-10 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

HCL Connections
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
55
Ranking in other categories
Corporate Portals (Enterprise Information Portals) (5th), Enterprise Social Software (15th)
Webex
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.6
Number of Reviews
130
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Meetings (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Messaging and Collaboration solutions, they serve different purposes. HCL Connections is designed for Corporate Portals (Enterprise Information Portals) and holds a mindshare of 5.7%, up 3.4% compared to last year.
Webex, on the other hand, focuses on Virtual Meetings, holds 5.5% mindshare, down 17.1% since last year.
Corporate Portals (Enterprise Information Portals) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
HCL Connections5.7%
SharePoint20.3%
Drupal17.6%
Other56.4%
Corporate Portals (Enterprise Information Portals)
Virtual Meetings Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Webex5.5%
Zoom Workplace Business7.8%
TeamViewer3.9%
Other82.8%
Virtual Meetings
 

Featured Reviews

Hasnain Zahid - PeerSpot reviewer
Talent acquisition & development specialist at Software Productivity Strategists, Inc. (SPS)
A stable tool useful to manage marketing-related activities
Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten. Sometimes, the portal hangs because I find that if I am on a web page, I have to log out, and then I have to log in to the portal again. Since I see that the portal hangs at times, I have to move from one side of the portal to the next, making me feel that some things are scattered in the product. I attended a meeting with IBM recently, and they are improving a few of the things, in my opinion. The concerns that I have related to the product are being improved since I think many other users have reported issues similar to the ones I faced.
Akhil Viswam - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Collaborating in hybrid incident calls has become faster while the meeting interface still needs fixes
The best features are the ability to schedule meetings and launch ad hoc meetings. Additionally, we can create breakout rooms within the meeting itself, which is another excellent feature. Whenever we have production issues, many teams join a single Webex call. Sometimes we need to group together as separate smaller groups and work in parallel to identify the production issues. In those cases, we create Webex breakout rooms and each member joins the corresponding breakout session to progress on their task. Webex helps significantly in the hybrid environment. When we are working from home, it is very easy for us to meet with other team members and the management to get in touch and progress. Webex improves communication because even if we are working from home, we can connect with people and talk to them on a video call. It has improved the incident resolution time by getting into a call in Webex rooms and remediating the issues together as soon as possible. Audio and video quality is excellent for Webex. It has saved considerable time in terms of incident remediation. Whenever we have issues, we jump on a call and work together in parallel. This approach saves time and improves efficiency.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
12%
Performing Arts
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Marketing Services Firm
10%
Construction Company
9%
Religious Institution
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business22
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise26
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business41
Midsize Enterprise26
Large Enterprise68
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with HCL Connections?
The support is an area where the product can improve. My company faces some support-related issues because whenever we create or generate a ticket, it takes two days for the product's support team ...
What is your primary use case for HCL Connections?
I use HCL Connections for marketing purposes. The IBM product in our company already provides us with direct links to the marketing and HR sides.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Webex?
From when I last implemented it, I found the price to be expensive. The licensing model doesn't work because if I want to implement it for an organization, I need to pay a per-user license, which m...
What needs improvement with Webex?
Webex can be simplified in terms of user interface, where many features should be displayed in a compact view, with similar features grouped together and a minimalistic design helping users underst...
What is your primary use case for Webex?
We typically use Webex for meetings to train in web development, business analytics, and cybersecurity, as the training platform was hosted on Webex and we used it for video calls as well. Our firs...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

IBM Connections, Lotus Connections
Cisco Spark
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Yamato Financial Co. Ltd., University of Zurich, Gwinnett County Public Schools, Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V., Telus, Rabobank, Christian Brothers Services, Grupo Financiero Banorte, The Loft Group, Dow Water & Process Solutions, JGC Corporation, College of Medicine, Swansea University, solvito GmbH, Loft Group, Hamm-Reno Group GmbH, Geno SA
Seagate Technology, Kohn Pedersen Fox, World Vision International, Glen Raven, University of Notre Dame, CEV Multimedia, The Food Group, LUMEDX, California Baptist University, and Georgetown University Law Center.
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Atlassian, Liferay and others in Corporate Portals (Enterprise Information Portals). Updated: May 2026.
896,510 professionals have used our research since 2012.