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HCL Connections vs Zoom Workplace Business 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
7.8
Zoom Workplace Business increases efficiency and ROI, offering value by reducing travel costs and integrating seamlessly into processes.
Zoom definitely saves time and makes my work more efficient.
 

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
6.0
Zoom Workplace Business's ease reduces support use; users prefer internal resources, though some find support unresponsive and documentation lacking.
If there's an issue, I reach out to their support, and they respond quickly without major problems.
There is a wealth of information available on the internet because many users have asked for support and the solutions are published online.
On the rare occasions when I had issues, they were resolved in a few hours, indicating a good overall experience.
 

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
7.4
Zoom Workplace Business is highly scalable, supporting many participants smoothly, with flexible licensing and minimal performance issues.
Scalability is good.
Microsoft Teams automatically removes noise.
It would be ideal if there was an automatic scaling option where you could pay for increased capacity as needed.
 

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
7.9
Zoom Workplace Business is stable, reliable, with minor sound concerns; connectivity issues often relate to user-end problems.
I didn't have any problem with Zoom, and overall with Zoom, there are no connection issues, stability, or performance problems.
It does take up a lot of computer bandwidth, which can slow down performance, especially when I'm sharing screens.
Zoom is very stable.
 

Room For Improvement

HCL Connections needs better document management, interface customization, third-party integration, collaboration, and cloud stability for improved usability.
Zoom Workplace Business users seek better security, integration, features, interfaces, support, and pricing for an improved experience.
For students, it would be beneficial to have access through the university for longer meetings.
Sometimes there's an issue with changing links to meetings if someone is the organizer and then they're not anymore.
There is potential for Zoom to integrate functionalities like Gong, offering sales insights and follow-up suggestions.
 

Setup Cost

HCL Connections pricing varies widely, offers discounts, flexible licensing, and competitive pricing compared to Jive or SharePoint.
Zoom Workplace Business is praised for its flexible pricing, but more affordable options for smaller businesses are desired.
For education use, having more affordable access through institutions would be beneficial.
Zoom could make its pricing more reasonable for individual users.
Zoom is free for individual users, which is a significant benefit compared to Microsoft Teams, which is a paid service.
 

Valuable Features

HCL Connections enhances collaboration with file sharing, tool integration, expert profiles, mobile access, and efficient content management.
Zoom Workplace Business is praised for user-friendly features, integration, stability, and support for large meetings and devices.
I find screen sharing, video options, providing remote access, chatting, raising hands, and interactive features during meetings to be extremely valuable.
the ability to share your screen
Zoom is user-friendly, straightforward, and easy to connect with.
 

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 (12th)
Zoom Workplace Business
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
225
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Meetings (1st)
 

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 3.1%, up 2.7% compared to last year.
Zoom Workplace Business, on the other hand, focuses on Virtual Meetings, holds 11.4% mindshare, down 12.5% since last year.
Corporate Portals (Enterprise Information Portals)
Virtual Meetings
 

Featured Reviews

Hasnain Zahid - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Luiz Kazan - PeerSpot reviewer
Utilizing versatile features for efficient personal and work meetings
Zoom offers a number of interesting and valuable features. One of the most interesting is the ability to share only audio and provide ambient music without sharing a screen. The breakout room feature is much more developed than other solutions, allowing users to stay in the same meeting and move to different rooms and back to the main room. The sharing features are great for projecting people who should be in focus. Another valuable feature is the virtual entrance, which uses a username and password recognized by the Zoom system, showing the person's full name and ID. Additionally, the use of video and a good fixed background improves visibility compared to other applications. These features differentiate Zoom from others.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Performing Arts
19%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Media Company
10%
Educational Organization
7%
University
14%
Performing Arts
12%
Educational Organization
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about HCL Connections?
Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten...Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.
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.
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?
Zoom offers a free version for up to forty minutes.
 

Also Known As

IBM Connections, Lotus Connections
No data available
 

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
Fortinet, Veeva, Proofpoint, Box, Ticketmaster, Trend Micro, Caesars Entertainment, Santa Clara University, Pandora, Stanford Continuing Studies
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Atlassian, Liferay and others in Corporate Portals (Enterprise Information Portals). Updated: August 2025.
865,484 professionals have used our research since 2012.