HCL Sametime vs Office 365 comparison

The compared HCLSoftware and Microsoft solutions aren't in the same category. HCLSoftware is ranked #17 in VM , with an average rating of 8.0, and holds a 1.5% mindshare in the category. Microsoft is ranked #1 in CCP , with an average rating of 8.6, and holds a 10.2% mindshare. Additionally, 75% of HCLSoftware users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

HCL Sametime

Read 5 HCL Sametime reviews

406 Views
349 Comparison Views

75% willing to recommend

Office 365

Read 152 Office 365 reviews

3,509 Views
2,562 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

HCL Sametime

Office 365

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between HCL Sametime and Office 365 based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Zoom Video Communications, Cisco, TeamViewer and others in Virtual Meetings.

To learn more, read our detailed Virtual Meetings Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Virtual Meetings

February 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 882,606 peers since 2012

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

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Virtual Meetings (17th)

Office 365

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.2

Number of Reviews

152

Ranking in other categories

Content Collaboration Platforms (1st)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Messaging and Collaboration solutions, they serve different purposes. HCL Sametime is designed for Virtual Meetings and holds a mindshare of 1.5%, up 0.4% compared to last year.
Office 365, on the other hand, focuses on Content Collaboration Platforms, holds 10.2% mindshare, up 4.9% since last year.

Virtual Meetings Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
HCL Sametime	1.5%
Zoom Workplace Business	8.6%
Webex	6.8%
Other	83.1%

Virtual Meetings

Content Collaboration Platforms Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Office 365	10.2%
Google Workspace	9.3%
Dropbox Business - Enterprise	8.6%
Other	71.9%

Content Collaboration Platforms

Featured Reviews

Bogdan Chechlowski

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…

Read full review

BasilJiji

System Engineer at a retailer with 10,001+ employees

Collaboration has transformed how our teams work and Copilot now drives faster daily decisions

The interface for the security and compliance center could be simplified. It changes frequently, which can make it somewhat difficult for admins to stay up-to-date on where specific settings are located. The compliance center modification or improvement of Office 365 needs to be introduced. The rest of the features feel acceptable to me. The reason it is not a ten is because of the complexity of managing the vast array of admin settings, which requires a specialized IT team. Even though it meets industry standards for decent security compliance such as SOC and HIPAA, the complexity of managing the admin settings needs to improve.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The security was quite good."

"I can view the status and availability of colleagues or team members, which makes it easy to approach them when they are available."

"One of its strengths is the integration with SharePoint and other applications like Teams, which allows for seamless communication and file sharing."

"The integrations with Teams and SharePoint are beneficial as we use Teams for sharing and editing documents, which helps with document collaboration."

"Microsoft focuses on the customer GUI side, which makes it easy for customers to understand the product, and I recommend it because of the GUI and human interface, which allows customers to set it up without needing technical people."

"I find Office 365 valuable because it is compatible across all companies, which is essential for our organization, and the flexibility to adjust subscriptions with headcount changes is an advantage for cost management."

"I like Office 365's usability."

"Cloud-based management is valuable and software deployment is positive."

"Office 365 has great possibilities for integration, such as single sign-on and the Azure part of it."

"Teams is really helpful because my university uses Microsoft Outlook, and integrating with Teams and coordinating with my team members is very useful."

More Office 365 pros

Cons

"It lacks some features compared to modern solutions. For example, it doesn't allow sending screenshots or other files."

"The webinar should be integrated into Sametime for a larger number of participants."

"The reason it is not a ten is because of the complexity of managing the vast array of admin settings, which requires a specialized IT team."

"I'd like to see them add more features in the future in order to continue to advance the product."

"It seems like every other week when we log into the administrative portals, it doesn't matter which one, it could be the active directory portal, it could be the exchange admin center or SharePoint admin center, it seems like Microsoft is consistently updating with new versions of the admin centers, which can be frustrating."

"Using Office 365 is not that flexible on some mobile devices, like Android."

"Could include integration with other single sign-on solutions."

"I started working a lot on Microsoft Teams and I find it a bit vast. It should be divided out a bit so that someone can use it for basic functionality, like audio, video, and calls. Then, if someone wants more advanced functionality for file sharing and team creation, and so on, they could use a separate app."

"Office 365 could allow for smoother collaboration with other companies, which is the main reason we use it. The B2B connection is something we need, like global adverse lists between two tenants or multiple users. That's what we're missing at the moment."

"It would be a fantastic opportunity if their solution could be used in combination with VoIP software, allowing you to combine VoIP software and Office 365 on a single platform."

More Office 365 cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"Most of the time, we purchase Microsoft Exchange licenses, which are less expensive and provide only an email platform and 50 gigabytes of email storage for free."

"The pricing/licensing is easy to manage."

"For the moment, we are paying on a monthly basis because we are still adapting the support and how we want to proceed. I think we will move to paying for the annual license."

"The pricing is not really high, but one can get the software with the license key for free."

"The pricing is high and has actually caused us to limit the number of licenses we purchase due to budgeting."

"Good reporting and good value subscriptions for international calls."

"The price of Office 365 is very expensive."

"I would rate the solution 3 out of 5 for the price. I think Microsoft presents a good solution concerning the price."

More Office 365 pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Virtual Meetings solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

882,606 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Computer Software Company

14%

Marketing Services Firm

Outsourcing Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	62
Midsize Enterprise	29
Large Enterprise	70

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...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for HCL Sametime?

It was used for communication through text messages, primarily.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Office 365?

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Office 365 is that it is moderate.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Office 365?

Office 365 can be improved by increasing support, which currently is not efficient and takes a lot of time to resolve issues. It has been observed that support personnel often lack hands-on experie...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Office 365?

Email and collaboration are the main use cases for Office 365 at Omagi Media Labs. It is used for internal and external communication in daily work. Groups and Teams groups are created and used in ...

See all answers

Comparisons

Webex vs HCL Sametime

Compared 100% of the time

More HCL Sametime Competitors

Google Workspace vs Office 365

Compared 48% of the time

Symphony vs Office 365

Compared 10% of the time

Dropbox Business - Enterprise vs Office 365

Compared 7% of the time

Microsoft OneDrive for Business vs Office 365

Compared 4% of the time

Quip vs Office 365

Compared 3% of the time

More Office 365 Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Virtual Meetings

February 2026

Download HCL Sametime product report

Buyer's Guide

Office 365

February 2026

Download Office 365 product report

Also Known As

Lotus Sametime, IBM Lotus Sametime

Microsoft Office 365, Office 365 Enterprise, Office 365 Enterprise E1, Office 365 Enterprise E3, Office 365 Enterprise E5, Office 365 ProPlus, Office 365 Business, Office 365 Business Essentials, Office 365 Business Premium, Office 365 F1

Overview

HCL Sametime. Secure Conversations Across Any Device

Your company can’t afford to take any data risks, but your teams still need to be able to interact and react quickly, wherever they are working. Sametime offers modern instant messaging, file-sharing, and online meetings with the proven security your business can trust.

HCLSoftware

Office 365 is more than just Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. It provides powerful services like business-class email, online storage, and teamwork solutions that you can access from anywhere. Bring teams and resources together with solutions like Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business that make working together more productive and enjoyable regardless of where participants are located. Easily implement security and privacy controls to help protect business data and devices against malicious threats and help you meet your compliance obligations. Automatic updates ensure your employees will always have the latest features and security updates.

Microsoft

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

Me & the Bees Lemonade

Find out what your peers are saying about Zoom Video Communications, Cisco, TeamViewer and others in Virtual Meetings. Updated: February 2026.

DOWNLOAD NOW

882,606 professionals have used our research since 2012.

We monitor all Virtual Meetings 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.