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HCL Sametime vs Polycom RealPresence Clariti comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 3, 2025

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
18th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Polycom RealPresence Clariti
Ranking in Virtual Meetings
11th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Virtual Meetings category, the mindshare of HCL Sametime is 1.3%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Polycom RealPresence Clariti is 1.7%, down from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Meetings Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Polycom RealPresence Clariti1.7%
HCL Sametime1.3%
Other97.0%
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…
NH
VTC Network manager at a government with 10,001+ employees
The ability to track call flow and history simplifies call management while bridging issues persist
I find the ability to follow the calls, the call flow, the ability to look at the history, and more on the fault-finding tools to be valuable. It improved from a support model perspective. It simplified the licensing, reduced administration since it's based on calls, not based on users. It's about managing the calls and verifying we have enough space as opposed to always adding licenses for endpoints or users.

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."
"It does a good job of integrating with other software."
"I find the ability to follow the calls, the call flow, the ability to look at the history, and more on the fault-finding tools to be valuable."
"Some proprietary Polycom features include speaker tracking, acoustic fencing, noise cancellation, active noise cancellation, and noise cancellation AI."
"The most valuable feature is its integration with solutions like Zoom and Teams for endpoints. The picture quality is high, and the conference sessions are stable."
"It's on-prem, which is great."
 

Cons

"The webinar should be integrated into Sametime for a larger number of participants."
"It lacks some features compared to modern solutions. For example, it doesn't allow sending screenshots or other files."
"Polycom RealPresence Clariti is very bad when moving towards the cloud."
"The customer needs this platform to be a little bit more customized."
"The only issue we have is with some of the bridging stuff, particularly with respect to DTMF and outgoing calls."
"The most valuable feature is its integration with solutions like Zoom and Teams for endpoints. The picture quality is high, and the conference sessions are stable."
"Could have a wider range of use cases."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"Polycom RealPresence Clariti is definitely more expensive than others in the market because of its high quality."
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881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

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.
What needs improvement with Polycom RealPresence Clariti?
They are discontinuing the product and they are moving over to Pexip. The only issue we have is with some of the bridging stuff, particularly with respect to DTMF and outgoing calls. That's our big...
What is your primary use case for Polycom RealPresence Clariti?
We use it both nationally and internationally with our partners, however, it's used in a closed environment.
What advice do you have for others considering Polycom RealPresence Clariti?
I would recommend it, however, it depends on the environment. We have a lot of users but not a lot of usage, so the price model is really good for that environment. Overall, I would give it a nine ...
 

Also Known As

Lotus Sametime, IBM Lotus Sametime
RealPresence Clariti, Clariti
 

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
Baptist Health Corbin, North Carolina Central University
Find out what your peers are saying about HCL Sametime vs. Polycom RealPresence Clariti and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.