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HCL Sametime vs Zoom Workplace Business comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 2026

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
17th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Zoom Workplace Business
Ranking in Virtual Meetings
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
233
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Virtual Meetings category, the mindshare of HCL Sametime is 1.5%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zoom Workplace Business is 8.6%, down from 11.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Meetings Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Zoom Workplace Business8.6%
HCL Sametime1.5%
Other89.9%
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…
Yifate Yusuf - PeerSpot reviewer
Team Lead at GE
Unified communication has transformed our collaboration and consistently boosts project delivery
The best features Zoom Workplace Business offers include screen sharing, clear video and audio, online meetings, large-scale events, call management, mobile apps, unified communication platform, and collaboration. The feature I find myself using the most is an AI-powered collaboration platform that is used to streamline communication, increase employee engagement, optimize in-person time, and improve productivity. The screen sharing is very effective and a helpful tool where we are able to screen share with our colleagues and discuss different tasks and project management ideas. Collaboration has become very efficient, and remote working has also become efficient and prevalent in my organization. We have been able to save a lot of time using Zoom Workplace Business. It has been a game-changer. Zoom Workplace Business elevates the experience with Zoom AI Companion included at no additional cost. It is designed to help employees be more productive, collaborate better, enhance their skills, and unlock time savings.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I can view the status and availability of colleagues or team members, which makes it easy to approach them when they are available."
"The security was quite good."
"Zoom is scalable. We have about 10,000 users at my company."
"Zoom is a stable solution."
"The solution provides good video quality."
"When I had meetings, I used to take notes or record them, but then someone still had to transcribe everything. Now, I'm fascinated by OtterPilot. It automatically transcribes meetings, summarizes them, and identifies action items. I've been recommending it to everyone I know. It is a tool that you can use during Zoom or Teams calls. It takes real-time notes and then sends a summary and action items to everyone via email. It's been really helpful for about three or four years now."
"Zoom Workplace Business has positively impacted the organization because by using the same solution, you always know that it is going to work."
"The most valuable feature is push notifications"
"Zoom is very convenient to use and the basic functions work well for us."
"The solution is stable and scalable."
 

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."
"Zoom can improve the user-friendliness of the management when you are doing a webinar."
"While Zoom calls are great for talking and chatting, they often lack follow-up on action items and collaboration. Most of the time, it's just talking and listening without much progress. There's a missing piece in these tools. About 90 percent of those calls could be replaced by other tools that focus more on the deliverables that make a real impact rather than just being another wasted meeting. It doesn't improve collaboration."
"Password requirement for every meeting."
"I don't have any particular issues, but I think the user interface could be improved. Previously, I used Microsoft Teams, where the chat, video, and audio options were all easily accessible in one place, making the user experience smoother. In Zoom, it's a bit more manual. For example, we must use external chat options like Slack and manually send the Zoom URL link to initiate a chat. In MicrosoftTeams, you can directly call and chat with someone from the contact list simultaneously."
"Zoom could improve its security. I heard they had a breach the last time."
"I find while using Zoom sometimes there is a lot of disturbance while on the call. There is a lot of network issues, and sometimes the screen freezes, and you have no way of figuring out what went wrong. You have to restart the computer all over again, or you lose some of the words that someone was saying during the meeting, such as what the person is trying to say in the midst of that conversation. Additionally, there have been times it has disconnected and was not able to start."
"When anyone installs Zoom for organizational purposes, then it's fine because all the safety and protection is taken care of by the organization. However, when it's done on a personal basis the terms and conditions, you are not secure."
"Additional end-user features like polling would be beneficial."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"We have subscribed to a package for Zoom and it is a monthly payment."
"There are both free and paid versions available."
"A licensing fee is required."
"As an organization, we are paying a license fee for Zoom. Personally, I use the free version."
"Zoom has a less expensive subscription than other solutions such as Cisco Webex."
"We are using the free version of the solution."
"Zoom is free."
"The cost for Zoom is reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Performing Arts
14%
Marketing Services Firm
10%
University
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business99
Midsize Enterprise33
Large Enterprise105
 

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.
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?
The pricing, setup cost, and licensing were not negotiated, so those details are uncertain.
 

Also Known As

Lotus Sametime, IBM Lotus Sametime
No data available
 

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
Fortinet, Veeva, Proofpoint, Box, Ticketmaster, Trend Micro, Caesars Entertainment, Santa Clara University, Pandora, Stanford Continuing Studies
Find out what your peers are saying about HCL Sametime vs. Zoom Workplace Business and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,757 professionals have used our research since 2012.