I love this product. I have used it for many years, and I have been a developer for it. If anything, it can be faster in the client version. The client version is a little bit hard. It is not fast. This is the only problem I see. Otherwise, it is a very good product.

The only improvement that we're planning to do is that all our applications are still designed in the layout and format of Notes version 4, and our plan over the coming years is to modernize their look. One of the things they're developing or considering deploying is a program to automatically upgrade the look and feel of databases. If they deploy that, that will be revolutionary. In other words, we decide on a corporate look and feel for our database and press a button. We've probably got 50 different applications in Notes, and it would just go through the whole lot and upgrade all of them to look the same.

Web support is very old and needs an upgrade. We can handle a different password for the client to access the mail services, compared to the web services. We need to implement many other components to get access to the web access.

There could be a feature to interpret if the web access is available from any end-user equipment.

I would like to HCL update Notes' development tool and make it more attractive like Microsoft Visual Studio and similar products. For example, there's a programming language that I used for my product Woodpecker called LotusScript. LotusScript has been available since around 1995. When LotusScript was released, it was like the original Visual Basic, but it has improved since then. 

The development tool uses LotusScript, and the language has improved somewhat but hasn't gotten the facelift that Microsoft did for Visual Studio. At the same time, you could probably say the same about other development tools. 

The user interface is very old, and there are a lot of small things that make me angry when using this solution. Our users call the interface old-fashioned. One of the problems is that we have trouble with setting meetings within 24 hours.

We have a problem using Polish letters.

We had trouble connecting this solution to the database from Microsoft. We have done it, although it can be easier.

We have problems with making changes, especially when we need to modify the main document for customer relationship management. As a workaround, we have created special agents to make these changes and populate other documents. This solution is not specifically this type of database but this is related to the solutions that we want to create.

The loading time can be excessive. In the next release, I would like HCL Notes to have a feature like Microsoft Teams built into the platform.

The way Notes has improved us is that we are able to do a lot of things from the single platform of Notes. While it is a good thing — I would definitely say it is a good thing — but then this software is pretty heavily outdated. So that is a pain point. We do not really want to do everything through this platform, but it is the only platform where we have those tools now. In a way, it is good that we have a lot of capabilities built into the same platform, but this platform is old and it is sluggish.  

The first thing that I would like to see in a new version of Notes is a major improvement with the UI. With HCL Notes, once you open it, it looks like you are using Windows 98. That is how basic and rudimentary it is. The UI is definitely the primary area that can see improvement.  

Also in the UI, the general sense of the user experience can be enhanced. Things are really not always where you might think they should be. If I want to recall an email, two years after using Notes, I will finally know how to recall an email. I am sure that even 80% of my colleagues do not even know how to recall an email because that option is hidden somewhere deep in the options. HCL definitely needs to prioritize what users understand about the interface, what users want, and redesign the UI accordingly. It really is too late now. You are stuck in an ancient system when you compare the other solutions that are 20 years ahead of you.  

It feels pretty primitive. If you check the smartphone interface it is pretty basic. Things that you could do with Outlook in 2006 are things that can only be done by HCL Notes in 2020. The sense you feel when using Notes on a smartphone is almost like I am using a first-generation Android phone again. HCL does not really encourage using Notes through smartphones.  

There is a chat interface and they have a software called Sametime. That enables users to chat and send files to each other in real-time, which is similar to something like Skype for Business. It is there in HCL Notes, but it also does not work properly.  

There are many different, small examples that I can use to state how Notes does not work or where it is lacking. Definitely a tighter integration is needed to check what users want, and what users do not want. A total UI overhaul would be necessary to keep the product alive.  

The interface could be more user-friendly. Some additional trainings could be added as well. 

The solution could improve by adding some more features.

I would like to see integration with other solutions.

The problem with Lotus Domino is that there are no new versions of the product. The last version that I know is 9.x.

GUI, the graphic user interface, could be improved as well as replication.