HCL Notes vs. Slingshot

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
HCL Notes
Score 3.5 out of 10
N/A
Notes from HCL (formerly from IBM, acquired by HCL in late 2018) is a collaboration platform based on the Lotus platform.N/A
Slingshot
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
Slingshot, from Infragistics, helps users manage work from a single app. The solution brings all the apps that a team already uses into the Slingshot workflow.
$12
per year per user
Pricing
HCL NotesSlingshot
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Slingshot
$12
per year per user
Slingshot Enterprise
$20
per year per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
HCL NotesSlingshot
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
HCL NotesSlingshot
Features
HCL NotesSlingshot
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
HCL Notes
6.9
Ratings
11% below category average
Slingshot
-
Ratings
Task Management7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Gantt Charts6.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Scheduling8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow Automation5.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Access8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Search6.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Visual planning tools8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Communication
Comparison of Communication features of Product A and Product B
HCL Notes
9.2
Ratings
15% above category average
Slingshot
-
Ratings
Chat6.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Notifications9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Discussions9.50 Ratings00 Ratings
Surveys9.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Internal knowledgebase10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrates with GoToMeeting10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrates with Gmail and Google Hangouts10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrates with Outlook10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
File Sharing & Management
Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of Product A and Product B
HCL Notes
7.6
Ratings
3% below category average
Slingshot
-
Ratings
Versioning9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Video files6.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Audio files6.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Document collaboration8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Access control6.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Advanced security features8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrates with Google Drive10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Device sync8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
BI Standard Reporting
Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Product A and Product B
HCL Notes
-
Ratings
Slingshot
9.1
Ratings
11% above category average
Customizable dashboards00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Report Formatting Templates00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Ad-hoc Reporting
Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Product A and Product B
HCL Notes
-
Ratings
Slingshot
9.1
Ratings
12% above category average
Formatting capabilities00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Report sharing and collaboration00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Report Output and Scheduling
Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Product A and Product B
HCL Notes
-
Ratings
Slingshot
9.1
Ratings
9% above category average
Publish to PDF00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Data Discovery and Visualization
Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Product A and Product B
HCL Notes
-
Ratings
Slingshot
9.1
Ratings
13% above category average
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Predictive Analytics00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Access Control and Security
Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Product A and Product B
HCL Notes
-
Ratings
Slingshot
9.1
Ratings
7% above category average
Multi-User Support (named login)00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Role-Based Security Model00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Single Sign-On (SSO)00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Mobile Capabilities
Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Product A and Product B
HCL Notes
-
Ratings
Slingshot
9.1
Ratings
15% above category average
Responsive Design for Web Access00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Mobile Application00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
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HCL NotesSlingshot
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User Ratings
HCL NotesSlingshot
Likelihood to Recommend
7.0
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
1.7
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
HCL NotesSlingshot
Likelihood to Recommend
I often work with teams from other country and regions, hence HCL Notes is a very useful platform for internal company management operations. It standardized organisational work standards in most of the offices worldwide. HCL Notes also enables chat with other team around the world that I find very helpful when initiating conversation or just want to have a quick update rather than sending emails and waiting for replies. However, HCL Notes is not very efficient in web browsing and user still need to use other internet service providers.
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- You can easily connect to your providers like Google Drive, OneDrive, SharePoint and Dropbox and more, and pin files from your cloud provider without the need to save them and uploading them again
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Pros
  • Data sharing via small database format is valuable as they are quickly deployed, easily managed and distributed on backend email servers.
  • Integrated messaging allows quick communications between geographical sites reducing long distance costs.
  • Policy documents for registering new users, setting initial security levels, assigning default database access is managed easily with the admin client.
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  • Slingshot has a very friendly and easy-to-use interface while at the same time being packed with useful features. I am able to collaborate fast and in context of projects and tasks, as well as find any file easily. Files and documents are pinned directly in the collaboration app, no matter the size, so everyone involved has visibility and the most recent update. The Inbox feature keeps me in the loop with everything I am involved in – my mentions, my messages, my organization updates.
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Cons
  • The simple user experience can be touted as a positive, but it is also a negative in some ways. Compared to other calendars, email and chat tools, IBM Notes looks like it is from the 90s.
  • We have constant issues with chat crashing. This is the main reason so many people in our organization chose to switch away from Notes.
  • There aren't a lot of integrations with IBM Notes and other applications we regularly use. Notes seems to have been left behind by many.
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  • Slingshot could add more options for task views and a calendar where all tasks and projects are in one place.
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Likelihood to Renew
Since companies started to moved their email systems to the Exchange platform and the cloud, we are unable to find any new projects with IBM Notes, the marketing share and software price is another issue, so we have to move to another platform.
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No answers on this topic
Usability
Easy to use for the user, most of the apps we developed, there is not much need for user training. Most of the times, we just do a demo to the users group and they can pick up from there.
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No answers on this topic
Support Rating
I've been using the production for a very long time and very happy with it. Also, all the online resources and forums for notes is very friendly and easy/quick for getting help. I found out that compared to Microsoft or Oracle or any other platforms, IBM Notes online forum is the best I have seen.
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No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Implementation is easy and smooth if the requirement is well gathered/documented. Notes is a RAD platform, all projects in Notes is simple in the implementation step.
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
I've already answered this question in the previous questions however to sum it up IBM Notes stacks up VERY WELL! It has a LOT of really good business/enterprise features like enterprise-grade Dropbox-like storage, synced email/calendar/contacts, it supports a LOT of third-party add-ins, easy-to-use and friendly, very strong and robust, and most importantly it's a LOT more secure in my opinion than the competition.
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There really is no comparison between Excel and Slingshot. Excel is very clunky and can't produce the level of visualizations I need.
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Return on Investment
  • ROI for us has been extreme. In the late 1990's we automated dozens and dozens of paper-based processes and created workflows for activities that had never been formalized before. Additionally all those forms with their comments, etc. have been captured in a central place to serve as audit trails.
  • Whenever we need faster access to data (mail or otherwise), it's quick and easy to deploy a new Domino server somewhere, setup replication of appropriate databases, and get the local Notes clients pointed to those resources. So that to me is positive ROI because it represents time savings based on user need.
  • Tech. Support would claim a negative ROI in terms of supporting the Notes client, Notes updates, peculiar Notes issues, and users who complain about Notes. That is certainly true to a point. The Notes client is a much more complex piece of software than, say, Outlook. But we have to remember that Notes deployments are not just for Mail but many, many applications as well. In the end I'd say we might have 1 or 2 user complaints per month, typically around Calendar issues more than anything else.
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  • Slingshot has been a game-changer for task management, resulting in improved productivity.
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ScreenShots

Slingshot Screenshots

Screenshot of a team’s work broken down into tasks with due dates, dependencies and blockers, to make work understandable.Screenshot of the consolidated workspace where users can manage, share and access files and documents in the same place collaboration happens.Screenshot of Slingshot’s dashboard templates that have the essential KPIs for each use case, Interactives and features such as drill-down, and exporting to Excel or PowerPoint built right in.Screenshot of where chats and discussions from tasks, dashboards, and pinned content can be created. This allows team to move straight into collaborating with one click and stay informed.Screenshot of Slingshot's range of workspace and project templates, designed for simplicity, that enable users to handle, distribute, and retrieve files and documents while collaborating with a team.