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Lightning Tools Lightning Forms vs. Quadient Inspire

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Lightning Tools Lightning Forms

    Score9.1 out of 10
    Enterprise companies (1,001+ employees)
    Lightning Forms is a SharePoint list form design tool that aims to enable users to improve the logic, layout and styling of responsive SharePoint Forms. Lightning Forms offers cascading lookups, customized buttons with actions, repeating lists integration, tab controls, styling and conditional control formatting, calculations, and expressions. These features help users to build business forms within SharePoint and offers an alternative to InfoPath Forms.

    $2,200

    per year per installation

    Quadient Inspire

    Score8.6 out of 10
    N/AQuadient Inspire offers a customer experience management portfolio that provides human-centric communication solutions that span the entire customer lifecycle, to help organizations to create meaningful connections with their customers, wherever, whenever they prefer.N/A
    Pricing
    Lightning Tools Lightning FormsQuadient Inspire
    Editions & Modules
    Lightning Forms OnPrem
    From $2000
    per year per installation
    Lightning Forms Plus OnPrem
    From $3500
    per year per installation
    Lightning Forms OnPrem Enterprise Edition
    POA
    per year per installation
    Lightning Forms (Online)
    From $2200
    per year per installation
    Form Designer Suite (Online)
    From $4000
    per year per installation
    Lightning Forms Enterprise Edition (Online)
    POA
    per year per installation
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Lightning Tools Lightning FormsQuadient Inspire
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
    Additional DetailsPrices stated are minimum per installation for "stock" products. $2.2 & $4.00 per user/year for each product ion top of base price. Enterprise editions can be amended to suit business needs if deemed necessary, additional costs incurred and TBD. All packages include free technical support. Free upgrades available to latest versions of tool as they are released. (online versions)The solution is highly modular. Pricing may differ a lot depending on usage and configuration.
    More Pricing Information
    Features
    Lightning Tools Lightning FormsQuadient Inspire
    Survey Format & Appearance
    Comparison of Survey Format & Appearance features of Lightning Tools Lightning Forms and Quadient Inspire
    Feature
    Lightning Tools Lightning Forms
    8.2
    1 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Quadient Inspire
    -
    Ratings
    Custom logo/branding8.21 Ratings00 Ratings
    Survey Content
    Comparison of Survey Content features of Lightning Tools Lightning Forms and Quadient Inspire
    Feature
    Lightning Tools Lightning Forms
    8.6
    1 Ratings
    1% above category average
    Quadient Inspire
    -
    Ratings
    Changes to live survey9.11 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multiple question types8.21 Ratings00 Ratings
    Survey Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Survey Reporting & Analytics features of Lightning Tools Lightning Forms and Quadient Inspire
    Feature
    Lightning Tools Lightning Forms
    9.1
    2 Ratings
    11% above category average
    Quadient Inspire
    -
    Ratings
    Data export9.12 Ratings00 Ratings
    Standard reports9.11 Ratings00 Ratings
    Survey Administration & Security
    Comparison of Survey Administration & Security features of Lightning Tools Lightning Forms and Quadient Inspire
    Feature
    Lightning Tools Lightning Forms
    9.1
    2 Ratings
    4% above category average
    Quadient Inspire
    -
    Ratings
    Access controls9.12 Ratings00 Ratings
    Compliance9.11 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Lightning Tools Lightning FormsQuadient Inspire
    Small Businesses
    Jotform
    Score8.5 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    Qualaroo
    Score6.1 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Enterprises
    QuestionPro
    Score10 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Lightning Tools Lightning FormsQuadient Inspire
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    9.8
    (34 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    Usability
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    8.8
    (18 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    7.9
    (21 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.3
    (5 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    1.0
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Professional Services
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.9
    (5 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Lightning Tools Lightning FormsQuadient Inspire
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Lightning Tools
    Overall, there are many use cases for which Lightning Forms provides a slick, easy to develop and extremely useful solution. Request forms that need to be actioned and inspection forms are the scenarios that we have used them for so far, which have seen a lot of success. We have decided that other scenarios that are perhaps more sensitive, for instance forms that may contain special category data relating to our customers, are less appropriate given the permissions/licensing constraints of both SharePoint and Lightning Forms.
    Read full review
    Quadient
    Scenarios where Quadient Inspire is well suited - When we want to create some content which can be reused, as we create blocks in Quadient which has some data in it, and these blocks can be reused. When we want to create consistent content and want to deliver it through omni-channel medium in large volume, as Quadient Inspire makes delivery of large volume communications possible, and it does so in mere seconds. Scenarios where Quadient Inspire is less appropriate - sometimes it feels like editing in a Word document is easier than Quadient Inspire, e.g., when we need to add bullet points in the content.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Lightning Tools
    • Simple user interface - users of the forms intuitively aware of how/where to input information. This is in part due to being able to show or hide different questions or areas of the form, and making them required or not, based on previous answers.
    • Low/simple code - building complex forms with automation and multiple dependencies or lookups is relatively easy once you get started. You have the power of JavaScript to use and do some quite clever things if you can get to grips with it - a lot of solutions are only a Google away.
    • As it is based on SharePoint, it integrates perfectly with the rest of the M365 suite. Things like PowerAutomate enhance its functionality even further.
    Read full review
    Quadient
    • Highly flexible data ingestion
    • Clear and powerful workflow design that makes support easy to understand as teams evolve
    • Great internal debugging tool that simplifies and accelerates the development cycle
    • Powerful scripting structure available at nearly every aspect of data management, composition, and finishing allowing for specialized requirements not available in the standard toolset to be met
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Lightning Tools
    • The styling of the form can sometimes be slightly awkward to use depending on what you're looking to do. For instance, if I was looking to highlight fields that users have missed (left empty), I would need to set up a validation for that question and then set a style for that particular field for when it is invalid. When you have a large and complex form with lots of dependencies, this is awkward.
    • Support for complex and niche issues is slightly lacking in my experience. I submitted a helpdesk ticket for help with a strange issue I couldn't figure out, which took several weeks to get a response to. Because it is niche, it's more difficult to find an answer by searching the internet. Luckily, knowing there is likely to always be a fix if you find the right place/use the right formula, I manage to resolve the issue with some trial and error.
    • It is disappointing that Lightning Forms does not integrate with the MS Lists app. Having the ability to access the form through the list app would add in a lot of useful functionality, including a better experience for users when taking photos to add as attachments.
    Read full review
    Quadient
    • Within CJM: Not easy to share maps with a large group of people, still needs to be done on an individual basis which is time-consuming.
    • Not able to unload all file types into maps. It would be great to have video.
    • There are a lot of third-party suppliers that make up the full services in Inspire. This limits the development that Quadient can do to.
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Lightning Tools
    No answers on this topic
    Quadient
    We are using Quadient Inspire products since last 5 years. And we are able to achieve everything with respect to the customer's needs and desired output. Quadient is adding new very important features every day that make document structure very easy for developers and end users. We would like to stick with Quadient for a long time.
    Read full review
    Usability
    Lightning Tools
    It is very user friendly both to me who is building the content (with little background knowledge of coding etc., other than what I have picked up from using products like PowerAutomate, PowerBI, a bit of html etc.) and to end users of varying levels of IT proficiency. This has been extremely important as we have used the forms to make relatively large process changes, and need to have our users on board and seeing that it is actually easier than it was before.
    Read full review
    Quadient
    There are parts of the product that are extremely easy to use, but it can be hard to build it up to get to that point. I'm a power user and I know I've only barely scratched the surface, but the transactional users barely have to lift a finger to get their letters out. There's a lot more that can be done if I had the time and resources to devote to improving our letters more and there are times when the interface is in my way as to meeting those goals, but by and large, it's a swift and easy to use program.
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Lightning Tools
    No answers on this topic
    Quadient
    I am giving this rating because Quadient products are highly available. Most of the time all Quadient products are available. In some cases Quadient always follows the planned schedule and maintenance. They always inform all the partners and clients a day or two in advance so that the clients can work accordingly.
    Read full review
    Performance
    Lightning Tools
    No answers on this topic
    Quadient
    I want you to rate the performance of the Quadient Inspire 9 out of 10. Because every time we work with Quadient products I never feel any sluggishness and any performance issue. Along with this, one thing that we all should understand is that the performance of any application also depends on the computer hardware. So along with the software application, your hardware should also meet the minimum requirements.
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Lightning Tools
    Some support has been okay, but in one instance of a fairly complex problem, the support team were not able to provide me with a fix within a few weeks, before I was able to find a workaround myself.
    Read full review
    Quadient
    Overall Quadient team is very responsive and willing to come to the table and provide valuable information and resolution for problems. What tier of support you have would defiantly impact the experience you have. Had some challenges with a few members of the support team , but when brought up with the vendor it was quickly resolved
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    Lightning Tools
    No answers on this topic
    Quadient
    I had a couple of weeks of training back in 2005 on the Quadient premises in Hradec Kralowe. The instructor was just great! Besides showing as normal functionalities, he went so far to solve our concrete challenges. He actually encouraged me to become a "real" programmer. I have written my first lines of code in Inspire (GMC PrintNetT) and never looked back.
    Read full review
    Online Training
    Lightning Tools
    No answers on this topic
    Quadient
    Quadient offers online training for all of its products (paid service). You can choose your pace and go through the material and then solve real challenges. At the end, you can choose to take a final assignment and get certification which is a really good thing to do. If you get stuck, the training team will answer any of your questions and give you guidance.
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Lightning Tools
    No answers on this topic
    Quadient
    As you consider your digital transformation, think of the people who may object. They have valid criticisms, valuable insights and information critical to your success. Quadient’s advice is to build a strong internal team and confront these questions early. When everyone understands the project from their perspective, the project has a better chance of success.
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Lightning Tools
    We were using Microsoft Forms, SharePoint Lists and PowerAutomate to attempt to do much of what we are currently doing. Functionality is very limited in comparison. The ability to make questions required based on previous answers was a massive improvement from normal SharePoint List forms and has greatly improved the quality of data. Also just the very visual display and customisation is much better.
    Read full review
    Quadient
    The above drop down would not allow me to pick the similar products that I have used previously. Planet Pres : Good in its time. Now very slow compared with Quadient. Compart: As quick... If not slightly quicker than Quadient. This does not counteract how difficult this software is to use. It has no GUI interface and even advanced programmers struggle to use it. Both of these products are inferior to Quadient when it comes to implementing within a normal organisation.
    Read full review
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    Lightning Tools
    No answers on this topic
    Quadient
    Not really. It's not cheap, but it's a great value for what you get. This is enterprise-level software and the cost reflects that. The pay-per-page aspect makes sense too. We get a lot of sheets included in our contract and we use them all. It's a good contract with pricing that makes sense.
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Lightning Tools
    No answers on this topic
    Quadient
    I am giving this rating because Quadient products are very reliable. Quadient products can be deployed across multiple departments and sites as needed. We can integrate Quadient products with other applications and tools in a very effective, efficient and flexible way. We can deploy Quadient products in Cloud as well.
    Read full review
    Professional Services
    Lightning Tools
    No answers on this topic
    Quadient
    The PSO team is very involved and knowledgeable. Some times there are availability issues due to the number of companies they are supporting but they do their best to deliver on time. PSO cost aren't cheap, but they deliver a big bang for the buck especially on critical projects or involving them in strategic approaches/decisions.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Lightning Tools
    • We changed the process by which site colleagues report repairs on behalf of customers. Instead of emailing them into a shared inbox, they now report them using a lightning form. We have seen a great improvement in the time taken for our team to log the repair issue from the time is arrives with them.
    • We anticipate that streamlining our void property reletting process by using a SharePoint kanban board view with lightning forms (providing a single platform for all things void) will reduce avoidable days vacant and therefore reduce our void loss.
    Read full review
    Quadient
    • Since purchasing Inspire we have won many business opportunities as it enables us to create documents we couldn't do before, for example: Council Tax Bills.
    • It is a lot faster at processing than our previous software. We had one job we had to extract addresses from, it was 56,000 records from a 5.5million line text file. Our previous software took 26 hours to pull out the addresses, Quadient Inspire took 43 seconds!
    • We are able to automate processes through Inspire via CLI batch files, where a job would normally take 30 minutes to set up and process, a bit of time spent on the workflow and automation script means we can just double click a batch file for repeat jobs and the print file is created in seconds.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Lightning Tools Lightning Forms Screenshots

    Screenshot of SHAREPOINT MODERN LIST FORM DESIGN
Lightning Forms offers the ability to redesign SharePoint List forms to reflect the business needs. Lightning Forms can be used to transform the SharePoint List Forms such as New Form, Edit Form, and Display Form to meet any business requirements of a business form or business solution. The layout can be improved to suit the needs of the business, add business logic, and include styling and conditional formatting. All of this can be achieved while retaining the modern, responsive SharePoint list forms.Screenshot of THE CONTEXTUAL DESIGN EXPERIENCE
Lightning Forms provides a design experience for SharePoint Modern List Forms with the context of the form being customized. Logic can be tested with existing list items, expressions can be built using existing fields belonging to the list being modified, and changes tested without committing changes to the list. The original design can be restored if needed. Having the context of the SharePoint List within the design tool also means that any environment values such as user profiles and site properties can be used and tested within the design experience.Screenshot of SHAREPOINT LIST FORM DESIGN WITHOUT CODE OR COMPLEXITY
With Lightning Forms, expressions can be built for calculating field values, hiding fields and other controls, adding actions to buttons or the form load experience. The user does not need to be a programmer to accomplish adding business logic. The Lightning Forms expression builder guides the user through expressions. Issues with expressions are explained in the interface and can also be tested without existing from the design experience.Screenshot of ADDING STYLE TO SHAREPOINT LIST FORMS
Modern SharePoint List Forms are responsive, and modern looking. The colours of controls adhere to the theme applied to a SharePoint site. Lightning Tools doesn’t break from that modern experience, but it does allow users to add styling and conditional formatting to any control on a form. This can be used to highlight to users where they have incorrectly completed the form. Tabs can be highlighted, border colours and labels changed based upon conditions to make form completion intuitive.Screenshot of NEW ACTIONS BUILDER
In the new Actions Builder, multiple actions can be dragged into a condition block. The conditions have an ‘If Yes’ and an ‘If No’ section. Therefore multiple actions can be dragged into the relevant sections to save time. The new interface allows users to drag and drop the actions into the sequence that they should run. Drag and drop conditional blocks can be used to save repeating condition rules against each action.Screenshot of MANAGING VARIABLES
Variables can also be used to calculate a value and then retrieve it multiple times. This update saves a lot of time as ordinarily it would need to be completed  for each new form.

    Quadient Inspire Screenshots

    Screenshot of Inspire Interactive can be used to create ad hoc communications with pre-approved blocks of content.Screenshot of Additional personalization can be added leveraging customer data and variable content with Inspire Interactive.