Lotus Notes, now HCL Notes, is a robust communication and application suite. Companies and individuals use the application for email communication and to organize their contacts. However, Lotus Notes is an expensive collaboration application and is quite complex to use. Due to this and various other reasons, users look for alternatives to Lotus Notes.
Why Look for Lotus Notes Alternatives?
There are many reasons due to which users look for an alternative to Lotus Notes. Some of them are:
- There’s an accessibility issue. Sometimes, you are not able to open the associated NSF file on another machine.
- To access the NSF file, the owner should always give permission.
- Maintenance cost is a higher than other platforms.
- Inbox management lacks in comparison to other email clients.
Alternatives to Lotus Notes
As there is no direct alternative to Lotus Notes, we have mentioned three email clients that can serve as the best alternatives to Lotus Notes. Let’s explore more about them:
1. Microsoft Outlook
MS Outlook is a popular email client that is widely used by corporate and business users for business communication. Here are some features of MS Outlook that make it one of the best alternatives to Lotus Notes:
User Experience: Compared to Lotus Notes, Outlook has a far better and richer graphical user interface. Even if you’ve never used Outlook before, you can easily work on the application as its interface is relatively simple to use. In addition, Outlook gives a unique user experience as you can access the emails using the Outlook desktop application, Outlook web app, or Outlook Web Access (OWA).
Implementation: When compared to MS Outlook, Lotus Notes is a little expensive. Also, MS Outlook provides features, such as emailing, calendaring, and contacts on the same platform.
Mailbox Security: Setting up an on-premises Exchange Server setup for Outlook gives you physical control over the infrastructure. Hence, your company takes care of security and management of the server.
Multiple Email Accounts: You can add and access several email accounts for a single user. Along with this, you can add multiple POP3, live Exchange Server, IMAP, and Office 365 accounts and access them all at once.
How you can Migrate Your NSF Files to Outlook?
If you find MS Outlook as the best alternative to Lotus Notes and want to migrate from Lotus Notes to Outlook, you need to convert the Lotus Notes NSF files to Outlook supportable PST format. For this, you can use a specialized NSF converter tool, such as Stellar Converter for NSF. The software can convert NSF files to PST in a few simple steps (as given below).
- Download, install, and open Stellar Converter for NSF.
- Choose the NSF file to initiate the conversion process.
- Select any item from the list of mailbox items to see the preview.
- Click the ‘Save Converted File’ option to save the converted mail items and select PST from the options.
- Enter the desired file saving destination to save your mailbox items.
2. MS Office 365
Microsoft 365 or Office 365 is another well-known application that can serve as an alternative to Lotus Notes. It is one of the most prominent, trustworthy, and widely used productivity suites in the world. Some of its features include:
Collaborative Environment: Office 365 allows you to collaborate with your colleagues, partners, and customers on documents that are accessible from practically anywhere.
Mobility: You can efficiently transport and work with Office documents either locally on devices or in online environments. You can virtually work from anywhere, utilizing the Office 365 based applications across numerous platforms, such as PCs and mobile devices.
Managing Content: SharePoint Online makes it simple to set up and manage all online communities, wikis, and blogs, in addition to creating and managing content and documents.
Straightforward Communication: Skype-for-Business makes communication easier. Users can also check who is online and communicate with them via instant messaging, voice calls, and video calls and hold online meetings.
If you want to migrate from Lotus Notes to Office 365, you can easily export your NSF files to Office 365 with the help of Stellar Converter for NSF Technician.
3. Google Workspace
Google Workspace, like Microsoft 365, is a SaaS-based platform for business collaboration. It is ideal for businesses that require email hosting and a productivity suite. Gmail, Google Calendar, G Drive, Google Docs & Sheets, Keep, Meet, Slides, Site Management, Vault, and many other useful services are all part of it. You have to simply choose one of the G Suite Email Hosting plans to get started.
Accessing NSF Files in Outlook, Office 365, or Google Workspace?
Lotus Notes uses NSF file format to store emails and other objects. If you want to migrate from Lotus Notes to any other email client, like Outlook, you have to convert the NSF file into the format supported by the respective email client. One of the most reliable tools to perform this task is the Stellar Converter for NSF. The software converts the NSF files into various file formats, such as PST, MSG, EML, etc. It also allows you to directly export the converted file to Office 365. You can download the demo version of the software to assess its features and functionality.
Conclusion
If you are looking for an alternative to Lotus Notes, you can consider one of the above-mentioned alternatives. We’ve mentioned the features and other benefits of Outlook, MS Office, and Google Workspace that can help you decide which alternative is suitable for you. In case you need to convert NSF files to PST and other formats, you can use the Stellar Converter for NSF.
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