Alfresco Reviews

Alfresco's pricing is considered mid-range, starting at $100,000, which may be expensive for small projects. It offers two editions: a free Community Edition with basic features and an Enterprise Edition with advanced functionalities like clustering. Costs include storage, upgrades, and additional functions, with potential high integration expenses. Licensing options vary, with OEM options available through partners. Transitioning from the Community to Enterprise Edition may incur additional migration costs.

• "The license for Alfresco is expensive - not the maximum, but close. There are also extra costs once you start building integrations, as implementation seems to be very costly."
• "There are costs for any upgrade or additional functions."
• "If you buy Alfresco through a partner, there is usually a OEM licensing option."

Alfresco is primarily used for content management, workflow automation, document integration, and reducing manual forms. Users employ it for managing unstructured documents with data classification, storing transaction-related documents, and linking them with ERP systems. It serves as a document management tool, providing shared spaces for file sharing and version control, transitioning from scattered email attachments to a structured, secure repository. It is noted for lacking user-friendliness compared to Nautilus.

Customer service is praised for its responsiveness and willingness to help. Technical support receives mixed feedback; it's seen as helpful but sometimes slow due to internal processes. Many find support satisfactory but faster solutions often come from the community or resellers. Users appreciate prompt attention to concerns and expertise, but some desire a more agile update approach. Ratings generally fall between 3.5 and 4 out of 5. Interactions are usually positive and reassuring.

Users found Alfresco's initial setup varying in complexity. Some described it as straightforward with guides and installer options, while others noted challenges requiring technical knowledge, such as web servers, LDAP, and databases. Training and resources are crucial. Over time, improvements and guides have simplified steps. For those unfamiliar with configurations, the basic setup with default parameters was helpful. More knowledgeable users found advanced installations involved, especially without experienced system administrators.

Alfresco effectively handles scalability in web, application, and database layers. It excels in clustering, with no significant scalability constraints reported. Users value its capability to support both high availability installations and smaller setups with minor server adjustments. Despite challenges in managing older versions and large document volumes, particularly without newer platform updates, Alfresco is renowned for its robust scalability, leveraging state-of-the-art J2EE frameworks for optimal performance.

Many highlight Alfresco's stable nature, noting minimal issues when properly configured. Challenges tend to arise during large-scale document handling or with outdated versions. Certified expertise is often required for optimal production setup. Administrators emphasize the importance of following upgrade protocols to maintain stability. Some encountered performance hitches with simultaneous server requests, mitigated by JVM adjustments. Feedback suggests significant improvements in newer versions, particularly in clustering and architecture scalability, attracting positive ratings for its performance.