Alfresco vs IBM FileNet vs OpenText Content Manager comparison

Hyland and IBM are both solutions in the Enterprise Content Management category. Hyland is ranked #9 with an average rating of 6.3, while IBM is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.0. Hyland holds a 7.6% mindshare in ECM, compared to IBM’s 10.2% mindshare. Additionally, 77% of Hyland users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of IBM users who would recommend it.

Alfresco

Read 13 Alfresco reviews

2,157 Views
1,715 Comparison Views

77% willing to recommend

IBM FileNet

Read 101 IBM FileNet reviews

3,433 Views
2,196 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

OpenText Content Manager

Read 23 OpenText Content Manager reviews

1,401 Views
824 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

Alfresco

IBM FileNet

OpenText Content Manager

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Alfresco, IBM FileNet, and OpenText Content Manager based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, OpenText, IBM and others in Enterprise Content Management.

To learn more, read our detailed Enterprise Content Management Report (Updated: May 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Enterprise Content Management

May 2025

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Helped 850,900 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Enterprise Content Management category, the mindshare of Alfresco is 7.6%, down from 8.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM FileNet is 10.2%, up from 9.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenText Content Manager is 4.4%, up from 3.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise Content Management

Featured Reviews

Karthi Keyan

Head Of Information Technology at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

Streamlining document management with enhanced digitalization features needed

We used Alfresco as a document management system for automating and digitizing manual forms. Those were the main use cases The digitalization of workflow, forms, operations, and business processes has improved our organization. The most valuable features of Alfresco include its integration with…

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Emad Rizki

System integrator at Indépendant

Facilitates seamless integration for large enterprises with strong deployment capabilities

FileNet was scalable and could be implemented into big multinational organizations. However, it has become very expensive recently. Compared to low-code solutions such as Appian and outsystems, FileNet has gaps, mainly because it requires coding, which is not preferred by clients due to pricing concerns in Pakistan. We transitioned clients to cloud solutions, although FileNet has been strongly integrated with on-prem deployments.

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Maurice Riverso

Records Management Officer at ANZPAA

Our our official repository and it has disposal management and retention management

The security architecture is the only problem as it's a little bit complex and too torturous at times. So it could be improved a little bit, but it is regarded as a very good system in Australia. It's probably overly subscribed. Also, what's missing is what people would like, which is basically online collaboration. That's a problem. But it has so many other things to offer that SharePoint, I'm sure, will not have. So, that will be an interesting issue to come up. It's not very good at providing stable and robust add-ins to Microsoft. That's a bit of a problem with Content Manager. They're kind of very volatile. So, that's been definitely something that could be improved.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The most valuable features of Alfresco include its integration with the scanning solution, the ability to search, and the capability to store and index to capture metadata."

"Document repository."

"Alfresco allows broad searches with many index fields that you can search on, although the created fields and their values may not be intuitive."

"The most valuable feature is the flexibility of the searching elements of the metadata."

"I like the ease of use, sections, and calendar."

"The product allows engineering teams and developers to introduce new things in a seamless and easy way."

"Alfresco's technical support is very fast and professional."

"The digitalization of workflow, forms, operations, and business processes is also significant."

"The best part of FileNet includes its advantages and most valuable features, which are its scalability and stability."

"For a large company, for the robustness, stability, performance, and the growth — that you can grow it within seconds — I would advise using FileNet, without any doubt."

"There is a high degree of usability with this solution. It is highly compatible with our clients' and customers' work environments, making it easy to deploy and implement."

"We have made our service routes more efficient, as far as moving work through the system and being able to react to customer situations and needs better by improving things, such as, address and beneficiary changes. I know that we have definitely made improvements in the process."

"Streamlined our business processes."

"It has a straightforward approach to the install."

"It has the ability to mix document management and process automation."

"The most valuable features are the interconnectivity and the collaboration. No longer do I have to wonder what system I need to go to for the data I need. I know it's in FileNet."

More IBM FileNet pros

"It has a robust search but has often been difficult for people to learn."

"For a records management system, Content Manager is a really good system."

"The most valuable features of OpenText Content Manager are its stability, reliability, security, and workflow engine."

"The product can be integrated with different solutions."

"I did not face issues with the product's scalability...The solution's technical support is good."

"We like how the solution allows us to have retention of records and workflows, as well as its fire plan."

"An advantage is integration with your IP directory."

"The tool's implementation has made life easier for customers. It is sold by SAP. The integration between SAP and the solution is good, making it easy to access the documents. It is widely recognized as a market leader in enterprise document management."

Cons

"I would like them to consider document capture functionality."

"Currently, documents in Alfresco are stored on a file server, which, while good for performance, is a security risk."

"Alfresco has a very steep learning curve, and unfortunately, during the learning process, it's very easy to make errors, which often are unforgiving."

"Alfresco could improve workflow digitalization and enhance artificial intelligence capabilities."

"The setup process for Alfresco was complex."

"Metadata, auto class, disposition log, and legal hold."

"The configuration of Alfresco is a big challenge."

"I think the presentation layer could be improved - currently, it's too complex, and there are too many features cluttered all over the screen."

"Our client feels FileNet does not provide them with content searchability. They feel it's cumbersome. They're only using Metadata. If the Metadata is not well-populated, it becomes a problem to retrieve a document."

"This solution could be improved with the ability to present the file system from FileNet."

"We would like to see, in FileNet, the ability to manage video and audio."

"The installation and configuration to start up needs expert level knowledge."

"I would like to see the dashboard be a little bit more robust and a little more user-friendly"

"It is ability to display legacy content needs improvement."

"In Content Navigator we want to see the ability to view different types of video... We are using HTML 5 but it's very limited... We definitely want to see support for most types of video formats in the market."

"The new user interface is not easy to set up, so some improvements along these lines would be good."

More IBM FileNet cons

"Pricing is an issue, as it is too expensive."

"Support could be enhanced. The first line of support consists of individuals who lack experience with some key aspects. When you create a support ticket, the time to resolve the issue may be prolonged because the first person may not understand the system or the solution."

"OpenText Content Manager needs to improve its user interface. Its installation process is difficult and can be made easier."

"The stability of the solution is an area of concern where improvements can be made."

"The ease of use should be addressed."

"It's not very good at providing stable and robust add-ins to Microsoft."

"The product could improve its scalability."

"Due to very limited use in the industry, vendor and contract support are hard to find."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are costs for any upgrade or additional functions."

"It is cheaper compared to head-to-head competitors."

"If you buy Alfresco through a partner, there is usually a OEM licensing option."

"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 lots of components to the product. Make sure before you invest that you know which components you need."

"It is still a leading ECM solution provider, however the cost to implement and maintain are higher than other solutions."

"FileNet is quite expensive, although Documentum is expensive too."

"Talking about the cost is difficult because IBM has offers that combine different products, and each of these offers has different types of licensing. IBM also has a policy that the actual price for a given customer may be very different from the stated book price. It's hard to say whether it's expensive or not."

"We use extraction. Therefore, we can see 80 to 85 percent accuracy on data extraction. This reduces the manual indexing part, which is definitely a gain on performance efficiency."

"Licensing costs depend on the size of the storage."

"FileNet is not cheap, but you absolutely get what you pay for. "

"For small scale industries, they allow different options. They can do open source. It is the complexity of the data security that they should think about before they choose."

More IBM FileNet pricing and cost advice

"The fees incurred are for the licensing and maintenance."

"The solution's licensing cost depends on the customer domain. Though its costs are high, the product is worth the money. You have to pay a one-time cost and support costs."

"I rate the product price an eight or nine on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive. The solution is expensive."

"I would suggest that you do a thorough evaluation of all competing products and look for support for these products in your local area."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

15%

Government

14%

Computer Software Company

11%

Insurance Company

Financial Services Firm

23%

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

10%

Insurance Company

10%

Government

20%

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Alfresco?

The pricing of Alfresco starts at $100,000, which can be expensive for small projects. There is often a transition fr...

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What needs improvement with Alfresco?

Currently, documents in Alfresco are stored on a file server, which, while good for performance, is a security risk. ...

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What is your primary use case for Alfresco?

Mostly, the primary use case is to store documents related to transactions in our company. These documents could be s...

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What do you like most about IBM FileNet?

The product is robust and can process a lot of documents for enterprise content management.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM FileNet?

The product has become more expensive and requires significant investment for enterprise solutions.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM FileNet?

FileNet needs improvement in pricing as it has become very expensive. Also, in comparison to local solutions, the nee...

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What do you like most about Micro Focus Content Manager?

An advantage is integration with your IP directory.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Micro Focus Content Manager?

Pricing is a disadvantage as it is very expensive, especially in this market.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Micro Focus Content Manager?

Pricing is an issue, as it is too expensive. Support and services need to be more user-friendly. The support has been...

See all answers

Comparisons

OpenText Documentum vs Alfresco

Compared 19% of the time

Hyland OnBase vs Alfresco

Compared 19% of the time

SharePoint vs Alfresco

Compared 11% of the time

OpenText Extended ECM vs Alfresco

Compared 10% of the time

Microsoft Purview Records Management vs Alfresco

Compared 3% of the time

More Alfresco Competitors

OpenText Extended ECM vs IBM FileNet

Compared 17% of the time

OpenText Documentum vs IBM FileNet

Compared 16% of the time

SharePoint vs IBM FileNet

Compared 16% of the time

Hyland OnBase vs IBM FileNet

Compared 8% of the time

Newgen OmniDocs vs IBM FileNet

Compared 5% of the time

More IBM FileNet Competitors

SharePoint vs OpenText Content Manager

Compared 26% of the time

OpenText Extended ECM vs OpenText Content Manager

Compared 16% of the time

OpenText Documentum vs OpenText Content Manager

Compared 13% of the time

Microsoft Purview Records Management vs OpenText Content Manager

Compared 11% of the time

Box vs OpenText Content Manager

Compared 3% of the time

More OpenText Content Manager Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Alfresco

May 2025

Download Alfresco product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM FileNet

May 2025

Download IBM FileNet product report

Buyer's Guide

OpenText Content Manager

April 2025

Download OpenText Content Manager product report

Also Known As

No data available

Micro Focus Content Manager, HPE Records Manager, HPE Content Manager

Overview

The Alfresco Digital Business Platform offers open, secure content services to let you unlock the value from your most important business information. Give users access to their content wherever and however they work with Alfresco’s open, flexible, and highly scalable cloud-native content services platform. Easily integrate and connect with everyday business applications. Find, view, collaborate on, govern, and securely share digital content—and get information to the right person at the right time.

Hyland

IBM FileNet is a leading IBM enterprise content management product family. IBM FileNet is one of the ECM solutions that can change the way a company does business by enabling users to capture, activate, socialize, analyze, and govern content throughout its lifecycle.

There are many IBM FileNet products available, all of which are integrated and based on the FileNet P8 Platform.

IBM

OpenText Content Manager, formerly Records Manager, is a governance-based enterprise content management system designed to help government agencies, regulated industries and global organizations manage their business content from creation to disposal. Regardless of how you create and collaborate on your content, Content Manager gives you the ability to leverage accurate, contextual, and complete information throughout its lifecycle. Managing your content in this way helps you significantly improve services to your customers, business decisions and insight for future strategy.

OpenText

Sample Customers

Over 1,300 companies from 180 different countries. Including EuroStar, Saks Fifth Avenue, NASA Langley Research Center, and KLM.

Suncorp Group Limited, St. Vincent Health, Citigroup, SRCSD, and UK Dept for Work and Pensions.

Missouri State Courts

Buyer's Guide

Enterprise Content Management

May 2025

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Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, OpenText, IBM and others in Enterprise Content Management. Updated: May 2025.

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