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Alfresco vs OpenText Extended ECM vs SharePoint comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 OpenText Extended ECM is 11.4%, up from 10.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SharePoint is 16.6%, down from 20.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Content Management
 

Featured Reviews

Karthi Keyan - PeerSpot reviewer
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…
Jaideep MS - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables effective document control yet requires better affordability and clarity
I use extended ECM for procurement, sales, engineering documents, and sometimes invoices and accounts payable or receivable The version controls and the business workspace part integrate well with SAP and OpenText, providing granular level control over who accesses the workspace. The seamless…
Sanil Paul - PeerSpot reviewer
Streamlined collaboration through seamless integration and customization
I have been an administrator for SharePoint and have used it as an end-user for document storage. Predominantly, I've been involved in administration SharePoint helps a lot since we've moved from using it directly to using it as a backend for Teams, which makes collaboration easier. It supports…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The digitalization of workflow, forms, operations, and business processes is also significant."
"I like the ease of use, sections, and calendar."
"Alfresco's technical support is very fast and professional."
"The product allows engineering teams and developers to introduce new things in a seamless and easy way."
"The most valuable feature is the flexibility of the searching elements of the 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 features of Alfresco include its integration with the scanning solution, the ability to search, and the capability to store and index to capture metadata."
"Smart Viewing videos are most valuable for the end users. The end users like the look and feel of Smart View. It's similar to SharePoint, with the latest HTML5 features, filters, and everything. It's like online shopping."
"Scalability is great. We can extend areas horizontally and vertically."
"Retention is useful. I have been pleased with the search functionality and the extensibility for tying it into integrations with other systems and building workflows on top of it."
"An SAP user can store documents directly into OpenText without a connector."
"The seamless integration between SAP and OpenText offers a 360-degree view of documents, facilitating a full-text search capability."
"Most of our customers are very fond of the upgraded smart user interface."
"The version controls and the business workspace part integrate well with SAP and OpenText, providing granular level control over who accesses the workspace."
"OpenText Extended ECM's most valuable features include permissions and security models. I also like the tool's ability to add metadata and use it to categorize information."
"It is well supported by Microsoft."
"The access control is definitely a good feature. We also appreciate the improvements they've made to the online applications, where multiple users can work on the same documents simultaneously. Everything syncs automatically."
"We can now share to team members by MS Teams and assign planners to follow and update statuses in a single platform."
"The most valuable feature of SharePoint is its user interface, which is very easy to use."
"For any organization with more than one person in it, if they are trying to organize things to let people in the company know what others are doing, then this solution is good for them."
"It has improve our organization by speeding up document sharing."
"The ability to take Excel files and make them dynamic SharePoint lists with instant reporting capabilities has been a major benefit."
"SharePoint manages version control, which makes it easier to track and amend documentation accurately, maintaining document integrity and enabling quick recovery if necessary."
 

Cons

"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."
"I would like them to consider document capture functionality."
"The setup process for Alfresco was complex."
"Alfresco has a very steep learning curve, and unfortunately, during the learning process, it's very easy to make errors, which often are unforgiving."
"Currently, documents in Alfresco are stored on a file server, which, while good for performance, is a security risk."
"Alfresco could improve workflow digitalization and enhance artificial intelligence capabilities."
"The solution's performance, stability, and consistency could be improved."
"User interface needs improvement (at least in the version we are using, desktop client)."
"There are no additional features that I would like to see. I am pretty happy with it, but their support could be a bit better."
"The initial setup can get really complicated, and it takes time."
"We had some issues with scalability in the production. So, I would rate it a five out of ten."
"The response time is not effective, and the staff lacks adequate knowledge."
"We are looking for new, advanced UI features. Currently, the UI does not look great."
"The cost of the product could be improved."
"The introduction of AI and automation with Copilot could be a beneficial improvement."
"The solution's support services and GenAI could be improved and made faster and more knowledgeable."
"Needs improvement on the user interface."
"The management of the product/back-end is complex."
"When you are trying to migrate from a different platform to SharePoint for file storage, the upload utility should be more flexible, taking more files and then updating you on the upload status of the files you are trying to transfer into SharePoint."
"The workflow engine cannot support the business needs."
"When working on a website with SharePoint Online, not many people can edit simultaneously. If I am editing one section, my colleague cannot edit it at the same time."
"The product could be improved in a lot of way. It is so frustrating to get things to work as advertised."
 

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."
"OpenText Extended ECM is an expensive solution."
"The total cost of the product will vary on the capabilities required"
"The solution is expensive."
"Both Open Text ECM and IBM File share are expensive."
"OpenText Extended ECM's pricing and licensing are aggressive and confusing for the end customer."
"The pricing is costly. It's costly to integrate with Office 365 and to go back and forth with the sales team."
"The licensing is not that complex for the core products, but it becomes more complicated for some additional modules."
"It is a little more expensive than our previous solution, but because of the fact that it has become a rallying point for different groups to come under, it might end up paying off better in the long run by not having seven siloed solutions. Even though this one solution is a little pricey, it might eliminate other ones."
"The data classification and search elements are cheap."
"It is very expensive.​"
"The licensing model for SharePoint Online is based on per user, and it is monthly. The price of the solution overall is good."
"It is pretty reasonable. It is $5 per month per user. We have 12 users now, so it is about $60 per month."
"The pricing is competitive."
"The pricing is competitive."
"The product is reasonably priced."
"The solution's pricing is relatively expensive because it's bundled with other products."
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Comparison Review

it_user8925 - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 23, 2013
Jive vs Sharepoint vs Drupal Commons
At Mediacurrent we often get requests to compare Drupal to other platforms used for intranet sites and social business platforms (like https://dev.twitter.com/ for example). This is often referred to as “Social Business Software”, which has grown in popularity in recent years. I decided to do a…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Government
13%
Computer Software Company
11%
Insurance Company
10%
Government
14%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

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...
What needs improvement with Alfresco?
Currently, documents in Alfresco are stored on a file server, which, while good for performance, is a security risk. ...
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...
What do you like most about OpenText Content Suite Platform?
We also have a module on top of the Content Server called WebReports that has been one of the things that helped us f...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for OpenText Content Suite Platform?
The cost is a significant factor that may deter medium-sized businesses from using OpenText extended ECM.
What needs improvement with OpenText Content Suite Platform?
The cost of the product could be improved. Currently, there are certain snags in document viewing, and communication ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SharePoint?
With SharePoint, we save by not needing multiple external licenses. Unlike Drupal ( /products/drupal-reviews ), all n...
What needs improvement with SharePoint?
When working on a website with SharePoint Online, not many people can edit simultaneously. If I am editing one sectio...
 

Also Known As

No data available
OpenText Content Suite Platform, OpenText Core Share
SharePoint 2007, SharePoint 2010
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Over 1,300 companies from 180 different countries. Including EuroStar, Saks Fifth Avenue, NASA Langley Research Center, and KLM.
ATCO Australia, MSIG Asia, Orica, Salt River Project
Toyota, Aeroports de Paris, ASBBank Ltd., Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals, CambridgeshireConstabulary, D&M Group, NPL Construction Company, and The Regional Municipality of Niagara.
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, OpenText, IBM and others in Enterprise Content Management. Updated: March 2025.
850,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.