Box vs IBM ECM comparison

Box and IBM are both solutions in the Enterprise Content Management category. Box is ranked #8 with an average rating of 7.7, while IBM is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.0. Box holds a 3.8% mindshare in ECM, compared to IBM’s 2.3% mindshare. Additionally, 85% of Box users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of IBM users who would recommend it.

Box

Read 41 Box reviews

1,291 Views
916 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

IBM ECM

Read 16 IBM ECM reviews

633 Views
469 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

Box

IBM ECM

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 2024

Box and IBM ECM are competitors in the enterprise content management category. Box has the upper hand in pricing and support, while IBM ECM excels with its comprehensive features.

Features: Box offers simplicity, seamless integration, and flexibility, ideal for businesses focusing on accessibility and collaboration across devices. It provides mobile app access, collaboration tools, and integration with Microsoft Office. IBM ECM excels in robust document management, compliance, and security, appealing to organizations needing strict data controls, providing advanced content management, automated processes, and scalability for large document volumes.

Room for Improvement: Box could enhance its compliance features, offer more customization in user permissions, and improve document version control capabilities. IBM ECM might benefit from streamlined user interfaces, more straightforward deployment processes, and reduced initial setup complexity. Both products could work on reducing the learning curve for new users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Box provides a cloud-based deployment, allowing quick setup with minimal IT resource usage, and offers satisfactory customer service. IBM ECM involves complex on-premises and hybrid deployments, requiring more IT involvement, but delivers detailed customer service throughout the deployment process.

Pricing and ROI: Box presents a competitive pricing model with a strong ROI, backed by lower setup costs and efficient use. IBM ECM demands a higher upfront investment but offers ROI through its enhanced long-term features and capabilities. Box is noted for its affordability, while IBM ECM justifies its higher cost with comprehensive services.

To learn more, read our detailed Box vs. IBM ECM Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Box vs. IBM ECM

June 2025

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Helped 859,129 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:

Categories and Ranking

Box

Ranking in Enterprise Content Management

8th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Storage (13th), Digital Asset Management (3rd), Document Management Software (4th), Content Collaboration Platforms (5th)

IBM ECM

Ranking in Enterprise Content Management

13th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Enterprise Content Management category, the mindshare of Box is 3.8%, down from 5.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM ECM is 2.3%, down from 2.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise Content Management

Featured Reviews

Parthasarathy Chellapillai

Program Administrator at Flextronics

Used for data storage and data collaboration, but its data security could be improved

If I have restricted access within an organization by keeping the data in Box, there are other applications through which I can barge into the data. If anyone wants to keep a file restricted to four people, I can access it because it's available in the cloud. I can directly access the file and pull in the data by entering the file's name. Someone from outside the organization can't access it. However, someone from within the organization who is not supposed to access the data can access it, provided it is in Box. Box is almost like a folder structure outside your system. The solution uses the cloud, and you don't need any separate storage in your system. Even if your system crashes down, the data will be saved. Overall, I rate the solution a six out of ten.

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Omar_Ismail

ECM, Archives and Digital Preservation Consultant at DataServe

A stable solution for automation with high availability

Moving to the cloud with IBM ECM is not allowed. In Saudi Arabia, the cloud infrastructure is still non-operational, potentially for the next two to three months. Static clouds are prevalent among foundational enterprises such as IBM and Oracle. IBM offers its cloud insights, maintaining its cloud ecosystem. IBM's efforts to enhance the user experience within its ECM platform are lacking compared to competitors like OpenText. Progress in implementing new technologies and features seems sluggish. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

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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 system's performance is impressive, and file sharing is notably straightforward."

"It is a very user-friendly product."

"I like the ease of use."

"The ability to collaborate around data anywhere, anytime is the most powerful features of Box."

"Office Integration. The full integration into the Microsoft Office products is just perfect."

"The interface is very good."

"Governance and ease of use are why I think a lot of people like Box, including ourselves. Basically, we're concerned about what information is being sent to Box, so we use a lot of the Box governance features to make sure that what is being sent to Box is appropriate. If it is not appropriate, it is not allowed to be sent. It is also pretty easy to use. It is the easiest to use for customers and for technologists."

"The solution is used for data storage and any kind of visualization."

More Box pros

"The content management is all about you as you can make the same content for minimal purpose solutions applications."

"The scalability is a valuable feature, that we're able to display our documents to so many people."

"The vertical scalability, as we can use it across some of our applications."

"The tool is a very stable solution with high availability and no information leakage. It has built-in API integration on-site. You can integrate with other components and applications like SAP, Microsoft, Oracle, etc."

Cons

"The integration with other products should be improved."

"In future releases, there could be encryption, to have better security."

"They could integrate better with other platforms."

"If you want to delete something in Box, you have to do it manually, one by one. That was my recent experience. They might have a bulk delete, but I could not find that option. If you want to delete something, you have to go to each and every file and delete it."

"With OneDrive, you can continuously save your files over a Box folder. That is something I wish we could have."

"It could be cheaper."

"One thing that Box would benefit from is a records management component."

"The room for improvement is in the area of integrations. They need to establish more integrations, especially with Office 365 and Outlook."

More Box cons

"I would recommend not going with ECM 8 and going with FileNet instead. It seems like that is the future of the lower-volume repository. It seems like they are moving away from ECM 8.5 so I think we're going to have some challenges coming up, getting off of that technology."

"The development platform is not local. For example, you need 100 days in IBM, whereas other platforms, like ServiceNow, need only 20 days."

"I think it's already getting away from Java applets. A lot of our users struggle with keeping up to date with Java versioning, so a lot of the functions they're doing, like printing, emailing, and even some of the viewing, they're struggling with."

"I would like to see seamless application integration."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I have to pay for Box. It could be a little cheaper. On a scale from one to ten, I would give the pricing a five."

"They are very price competitive when pushed. Initially, they come out with a standard list price, but they are willing to be very competitive. The Box price was pretty much equal to or lower than the Citrix price, and Box has more features."

"A business account has a minimum of three users. If you are more than three people in-house, go for the Enterprise version. All the external users are free of charge."

"There's a free version that allows you to use it with almost full-feature access. Even in the free version, it gives you all you need."

"Box's pricing is excellent."

"The pricing may seem steep at first, but delve into the features and you'll soon realize it is incredible value for what you get."

"Box needs to improve with their pricing in terms of licensing costs."

"I believe Box is cheaper than SharePoint."

More Box pricing and cost advice

"Reach out to local IBM partners."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

32%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

32%

Government

13%

Computer Software Company

Real Estate/Law Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Box?

The solution is used for data storage and any kind of visualization.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Box?

I was not involved in discussions about paying for Box, so I cannot provide specifics about pricing.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Box?

Collaborative editing was challenging if multiple people were in a document at once. The installation procedure was tricky but manageable with provided guidance and steps.

See all answers

What do you like most about IBM ECM?

The tool is a very stable solution with high availability and no information leakage. It has built-in API integration on-site. You can integrate with other components and applications like SAP, Mic...

See all answers

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

The product is expensive and has a perpetual license.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM ECM?

The development platform is not local. For example, you need 100 days in IBM, whereas other platforms, like ServiceNow, need only 20 days.

See all answers

Comparisons

SharePoint vs Box

Compared 17% of the time

ShareFile vs Box

Compared 13% of the time

Microsoft OneDrive vs Box

Compared 12% of the time

Egnyte vs Box

Compared 7% of the time

IBM FileNet vs Box

Compared 6% of the time

More Box Competitors

IBM FileNet vs IBM ECM

Compared 30% of the time

Hyland OnBase vs IBM ECM

Compared 12% of the time

OpenText Content Management vs IBM ECM

Compared 12% of the time

Alfresco vs IBM ECM

Compared 11% of the time

SAP Extended Enterprise Content Management vs IBM ECM

Compared 11% of the time

More IBM ECM Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Box

June 2025

Download Box product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM ECM

June 2025

Download IBM ECM product report

Overview

Box is a Modern Content Management Platform for companies of all sizes and industries. The difference that Box brings is that it offers the security and controls admins need with the sharing and collaboration capabilities end users want. Box has made it easier for people to securely share ideas, collaborate and get work done faster. Today, more than 62,000 businesses, including 59% of the Fortune 500, trust Box to manage content in the cloud.

The Box platform provides HIPAA, FINRA, FedRAMP, and many other compliances to go with granular access permissions and advanced security capabilities.

By using Box you can sync, share, and collaborate on all types of files, anywhere, on any device - but that's just the beginning. You can choose where to store your data, to manage your own encryption keys, and set workflows to automate content-based processes. You can also assign custom metadata tags to content, watermark sensitive content, and set file retention or legal hold policies.

Box has deep, native integrations with Microsoft Office and Outlook, Google Apps for Work, Salesforce, Netsuite, Docusign, Adobe, and many other best-of-breed solutions you may already be using.

Box

IBM Content Foundation on Cloud

IBM Content Foundation on Cloud allows organizations to deliver extensive enterprise content management capabilities to their users very quickly. IBM Content Foundation is powered by the FileNet content and process platform and IBM Content Navigator user experience. This cloud offering can be leveraged for a variety of use cases including collaborative document management, imaging solutions, social content management, archiving, and more. It also offers a platform for developing Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solutions in the cloud.

IBM Case Manager on Cloud

IBM Case Manager on Cloud is a solution platform that engages people with business content, provides contextual insight through real-time analytics, and enhances teamwork through collaboration tools and flexible workflow. Enables Business and IT to work together to create solutions across the enterprise that enables an organization to make smarter decisions for better business outcomes, while balancing the need for security and compliance in a world of heightened risk.

IBM

Sample Customers

GE, Toyota, P&G, Caterpillar, Flex, Schneider Electric, Sally Beauty, Eurostar, AstraZeneca, AirBnB, Whirlpool, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Nationwide, Aeropostale etc

KeyBank, Standard Chartered Bank, Union Bank, Sistema Tecnol‹gico de Monterrey, Illinois Department of Human Services, UnitedHealth Group

Buyer's Guide

Box vs. IBM ECM

June 2025

Free Report: Box vs. IBM ECM

Find out what your peers are saying about Box vs. IBM ECM and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.

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