Box vs IBM ECM comparison

Box and IBM are both solutions in the Enterprise Content Management category. Box is ranked #9 with an average rating of 7.7, while IBM is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.0. Box holds a 4.3% mindshare in ECM, compared to IBM’s 2.5% 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

3,048 Views
1,128 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

IBM ECM

Read 16 IBM ECM reviews

712 Views
684 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: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Box vs. IBM ECM

July 2025

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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

9th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Storage (13th), Digital Asset Management (5th), Document Management Software (4th), Content Collaboration Platforms (7th)

IBM ECM

Ranking in Enterprise Content Management

12th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Enterprise Content Management category, the mindshare of Box is 4.3%, down from 4.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM ECM is 2.5%, up from 2.3% 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

"It is really easy to load files to and from this solution."

"I like the ease of use."

"Box is very simple and effective, so I prefer Box."

"Sharing and collaborating across files and folders has been a massive game changer."

"We've never had a penetration. We've never had a security issue that their support didn't solve. We love their audit trail. We can know exactly when a collaborator opens. We love how you can define a collaborator."

"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."

"Box is extremely stable, they have not been hacked or lost any data in the past seventeen years. I am very impressed with it."

"Box is very realistic when it comes to sharing capabilities."

More Box pros

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

"Working on documents in real-time is sometimes faulty and could be improved."

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

"I find their API to be quite complex and it could be more straightforward."

"The upload speed needs improvement."

"If there was a plugin that added some sort of toolbar in Office, that would be great."

"It could be cheaper."

"I haven't really come across a case where we're not able to use it for what it is, so I don't really have anything holding us up or any customers holding us up at this point that I know of. There are always some limitations, but as a technologist, I just live with them, and there is always room for improvement, but I don't have anything quantifiable."

"Better integration with other solutions is needed."

More Box cons

"I would like to see seamless application integration."

"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 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."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We are using the free version of the solution. There is a free version and monthly and yearly subscriptions available."

"Better sign a full year's contract to get a discount."

"My organization pays for the license."

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

"The more you dig, the deeper the level of tools, and the more expensive it becomes."

"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."

"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."

More Box pricing and cost advice

"Reach out to local IBM partners."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software Company

Government

Healthcare Company

Financial Services Firm

31%

Government

10%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

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 16% of the time

ShareFile vs Box

Compared 11% of the time

Microsoft OneDrive for Business vs Box

Compared 10% of the time

Egnyte vs Box

Compared 6% of the time

IBM FileNet vs Box

Compared 4% of the time

More Box Competitors

IBM FileNet vs IBM ECM

Compared 20% of the time

Alfresco vs IBM ECM

Compared 17% of the time

Nuxeo vs IBM ECM

Compared 13% of the time

SAP Extended Enterprise Content Management vs IBM ECM

Compared 9% of the time

OpenText Content Manager vs IBM ECM

Compared 9% of the time

More IBM ECM Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Box

August 2025

Download Box product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM ECM

August 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

July 2025

Free Report: Box vs. IBM ECM

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

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