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DocuWare vs IBM ECM 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

DocuWare
Ranking in Enterprise Content Management
25th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Storage (65th), Document Management Software (6th), Content Collaboration Platforms (45th)
IBM ECM
Ranking in Enterprise Content Management
14th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
2.8
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Enterprise Content Management category, the mindshare of DocuWare is 1.0%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM ECM is 2.5%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Content Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM ECM2.5%
DocuWare1.0%
Other96.5%
Enterprise Content Management
 

Featured Reviews

RC
Enterprise Architect at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Great document storing and easy to set up but needs to offer more collaboration capabilities
It should have collaboration features. For example, if I upload a document and I want the document which I upload to be discussed among my colleagues and peers, I should be able to share. I'd like for us to be collaborating, discussing the document, adding to the document, et cetera. I'd like it to be possible for teams to collaboratively create the document. Compliance or records management could be improved. For example, if I upload a document, a legal document such as a contract, when you onboard a new customer, you would like to have that contract document stored. At the same time, it should be logged. Once a document is approved and taken by printout and sent to the customer, it should be logged. It should not be allowed to be editable; you shouldn't be able to make changes to it. For records management, it should only be accessible to some people, not everyone. I would like to have records management features and compliance features where data could be hidden. Items such as personal data should be hidden or masked. I would like to have GDPR features added. We had some slight hiccups during the setup process.
Thinh Tran - PeerSpot reviewer
BPM Consultant at TECHCOMBANK
Has supported enterprise document storage but lacks cloud readiness and AI capabilities
The new version of IBM ECM is at the end of support, and we need to migrate to a new version to get open support. We need AI capabilities from IBM ECM for additional functionalities in the next release. Specifically, AI is needed for finding documents. The trend is moving toward AI, and for managing many documents effectively, we need AI capabilities. Currently, IBM ECM only handles physical files, not unstructured files. IBM needs to work alongside customers and share best practices for IBM ECM. Reading the IBM Redbook alone is not sufficient for the knowledge we need to build the best architecture for my company. IBM ECM needs to improve the cloud version, such as compatibility with Amazon Cloud, not only IBM Cloud, to make their product more competitive.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"For the most part, the initial setup is easy. There's good documentation."
"DocuWare allows for easy document management and workflow automation, eliminating the need for physical paperwork and streamlining the approval process."
"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."
"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."
"I am going to continue using it because it is a good product for enterprise document management."
"The vertical scalability, as we can use it across some of our applications."
 

Cons

"It should have collaboration features."
"Its graphical user interface could be more user-friendly."
"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."
"Currently, IBM ECM only handles physical files, not unstructured files."
"I would like to see seamless application integration."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"While the price may be considered slightly high, it is still reasonable within the context of other options available on the market."
"Reach out to local IBM partners.​"
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Retailer
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
31%
Computer Software Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
6%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business1
Large Enterprise16
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
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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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM ECM?
The product is expensive and has a perpetual license.
What needs improvement with IBM ECM?
The new version of IBM ECM is at the end of support, and we need to migrate to a new version to get open support. We need AI capabilities from IBM ECM for additional functionalities in the next rel...
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

King Hussein Cancer Center, Smart Choice, Tippecanoe County
KeyBank, Standard Chartered Bank, Union Bank, Sistema Tecnol‹gico de Monterrey, Illinois Department of Human Services, UnitedHealth Group
Find out what your peers are saying about DocuWare vs. IBM ECM and other solutions. Updated: January 2026.
881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.