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Hyland OnBase vs IBM FileNet comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 2024

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

Hyland OnBase
Ranking in Enterprise Content Management
6th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Business Process Management (BPM) (14th), Low-Code Development Platforms (14th)
IBM FileNet
Ranking in Enterprise Content Management
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
104
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Enterprise Content Management category, the mindshare of Hyland OnBase is 5.3%, down from 6.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM FileNet is 5.8%, down from 10.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Content Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM FileNet5.8%
Hyland OnBase5.3%
Other88.9%
Enterprise Content Management
 

Featured Reviews

Abdul_Jabbar - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Software Engineer at Infosys
Automated workflows have transformed document handling and support daily approvals and billing
The best features Hyland OnBase offers in my experience include being a robust storage solution that integrates well with the Epic solution, allows Unity Forms to be easy to create and use, and has Distribution Services for sending email notifications as reminders.Out of those features, the workflow engine has made the biggest difference for me because it is excellent for automating approval processes, and we use Hyland OnBase for legal requests, hardware requests, travel requests, corporate credit card requests, and file transfer requests. WorkView is an incredible module for gathering and displaying summary information, and we utilize it highly in our subsidiary to manage our legal contracts, their financial billing process, and their travel. We also use the Document Import Process coupled with Unity API for writing custom code to automate processes to send and receive data from other systems that are not yet API enabled. The impact of Hyland OnBase on our organization is that automating manual processes has had an incredible effect on our return on investment, and the man-hours saved by automating processes pays for the system, ranging from one to five hours. I measured the man-hours saved through the tracking of workflows and automation processes. Additionally, Hyland OnBase has allowed us to move away from moving paper around various departments, providing workflow management to keep approval inside the system and out of the email boxes, eliminating the need for paper storage, and saving storage costs with other vendors.
Shankar-Kambhampaty - PeerSpot reviewer
Consulting CTO at a tech consulting company with 1-10 employees
Business workflows have been automated and document processes are streamlined at large scale
I believe IBM FileNet could be improved or enhanced in the future, specifically the user interface development support, which, despite all the improvements, still feels from the 2010s or 2000s. The current state of the user interface development support and the ability to customize it leaves much to be desired. The backend engine, process engine, and object engine are fantastic. However, the user interface, which is required to provide an impressive experience to the user, is difficult to build. IBM will need to do something about this area. Over time, IBM has made improvements with enhancements through CP4BA and other tools, with which user interfaces can be built. But there is much more is needed. The initial setup process for IBM FileNet requires specialists. IBM FileNet is not a click-click-click deploy kind of product. It has several components that need to be installed in different versions and in a particular order. Additionally, IBM Cloud does not provide a proper experience. The problem is I cannot use IBM Cloud easily. I cannot even get a membership easily. With AWS, I just use my credit card, sign up, and I am done. With IBM Cloud, that is not how it is. They go through all validation processes, and it is a nightmare at times. There are problems around IBM FileNet, not exactly with IBM FileNet itself, but the point is that it is not a click-click-click deploy either on the cloud or on-premise. It requires specialists, and there is a big learning curve toward deploying and managing the whole infrastructure as well as the software. I communicate with the technical support of IBM frequently. I have communicated several times, and frankly, there is much to be desired on that side. When you raise a ticket, it takes 24 to 48 hours for them to respond. We live in a time where business moves at the speed of light. Twenty-four hours is a very long time. You need to be able to get technical support instantaneously. It is not like the more contemporary support models where you get turnaround in minutes, not days.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Integrating Hyland OnBase with our systems enabled us to automate document designs and templates, which was extremely helpful in the finance and banking industry."
"Hyland OnBase is valued for its security, especially for those in the finance domain who require data confidentiality."
"The retention module is one of the most valuable features. Whatever we scan onto the system can be identified and we are notified when the records are due to be disposed."
"OnBase provides high-value solutions for organizations with much less cost in comparison to other ECM solutions."
"A single platform with multiple capabilities to orchestrate processes, complex business rules and all types of business content."
"The solution's most valuable features are integration and flexibility."
"The most valuable features are that it's very secure and provides audit trails for our documents."
"OnBase is a remarkable tool; it is a well-done product with amazing stability that can grow horizontally and vertically and is built for growth, with technical support that is quite good and available throughout the year."
"It provides good stability and scalability for huge enterprises as well."
"It has added more indexing capability on images and enabled us to search them."
"The best part of FileNet includes its advantages and most valuable features, which are its scalability and stability."
"We are very happy with the efficiencies that it has gained, and the customer service that we are able to provide back to the citizens."
"The standout feature for us is undoubtedly the Google-like search functionality, which allows us to search for documents within the system effortlessly. Instead of just querying the document database, this feature retrieves all relevant documents, akin to searching on the internet. It is very easy to use."
"It is difficult, for example, to manage a case throughout the company; BPM is no good, and Case Manager is so elastic, so flexible."
"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."
"Gves us the ability to create an end-to-end [document] transaction."
 

Cons

"We found the size of images to be a restriction, though this may have been due to the API used rather than the Hyland application."
"The dashboards do have some room for improvement as compared to the other vendors which are there in the market."
"Software malfunctioning usually occurs when we receive documents from external sources."
"The look and feel could be better. The integration with the user could be better. It could also be more user-friendly."
"We are struggling with duplicates and would like to have OCR functionality when using this solution."
"As an ECM solution, there are a lot of improvements needed. For example, the web client should address the next generation of web technologies such as HTML5 and stylish layout."
"Hyland OnBase can be improved because Report Services is an additional license and should be included with the base product."
"I find OnBase's monolithic architecture to be expensive, and adopting microservices could be beneficial."
"In terms of ROI on the automation processes, FileNet is so expensive in Colombia. So return on investment takes time."
"I would rate the technical support as medium. I do not like the login process. It is not great."
"It's a big tool. It's heavy, really heavy. Because of this, and with it being highly available and robust, it's not so easy to manage."
"Scalability is where we run into some challenges because we use it to scale where most customers don't."
"There is no room for improvement in the current version of FileNet, and I have not identified any potential new features or existing problems that require attention."
"There is room for improvement in the file management. It's very complex."
"There is room for improvement when we need a fix to a bug in the application. It takes time for them to release any interim fixes, and sometimes it takes three weeks, sometimes it takes more than a month."
"Whether or not it's as customizable and user friendly, that's where it starts to drop a little bit as far as I'm concerned."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"OnBase is reasonably priced."
"There are a number of different types of licenses. There are concurrent licenses, individual licenses and imaging licenses."
"The tool's price is high."
"They can do better in terms of the pricing model. It is a really expensive tool in Latin America. They should have different prices for different regions."
"The solution costs around $6,000 per month."
"For the medium scale or large scale, I would recommend FileNet. FileNet is free of licensing expenses, thus good for the money. It is not expensive, but worth for the money, especially for medium scale and large scale industries."
"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."
"FileNet is quite expensive, although Documentum is expensive too."
"​There are lots of components to the product. Make sure before you invest that you know which components you need.​​"
"The physical space that we have gained back pays for the service. Therefore, it has reduced our operating costs overall. We have definitely seen ROI. I would estimate $30,000 a year."
"The cost is about $40,000, plus yearly maintenance."
"Yearly, we pay for the maintenance, which is $20,000."
"FileNet is not cheap, but you absolutely get what you pay for. ​"
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
11%
Computer Software Company
8%
Healthcare Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Government
7%
Marketing Services Firm
7%
Insurance Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise13
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise74
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Hyland OnBase?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that it is very cost-effective and affordable.
What needs improvement with Hyland OnBase?
Hyland OnBase could be improved in terms of service support response time. More timely updates to solution software support documentation also should be improved.
What is your primary use case for Hyland OnBase?
Hyland OnBase is used across the entirety of the organization in a variety of different ways, and its primary use is as a document storage solution that is used in conjunction with other systems su...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM FileNet?
The pricing and licensing of IBM FileNet is high. We are living in a world where the minimal license from IBM costs anywhere from seventy-five thousand to one hundred thousand US dollars, depending...
What needs improvement with IBM FileNet?
I believe IBM FileNet could be improved or enhanced in the future, specifically the user interface development support, which, despite all the improvements, still feels from the 2010s or 2000s. The...
What is your primary use case for IBM FileNet?
My usual use cases for IBM FileNet involve three primary areas. The first is document management. For instance, if you have an insurance application, you can store all the documents required to pro...
 

Also Known As

OnBase
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Honda France Industries, Hill County Texas, Hylant Group, ING Lease France, State of South Carolina, Syracuse University, Swindon College, Rhode Island Department of Human Services, Rochester Institute of Technology, Moen, Odense University Hospital
Suncorp Group Limited, St. Vincent Health, Citigroup, SRCSD, and UK Dept for Work and Pensions.
Find out what your peers are saying about Hyland OnBase vs. IBM FileNet and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
889,955 professionals have used our research since 2012.