IBM ECM vs IBM FileNet vs OpenText Content Manager comparison

IBM ECM and IBM FileNet are both solutions in the Enterprise Content Management category. IBM ECM is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.0, while IBM FileNet is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.0. IBM ECM holds a 2.4% mindshare in ECM, compared to IBM FileNet’s 9.4% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of IBM ECM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of IBM FileNet users who would recommend it.

IBM ECM

Read 16 IBM ECM reviews

675 Views
641 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

IBM FileNet

Read 102 IBM FileNet reviews

3,570 Views
3,284 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

OpenText Content Manager

Read 23 OpenText Content Manager reviews

1,866 Views
1,400 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

IBM ECM

IBM FileNet

OpenText Content Manager

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between IBM ECM, IBM FileNet, and OpenText Content Manager based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, OpenText, IBM and others in Enterprise Content Management.

To learn more, read our detailed Enterprise Content Management Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Enterprise Content Management

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:

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Enterprise Content Management category, the mindshare of IBM ECM is 2.4%, up from 2.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM FileNet is 9.4%, down from 10.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenText Content Manager is 4.9%, up from 3.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise Content Management

Featured Reviews

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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Emad Rizki

System integrator at Indépendant

Facilitates seamless integration for large enterprises with strong deployment capabilities

FileNet was scalable and could be implemented into big multinational organizations. However, it has become very expensive recently. Compared to low-code solutions such as Appian and outsystems, FileNet has gaps, mainly because it requires coding, which is not preferred by clients due to pricing concerns in Pakistan. We transitioned clients to cloud solutions, although FileNet has been strongly integrated with on-prem deployments.

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Maurice Riverso

Records Management Officer at ANZPAA

Our our official repository and it has disposal management and retention management

The security architecture is the only problem as it's a little bit complex and too torturous at times. So it could be improved a little bit, but it is regarded as a very good system in Australia. It's probably overly subscribed. Also, what's missing is what people would like, which is basically online collaboration. That's a problem. But it has so many other things to offer that SharePoint, I'm sure, will not have. So, that will be an interesting issue to come up. It's not very good at providing stable and robust add-ins to Microsoft. That's a bit of a problem with Content Manager. They're kind of very volatile. So, that's been definitely something that could be improved.

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

"It is a faster, robust solution. The platform compatibility is very good."

"The features that I have found most valuable include the Data Capture and Case Manager features."

"The usability is very good. We like the Content Navigator. It's very easy to use the search and retrieve for documents and has a lot of options for the user to download documents or send an email."

"We use IBM Datacap's capabilities to capture data and then we use FileNet's capabilities for filing, to create an archive of documents... We [also] use FileNet's ability to expose information via APIs and interoperate with other systems."

"The integration feature of IBM FileNet is most effective for document management."

"The document collaboration is very good. There is something called Pink Note where departments can collaborate within the document. It has a built-in viewer to see any type of document."

"It puts governance in place around the content and processes. Access levels can be set to certain parts of the document based on role level."

"Everybody ties into Active Directory and things like that, but on top of that are the extra layers of security for encryption, so they can meet standards required by PCI and by HIPAA: encryption at rest, encryption in flight, encryption in the database, all together. There are really only three products on the market that know how to do that, and FileNet is one of them."

More IBM FileNet pros

"I did not face issues with the product's scalability...The solution's technical support is good."

"The product can be integrated with different solutions."

"It has a robust search but has often been difficult for people to learn."

"For a records management system, Content Manager is a really good system."

"An advantage is integration with your IP directory."

"We like how the solution allows us to have retention of records and workflows, as well as its fire plan."

"The most valuable features of OpenText Content Manager are its stability, reliability, security, and workflow engine."

"The tool's implementation has made life easier for customers. It is sold by SAP. The integration between SAP and the solution is good, making it easy to access the documents. It is widely recognized as a market leader in enterprise document management."

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."

"I know it took them seven months to convert, so the initial setup was, probably to some degree, complex."

"One of the things I know is a bit of a challenge for them - because I know that it lives on top of FileNet, so it's not necessarily living on top of a relational database, per se - is that we also are using it as our system of record for our language management and our language definitions. I know that that was a little bit of a challenge, just because of the underlying architecture."

"This solution could be improved with the ability to present the file system from FileNet."

"However, the configuration does take a long time. Every company needs its own configuration design. It depends on how many applications are connecting to FileNet. It can take a long time, depending on the application count."

"We'd like to use the docker, to have it containerized."

"We know that they're looking at documents, but we don't know what documents they're actually going and finding the most, or where the bottlenecks might be. It would be nice if there was some interconnectivity back into Bluemix to say, "Ok, you've got a workflow problem here." That would be a neat feature moving forward because we've got a lot of users that would just say, "The system is not working." We had a few threads would get hung up because they were just constantly banging on these few documents. If that were the case, if we knew that ahead of time, then we could fix that, change the search sequences to make it more efficient. But we were blind to that until the users said it's not working."

"The basic and fundamental point about FileNet is that the interface is very bad. It's just not appealing so people are reluctant to use it."

"I think it's to the point where there are probably too many features. Every software, as it matures and graduates, grows the list of features. What many of our customers express is that it's just too complicated. They're using maybe five or ten percent of the features but they're having to pay for 100 percent. There is room for improvement in terms of simplifying it."

More IBM FileNet cons

"The product could improve its scalability."

"It's not very good at providing stable and robust add-ins to Microsoft."

"The ease of use should be addressed."

"OpenText Content Manager needs to improve its user interface. Its installation process is difficult and can be made easier."

"Support could be enhanced. The first line of support consists of individuals who lack experience with some key aspects. When you create a support ticket, the time to resolve the issue may be prolonged because the first person may not understand the system or the solution."

"The stability of the solution is an area of concern where improvements can be made."

"Due to very limited use in the industry, vendor and contract support are hard to find."

"Pricing is an issue, as it is too expensive."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Reach out to local IBM partners."

"The tool is expensive, and I rate its pricing a ten out of ten."

"It has reduced operating costs by reducing the amount of manual work needed."

"The biggest issue is the cost of the FileNet, because the license cost is very high. If a customer doesn't have good technical guides that are aware of the license calculation, they will pay too much. FileNet's license calculation depends on the processor and number of users. So my advice to a new customer is to be very careful with your calculations before purchasing FileNet."

"When it comes to pricing, IBM needs to make an effort to improve the cost. That's the main issue regarding use of FinalNet in Columbia."

"The solution saves time and money. It helps us to be able to accomplish the goals of our business, as opposed to being tangled in the weeds of what we could do."

"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."

"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."

"1. It will be more expensive than estimated to setup. 2. You will need to double the staff while you are running the old system and installing the new system. 3. Depending on the number of documents to be migrated, make sure you understand the potentially massive amount of time and effort required to migrate the existing content to the new platform."

More IBM FileNet pricing and cost advice

"I rate the product price an eight or nine on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive. The solution is expensive."

"The fees incurred are for the licensing and maintenance."

"The solution's licensing cost depends on the customer domain. Though its costs are high, the product is worth the money. You have to pay a one-time cost and support costs."

"I would suggest that you do a thorough evaluation of all competing products and look for support for these products in your local area."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

32%

Government

11%

Computer Software Company

Real Estate/Law Firm

Financial Services Firm

22%

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

10%

Insurance Company

Government

18%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software Company

Energy/Utilities Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

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...

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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 ServiceNo...

See all answers

What do you like most about IBM FileNet?

The product is robust and can process a lot of documents for enterprise content management.

See all answers

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

From the company's perspective, the licensing cost for IBM FileNet is still affordable. Though the license cost is so...

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What needs improvement with IBM FileNet?

The API provided by IBM FileNet is a very out-of-date implementation. From the beginning, we cannot use a REST API; w...

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What do you like most about Micro Focus Content Manager?

An advantage is integration with your IP directory.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Micro Focus Content Manager?

Pricing is a disadvantage as it is very expensive, especially in this market.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Micro Focus Content Manager?

Pricing is an issue, as it is too expensive. Support and services need to be more user-friendly. The support has been...

See all answers

Comparisons

Alfresco vs IBM ECM

Compared 11% of the time

Hyland OnBase vs IBM ECM

Compared 11% of the time

SAP Extended Enterprise Content Management vs IBM ECM

Compared 10% of the time

OpenText Content Management vs IBM ECM

Compared 9% of the time

SharePoint vs IBM ECM

Compared 7% of the time

More IBM ECM Competitors

SharePoint vs IBM FileNet

Compared 17% of the time

OpenText Content Management vs IBM FileNet

Compared 15% of the time

OpenText Documentum Content Management vs IBM FileNet

Compared 14% of the time

Hyland OnBase vs IBM FileNet

Compared 8% of the time

M-Files vs IBM FileNet

Compared 5% of the time

More IBM FileNet Competitors

SharePoint vs OpenText Content Manager

Compared 24% of the time

OpenText Content Management vs OpenText Content Manager

Compared 13% of the time

OpenText Documentum Content Management vs OpenText Content Manager

Compared 12% of the time

Microsoft Purview Records Management vs OpenText Content Manager

Compared 9% of the time

Nuxeo vs OpenText Content Manager

Compared 3% of the time

More OpenText Content Manager Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM ECM

July 2025

Download IBM ECM product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM FileNet

July 2025

Download IBM FileNet product report

Buyer's Guide

OpenText Content Manager

July 2025

Download OpenText Content Manager product report

Also Known As

No data available

Micro Focus Content Manager, HPE Records Manager, HPE Content Manager

Overview

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

IBM FileNet is a leading IBM enterprise content management product family. IBM FileNet is one of the ECM solutions that can change the way a company does business by enabling users to capture, activate, socialize, analyze, and govern content throughout its lifecycle.

There are many IBM FileNet products available, all of which are integrated and based on the FileNet P8 Platform.

IBM

OpenText Content Manager, formerly Records Manager, is a governance-based enterprise content management system designed to help government agencies, regulated industries and global organizations manage their business content from creation to disposal. Regardless of how you create and collaborate on your content, Content Manager gives you the ability to leverage accurate, contextual, and complete information throughout its lifecycle. Managing your content in this way helps you significantly improve services to your customers, business decisions and insight for future strategy.

OpenText

Sample Customers

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

Suncorp Group Limited, St. Vincent Health, Citigroup, SRCSD, and UK Dept for Work and Pensions.

Missouri State Courts

Buyer's Guide

Enterprise Content Management

July 2025

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