Alfresco Reviews

Name: Alfresco
Brand: Hyland
Rating: 3.8 (12 reviews)

3.8 out of 5

12 reviews
76% willing to recommend

3,592 followers

What is Alfresco?

The Alfresco Digital Business Platform offers open, secure content services to let you unlock the value from your most important business information. Give users access to their content wherever and however they work with Alfresco’s open, flexible, and highly scalable cloud-native content services platform. Easily integrate and connect with everyday business applications. Find, view, collaborate on, govern, and securely share digital content—and get information to the right person at the right time.

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Alfresco is the #3 ranked solution in top Document Management Software and #10 ranked solution in top Enterprise Content Management solutions. PeerSpot users give Alfresco an average rating of 7.6 out of 10. Based on the analysis of the 12 most recent Alfresco reviews, the overall sentiment is positive, with a sentiment score of 6.6. (Among the lowest in the category). Alfresco is most commonly compared to SharePoint: Alfresco vs SharePoint. Alfresco is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 67% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a financial services firm, accounting for 15% of all views.

Helped 824,067 peers since 2012

Featured reviews

Karthi Keyan

Head Of Information Technology at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

We used Alfresco as a document management system for automating and digitizing manual forms. Those were the main use cases The digitalization of workflow, forms, operations, and business processes has improved our organization. The most valuable features of Alfresco include its integration with…

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Karthi Keyan

Head Of Information Technology at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

I think the presentation layer could be improved - currently, it's too complex, and there are too many features cluttered all over the screen. Alfresco also needs to be well-integrated with Microsoft, as it's currently a nuisance for customers who rely on Microsoft's Office 365 solutions. There's a pretty obvious gap in the overlap between SharePoint when customers go to O365 and are presented with the SharePoint license and storage to start with, which Alfresco isn't taking advantage of.

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reviewer2560407

Program Manager at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees

Setting up and configuring Alfresco is moderately challenging. On a scale of one to ten, it is probably about a five. Training is necessary, but Hyland provides the training, guidelines, reference books, and setup manuals to help. With the right guidance, it is relatively easy to figure out the setup.

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Alfresco mindshare

Product category:

As of December 2024, the mindshare of Alfresco in the Enterprise Content Management category stands at 7.6%, down from 8.6% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise Content Management

PeerAnalyst reports

Type	Title	Date
Category	Enterprise Content Management	Dec 22, 2024	Download
Product	Reviews, tips, and advice from real users	Dec 22, 2024	Download
Comparison	Alfresco vs SharePoint	Dec 22, 2024	Download
Comparison	Alfresco vs OpenText Documentum	Dec 22, 2024	Download
Comparison	Alfresco vs OpenText Extended ECM	Dec 22, 2024	Download

Title	Rating	Mindshare	Recommending
SharePoint	3.9	18.4%	78%	154 interviews Add to research
Box	4.2	3.9%	85%	40 interviews Add to research

Valuable Features

Alfresco's key features include document management, content model management, MS Office integration, collaboration and sharing, workflow automation, and digital asset management. Users appreciate its extensibility, ease of customization, installation, and use, especially on Linux. It allows seamless metadata searches and supports CMIS standards. Open-source nature enhances flexibility. Its strong integration with scanning solutions and BPM engine, along with rapid deployment capabilities, make it valuable for digitizing workflows and processes.

"The digitalization of workflow, forms, operations, and business processes is also significant."
"The most valuable features of Alfresco include its integration with the scanning solution, the ability to search, and the capability to store and index to capture metadata."
"Alfresco allows broad searches with many index fields that you can search on, although the created fields and their values may not be intuitive."

Room for Improvement

Alfresco users express a desire for enhancements in the Model Manager to support a complete content model language, improved user interface intuitiveness, and better development tools akin to Eclipse. They suggest integrating default document capture features, boosting record and case management, simplifying the presentation layer, optimizing Microsoft integration, and easing configuration challenges. There's also interest in supporting more documents in the repository, including NoSQL DBMS for metadata and better digital workflows.

"The setup process for Alfresco was complex."
"Alfresco could improve workflow digitalization and enhance artificial intelligence capabilities."
"The configuration of Alfresco is a big challenge."

Pricing

Alfresco's pricing is characterized by mid-range costs, with licensing tailored for different needs. Enterprise Edition offers advanced features and requires a yearly license, while Community Edition is free with basic functionality. Many users find Alfresco more economical than its competitors. Costs arise from upgrades, integrations, and potential OEM licensing through partners. Some clients note pricing changes but continue to see value with included features like the Activiti engine.

"The license for Alfresco is expensive - not the maximum, but close. There are also extra costs once you start building integrations, as implementation seems to be very costly."
"There are costs for any upgrade or additional functions."
"If you buy Alfresco through a partner, there is usually a OEM licensing option."

Popular Use Cases

Service and Support

Alfresco's customer service is helpful, aiming to satisfy users and offering assistance from community resources. Technical support is often seen as average, potentially slow due to internal processes, but partners and forums can provide effective solutions. Although support with the Enterprise Edition requires raising tickets, responses are generally positive, with technical support ratings around 3.5 to 4 out of 5. These users appreciate the responsiveness but suggest a more direct engagement for improved updates.

Deployment

Alfresco's initial setup varies in complexity. Some users find it straightforward due to provided guides, setup files, and stack installers. Others mention it requires knowledge in web server configuration, databases, or advanced setup options. The Zero Day guide is helpful for customization. Training courses enhance understanding and ease the process. Installation is easier with default options, yet customization demands more expertise. Setup time may vary depending on the approach and customization required.

Scalability

Alfresco scales efficiently across web, application, and database layers. Organizations report no issues, attributing success to its robust clustering capabilities and minimal resource adjustments. It demonstrates strong performance in high availability setups with configurations like Apache web servers and scalable database systems. Clustering and SAN integration enhance disaster recovery support, while provisioning and configurations utilize tools like Puppet. Utilization of advanced J2EE frameworks also contributes to its scalability strengths.

Stability

Alfresco is generally stable, requiring a certified administrator for proper installation. Some users report stability issues with heavy server loads, but these can be managed with appropriate JVM settings. Migration and upgrades necessitate careful adherence to procedures to prevent instability. Users highlight a steep learning curve where mistakes can arise. Companies often depend on specialized firms for management and customization. Despite potential challenges, many users find Alfresco reliable, rating its stability highly.

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

Download our Alfresco Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.