No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Box 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.0
Box increases ROI by reducing turnaround times, supporting compliance, and enhancing file management efficiency for significant returns.
Sentiment score
4.3
IBM FileNet improved efficiency, reduced errors and costs, saving clients up to $30,000 annually with enhanced automation and accuracy.
Cost savings come from re-engineering the business processes using IBM FileNet and related strategies.
Consulting CTO at a tech consulting company with 1-10 employees
There is a significant ROI from IBM FileNet because before its introduction, the company needed to do all the work manually.
Chief Architect at NEUSOFT JAPAN
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.0
Box's customer service is helpful and efficient but can face delays and repetitive inquiries; cost varies by support package.
Sentiment score
7.0
IBM FileNet customer service is praised for responsiveness but faces challenges with time zones and specific expertise issues.
People come from all over the world, and they have specialists at the other end of the world to help if needed.
Senior Consultant EIM and ECM at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
IBM has a different division that provides consultation to end users, and most customers utilize consultation from IBM, which costs approximately $100k USD to $200k USD.
Chief Architect at NEUSOFT JAPAN
The consulting experts that IBM provides sometimes do not understand the tool very well.
Consultor at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
Box provides scalable performance for various user counts and data sizes, with potential improvements in admin reporting for enterprises.
Sentiment score
7.6
IBM FileNet excels in scalability and adaptability, effortlessly handling growth, integration, and large-scale operations, meeting diverse business needs.
I am uncertain about its effectiveness at an enterprise level, where SharePoint might be preferred.
Consultant at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
The bigger products like IBM FileNet can handle billions of documents and thousands of users.
Senior Consultant EIM and ECM at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
With Kubernetes, we can simply add instances of the worker, CPU, or memory without needing deployment.
Chief Architect at NEUSOFT JAPAN
We have about 80 transactional systems connected to IBM FileNet.
Consultor at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Box is highly rated for stability, with minor performance issues rare and seamless connectivity, even during sleep mode.
Sentiment score
8.0
IBM FileNet is praised for stability and reliability, though some clients face issues with high-volume ingestion or outdated APIs.
Box was very stable and did not have any latency issues.
Consultant at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
I have never encountered a problem of data corruption, losing data files, insecure access, or anything of that nature.
Consulting CTO at a tech consulting company with 1-10 employees
FileNet was restricted to DB2's enterprise edition instead of the standard edition, causing complications.
System integrator at Indépendant
In terms of stability, we haven't experienced any big technical issues or downtime with IBM FileNet.
Senior Consultant EIM and ECM at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Box users seek better control, improved integrations, and features like document indexing, enhanced UI, and efficient performance.
IBM FileNet users seek improved cloud integration, enhanced usability, automation, analytics, modern interface, and better integration with existing systems.
If Box had an AI feature to summarize and identify documents based on their contents, it would significantly enhance usability.
Lead Ai Tech And Tech Automation Engineer at a individual & family service with 11-50 employees
To open and see who is accessing the document now and see my movements across the document or the file we are sharing together.
Senior Projects Manager at Tech-hub
Collaborative editing was challenging if multiple people were in a document at once.
Consultant at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
Ease of use with IBM FileNet is a disadvantage of this tool. It is complex and hard to use.
Consultor at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
The response time and resolution of issues by technical support need improvement.
Assistant Vice President at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees
From the beginning, we cannot use a REST API; we have to use the IBM FileNet native API, which is quite outdated.
Chief Architect at NEUSOFT JAPAN
 

Setup Cost

Box's pricing is viewed variably, offering competitive value for some, though others find it steep, especially with security features.
IBM FileNet is costly, with high licensing and setup fees; negotiation can reduce prices, yet remains expensive for smaller enterprises.
I found the pricing reasonable because when I was working for an IBM partner, Box was free for us.
Senior Projects Manager at Tech-hub
We are living in a world where the minimal license from IBM costs anywhere from seventy-five thousand to one hundred thousand US dollars.
Consulting CTO at a tech consulting company with 1-10 employees
The product has become more expensive and requires significant investment for enterprise solutions.
System integrator at Indépendant
The price is high, with yearly subscriptions increasing day by day.
Assistant Vice President at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees
 

Valuable Features

Box offers secure collaboration, seamless integrations, user-friendly interface, and robust features for compliance, enhancing personal and professional experiences.
IBM FileNet offers scalable document management, seamless integration, automation, strong security, and high performance for efficient business processes.
Box had a very easy-to-use search feature and a good user interface on its website, which was faster and better than SharePoint.
Consultant at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
I find the synchronization feature most valuable in Box. When I use multiple devices, it syncs them together and gives excellent results.
Senior Projects Manager at Tech-hub
The best features of Box for me include the structured file organizing, which is the most important part I found.
Lead Ai Tech And Tech Automation Engineer at a individual & family service with 11-50 employees
There is a significant ROI from IBM FileNet because before its introduction, the company needed to do all the work manually.
Chief Architect at NEUSOFT JAPAN
The main features we find impactful are the workflow and document management along with FileNet file stores.
Assistant Vice President at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees
At this level, companies don't buy a ready-made solution.
Senior Consultant EIM and ECM at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Box
Ranking in Enterprise Content Management
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Storage (11th), Digital Asset Management (5th), Document Management Software (6th), Content Collaboration Platforms (8th)
IBM FileNet
Ranking in Enterprise Content Management
2nd
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 June 2026, in the Enterprise Content Management category, the mindshare of Box is 3.8%, up from 3.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM FileNet is 5.8%, down from 9.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Content Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM FileNet5.8%
Box3.8%
Other90.4%
Enterprise Content Management
 

Featured Reviews

Chirag Morajkar - PeerSpot reviewer
Lead Ai Tech And Tech Automation Engineer at a individual & family service with 11-50 employees
Structured cloud storage has streamlined document collaboration and automated workflows
The biggest friction point I have encountered with Box is mainly the pricing part; I think five dollars for this platform is not necessarily justified. While I have used it for integrating and using it as a cloud platform, I have not encountered any significant negative aspects. A few times, I might have faced performance issues, but I am uncertain whether that was due to the automation platform or Box itself. Overall, the only thing I could mention is that it can take a little time to understand how the integration works with Box; setup and figuring out what can and cannot be done might take some time, but other than that, I do not think anything else bothered me. One thing I would want Box to introduce to improve the platform and make it stand out even more would be incorporating AI. For example, the only way to identify documents shared in Box currently is by their names, and if those names are not precise, I can get confused. If Box had an AI feature to summarize and identify documents based on their contents, it would significantly enhance usability. AI is essential for making work easier, so that would be an excellent addition to the platform.
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.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Enterprise Content Management solutions are best for your needs.
900,196 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Government
8%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise30
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise74
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Box?
I found the pricing reasonable because when I was working for an IBM partner, Box was free for us. We did not go to payment and other matters like this.
What needs improvement with Box?
The biggest friction point I have encountered with Box is mainly the pricing part; I think five dollars for this platform is not necessarily justified. While I have used it for integrating and usin...
What is your primary use case for Box?
My main use case for Box is storing cloud content on its cloud and managing it as a collaborating platform so that I can store secure files and share through Box. I use it for document management a...
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...
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

GE, Toyota, P&G, Caterpillar, Flex, Schneider Electric, Sally Beauty, Eurostar, AstraZeneca, AirBnB, Whirlpool, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Nationwide, Aeropostale etc
Suncorp Group Limited, St. Vincent Health, Citigroup, SRCSD, and UK Dept for Work and Pensions.
Find out what your peers are saying about Box vs. IBM FileNet and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,196 professionals have used our research since 2012.