Alfresco vs Box

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Our analysts compared Alfresco vs Box based on data from our 400+ point analysis of CMS Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

Box Software Tool

Product Basics

Alfresco is an open-source solution that helps enterprises manage and publish content on websites. It provides a central content and metadata repository with streamlined end-to-end review and approval workflows. It offers collaboration through shared access, comments and annotations, and the option to start a meeting from within the document for instant discussion. Deployable on-premise, in the cloud or as a hybrid, it can be accessed from any device.

Extensible due to its open architecture, it enables federated access to content across technologies without the need to migrate data in bulk, eliminating data security concerns. Powered by Amazon Web Services, it provides data insights through natural language generation, automated text extraction and deep learning technology. In addition to its integration with Microsoft 365 and Google Docs, it provides full-text indexing via Apache Solr.
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Box is a cloud-based tool for storing and sharing content for enterprise collaboration. It facilitates the online management of files, documents, presentations and videos anywhere and integrates seamlessly with virtually all open APIs, Microsoft Office 365, Salesforce and Adobe. Also, this enables editing, reviewing and sharing digital assets and assigning tasks to others. Team members can create workflows in minutes to speed up standard business processes without IT assistance. A centralized console grants a consolidated view of all shared content and accounts. In addition to granular access permissions, it ensures data integrity through watermarking and classification. It’s HIPAA, FINRA and FedRAMP certified.
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$2,000 Monthly
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$5/User, Monthly
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Small 
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Windows
Mac
Linux
Android
Chromebook
Windows
Mac
Linux
Android
Chromebook
Cloud
On-Premise
Mobile
Cloud
On-Premise
Mobile

Product Assistance

Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars
Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars
Email
Phone
Chat
FAQ
Forum
Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support
Email
Phone
Chat
FAQ
Forum
Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support

Product Insights

  • Enhanced Collaboration: Alfresco fosters seamless teamwork by providing a centralized platform for document sharing, real-time editing, and threaded discussions, enabling efficient knowledge sharing and project coordination.
  • Streamlined Content Management: Its intuitive interface and robust search capabilities empower users to effortlessly organize, retrieve, and manage vast amounts of content, ensuring easy access to critical information.
  • Improved Productivity: Alfresco automates repetitive tasks, such as document approval workflows and content versioning, freeing up valuable time for employees to focus on strategic initiatives.
  • Enhanced Security: Alfresco's robust security measures, including role-based access controls, encryption, and audit trails, safeguard sensitive data, ensuring compliance with industry regulations and protecting against unauthorized access.
  • Scalability and Flexibility: Alfresco's modular architecture and cloud-based deployment options allow organizations to tailor the solution to their specific needs, accommodating growth and adapting to changing business requirements.
  • Reduced Costs: By eliminating the need for multiple disparate systems and streamlining content management processes, Alfresco helps organizations save on IT infrastructure and maintenance costs.
  • Improved Customer Experience: Alfresco's integration with CRM systems enables personalized content delivery, enhancing customer interactions and fostering stronger relationships.
  • Increased Innovation: Alfresco's open API and developer tools empower organizations to extend the platform's functionality, fostering innovation and creating tailored solutions that meet unique business challenges.
  • Enhanced Compliance: Alfresco's compliance with industry standards, such as ISO 27001 and HIPAA, ensures adherence to regulatory requirements and mitigates legal risks.
  • Improved Decision-Making: Alfresco's advanced analytics capabilities provide insights into content usage and user behavior, enabling data-driven decision-making and optimizing content strategies.
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  • Safeguard Content: Protect files using cloud-native security. Employ watermarking, classification and granular access controls. 
  • Saves Time: Automate reviews and approvals. Cut down on time wastage and fasten simple processes. Shorten review cycles. 
  • Better Project Management: Store all files in a centralized folder and access them. Collaborate with team members in real-time. Search files easily and receive updates on project timelines and notes. 
  • Accessibility: Access files from any location. Use different devices to view files, such as laptops, computers, tablets and mobile phones. 
  • Work Together: Collaborate on documents, leave comments on presentations and create team to-do lists and more in one workspace. Generate tasks and assignments, allowing team members to know what to do and when. Enable quick and easy updates with group chats. 
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  • Document Management: Search, access, store and organize content on any device with search suggestions and smart folders. Use built-in workflows and rich metadata models to improve the review and approval processes, move documents and automate repetitive tasks. Keep content secure by creating access permissions, maintaining document versioning and keeping a single database of all records in compliance with information governance policies.
  • Document Capture and Scanning: Scan and process documents and data of any kind utilizing optical character recognition (OCR) technology. Store and classify scanned documents in a centralized location to keep files organized and easily accessible. Allow customers to capture, share and edit content on the go with the Mobile Content and Process Services.
  • Collaboration: Store, edit, co-author and share documents in one location by integrating popular applications such as Microsoft 365 and Google Docs. Invite external members to work on content via public links. Allow viewer collaboration to produce real-time annotations, replies to changes made and chat capabilities within documents.
  • Artificial Intelligence: Implement Amazon Web Services to analyze and extract essential data from documents with Amazon Comprehend, Amazon Rekognition and Amazon Textract. Find specific keywords within bodies of text, retrieve textual context from images and videos to store as document metadata and more.
  • Analytics: Customize reports and dashboards, generate real-time reports on content and metadata and easily search for data with the platform’s internal data warehouse and open source search platform Solr 6. Optimize search indexing with multi-instance clustering and Solr sharding. Prevent data leaks with permissions, ACLs and SSL encryption protection.
  • Process Management: Build process models utilizing graphical tools such as the step editor guide and share with point-and-click forms. Manage internal processes by creating, assigning and dividing tasks amongst individuals and team members. Integrate tools using the platform’s Java-based process engine, API support and rest-based architecture, accessible on any iOS and Android device.
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  • Protection: Safeguard files and documents by classifying them based on PII and custom terms determined by admin policy. Configure access policies to secure data and prevent data leaks. 
  • Relay: Work efficiently by creating an automated workflow process delivering documents from one step to the next. Simplify reviews, approvals, onboarding and offboarding processes by sending reminders and monitoring the progress of files. 
  • Signatures: Use secure, compliant and legally binding e-signs for critical business documents. 
  • Notes: Take notes for meetings, brainstorm sessions, to-do lists, planning and more from any device, instantly available on the web, mobile or desktop. Make use of annotations, comments, image embedding and version history. 
  • Drive: House all files in one place in the cloud, saving precious hard drive space. Access, edit and share documents on any desktop, with data saved automatically to the cloud. 
  • AI Solutions: Make sense of hard-to-read data points with AI technology that groups most important information in an easy-to-understand manner. 
  • Consulting: Allow the consultant team to help with user implementation strategies, software integration and the creation of customized training and solutions. 
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Product Ranking

#26

among all
CMS Software

#244

among all
CMS Software

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Analyst Rating Summary

89
77
50
8
70
70
83
67
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Document Protection
Platform Capabilities
Document Management
Integrations and Extensibility
Content Capture
Integrations and Extensibility
Document Management

Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

Alfresco
Box
+ Add Product + Add Product
AI-Based Capabilities Collaboration Compliances Content Capture Document Management Document Protection Mobile Capabilities Platform Capabilities Reports And Analytics 50 70 83 89 95 100 78 100 80 8 70 67 78 85 75 78 84 70 0 25 50 75 100
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Analyst Ratings for Technical Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

88%
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12%
75%
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User Sentiment Summary

Good User Sentiment 94 reviews
Great User Sentiment 8677 reviews
78%
of users recommend this product

Alfresco has a 'good' User Satisfaction Rating of 78% when considering 94 user reviews from 5 recognized software review sites.

85%
of users recommend this product

Box has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 85% when considering 8677 user reviews from 5 recognized software review sites.

3.9 (5)
4.6 (14)
3.4 (32)
4.2 (4492)
4.0 (15)
4.3 (3793)
4.2 (13)
4.2 (142)
4.3 (29)
4.7 (236)

Awards

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated Alfresco and concluded it earns best-in-class honors for Document Protection and Platform Capabilities.

Document Protection Award
Platform Capabilities Award

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Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Intuitive User Interface: Alfresco's user-friendly interface simplifies content management, making it easy for users to navigate and find what they need quickly.
Robust Document Management: Alfresco excels in managing large volumes of documents, providing efficient storage, retrieval, and collaboration features.
Seamless Collaboration: Alfresco fosters collaboration by allowing multiple users to work on documents simultaneously, track changes, and share feedback.
Advanced Security: Alfresco prioritizes data security with robust encryption, access controls, and audit trails to protect sensitive information.
Scalability and Flexibility: Alfresco adapts to growing business needs, supporting large-scale deployments and integrations with other systems.
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Storage: The solution provides a massive, secure cloud storage that can expand at a minimal cost, according to 89% of users.
Sharing: According to 93% of users who reviewed this functionality, it’s easy and secure to share files.
Accessibility: About 90% of users who mentioned this feature said it’s easy to access files, documents and other information from any remote location.
Integration: According to 95% of users who reviewed this, the solution seamlessly integrates with third-party business applications.
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Steep Learning Curve: Alfresco's complex interface and extensive feature set can be overwhelming for new users, requiring significant training and support.
Limited Customization Options: While Alfresco offers some customization capabilities, they are often limited compared to other CMS platforms, restricting the ability to tailor the system to specific business needs.
Performance Issues: Alfresco can experience performance bottlenecks, especially when handling large volumes of content or complex workflows, leading to slow loading times and user frustration.
Costly Licensing: Alfresco's licensing fees can be substantial, particularly for enterprise-level deployments, making it a less cost-effective option for budget-conscious organizations.
Lack of Mobile Optimization: Alfresco's mobile capabilities are limited, making it challenging to access and manage content effectively on smartphones and tablets.
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Dashboard: The software’s dashboard is confusing and the layout needs improvement, according to 100% of users.
Offline Functionality: According to 80% of users who reviewed this, the offline capability of the software is minimal.
Pricing: About 56% of users who mentioned this said the solution isn’t very affordable.
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Alfresco is a popular CMS software that has received mixed reviews from users in the past year. Some users praise its strengths, such as its robust security features, user-friendly interface, and extensive customization options. These strengths are important because they allow users to create and manage content securely, easily, and in a way that meets their specific needs. For example, Alfresco's granular permissions system allows administrators to control who has access to what content, while its drag-and-drop interface makes it easy for users to create and edit content. However, other users have criticized Alfresco for its weaknesses, such as its high cost, limited scalability, and lack of certain features that are found in competing products. These weaknesses are important because they can make Alfresco a less attractive option for some users. For example, Alfresco's high cost may be prohibitive for some organizations, while its limited scalability may not be suitable for organizations that need to manage large amounts of content. Additionally, Alfresco lacks certain features that are found in competing products, such as e-commerce functionality and social media integration. Overall, Alfresco is a solid CMS software with a number of strengths and weaknesses. It is best suited for organizations that need a secure, user-friendly, and customizable CMS. However, organizations that need a low-cost, highly scalable, or feature-rich CMS may want to consider other options.

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Box is an easy-to-use platform that offers file storage, SSL encryption and admin controls. It enables secure synchronization of files and facilitates team collaboration. Users who have tried this product said the dashboard isn’t handy. Clients often struggle with the pricing. Most users appreciate the integration and file-sharing functionalities. The accessibility feature is also helpful. In short, small and medium-sized businesses, developers and consumers who want a platform focusing on collaboration, security and simplified workflow should try this solution.

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