Alfresco Reviews

Alfresco serves as our cloud-native enterprise content management system and Business Process Management platform. Alfresco is a highly customizable solution that integrates seamlessly with services such as Salesforce and Office 365. Its features, including architecture control, modular architecture, and robust record management, help us manage our data effectively. Alfresco functions as an excellent alternative to other shared drive services such as SharePoint or Google Drive. It provides a safe and secure place to keep our data, store files, share folders, and collaborate on basic documents. We use Alfresco to ensure that our data is safe and secure, and the files are easily findable when we are searching for something.

Alfresco offers many features that I value highly. The first is the open architecture that provides extensive REST API and support of open standards such as CMIS, allowing our development team to easily extend their capabilities.

The second valuable feature is the activity workflow engine, a powerful BPMN compliant workflow engine that automates complex and multi-step processes natively alongside the content.

Another favorite feature is smart document processing. Due to its built-in AI capabilities, Alfresco can automatically classify documents based on our business requirements and tagging. This directly helps us find those documents by tagging them and locating them more easily.

The smart document processing in Alfresco has helped us extract information via OCR and identify entities without requiring manual data entry, as it works on a metadata approach that is directly searched via OCR. The text is assigned as a token in the backend, and using the AI capabilities, Alfresco can automatically classify and read via OCR.

Alfresco also provides automated lifecycle management that helps us enforce legal holds, retention schedules, and secure disposition of records, keeping the files secure and ensuring that our organization remains compliant with legal requirements.

Alfresco is a great platform, and we have seen fantastic return on investment. I feel there are no major challenges that I have faced, but the learning curve can be overwhelming for newcomers. The learning curve can sometimes be a challenge for my team as they adapt to the platform. Apart from that, everything functions well.

I have been working in this field for more than twelve years. We have been using Alfresco for the last one and a half years in our organization.

Alfresco is a one hundred percent stable solution. We have not faced any stability issues, downtime, glitches, or challenges. Alfresco is definitely a stable and scalable solution.

I interacted with the customer support team approximately six months ago while configuring another system in our organization. The support team was very responsive and resolved my query within forty-five minutes, which was a good experience. I rate the customer support team a ten out of ten.

We did not switch from any other solution before implementing Alfresco.

Deploying Alfresco in our environment was not a challenge. We easily deployed it in all environments, including test, production, and pre-production deployments. The configuration process was straightforward. We configured it easily with the help of the Alfresco team, who assisted us in onboarding and completed the configuration within a day or two.

The ROI from Alfresco is highly profitable for the company. It has helped us accelerate operational excellence and decrease compliance risk while increasing compliance mitigation. By automating manual document routing and data entry, Alfresco has saved us at least seventy to eighty percent in time and forty to forty-five percent in manual labor. It has also helped cut the processing time by ninety percent. Centrally managing records has helped us automate legal retention policies and reduce physical storage costs by eighty percent, saving us in costs and protecting us from massive financial penalties associated with compliance failures. Alfresco has saved us approximately one million dollars regarding compliance data failure and another million around lost legal documentation. In summary, Alfresco has accelerated operational excellence, ensured compliance risk mitigation, assisted in manual document routing with data entry, reduced processing times, and helped in managing legal retention policies, all while reducing our physical storage costs and protecting against legal risks.

Pricing, setup costs, and licensing are interesting aspects of Alfresco for our organization. We do not rely solely on licensing as it is based on a billing model rather than just licensing. Since we obtained Alfresco through AWS Marketplace, we are billed for what we use. Alfresco provides a good solution, and we only pay for what we use rather than for what we procure fully. For example, other similar alternatives charge for a fixed number of users, so if I need only sixty users at a time but they have a plan for one hundred users, they charge for one hundred users. In contrast, Alfresco is very functional because they manage licensing typically on consumed users rather than on the total user value, which is something I value about it.

We evaluated other options before choosing Alfresco. We looked at M-Files and Laserfiche for similar metadata approaches, but we felt that Alfresco was the most suitable solution for our organization.

We purchased Alfresco from AWS Marketplace. The integrations are seamless with all AWS services. Regarding procurement, it was straightforward and easy, and we did not encounter any challenges during that process. Anyone looking for a great solution for data management and transmission, along with excellent features that ensure document security, legal compliance, and protection from document theft or legal challenges, should definitely choose Alfresco. I rate this solution a five out of five.

This is mainly for unstructured document management systems with workflow and data classification.

The overall extensive base APIs are available, and it is open for extension. This part is something I appreciate. You can have your own use cases and customizations. It is highly extensible, meaning you can do whatever you want. You can meet your users' expected features without having Alfresco's involvement. You don't need Alfresco to be there for your future enhancements, which is very advantageous.

After onboarding Alfresco, many applications got decommissioned and everything merged into Alfresco.

Currently, the challenge is the general availability to users. Initially, they had poor documentation, but over the years, their documentation has highly improved. Initially, we had challenges finding the extension points and understanding how to extend the system. The workflow was one of the hurdles we had. At that time, it was not that beautiful or feature-rich. Even today, workflow consists of basic workflows. If you want to extend, you have to implement your own customizations. They are using it extensively with features such as records management, CMIS, Share UI, and Web Scripts. All these features are being used extensively.

Governance of this system is required. If you don't have proper governance, things can go wrong. If you don't have a proper policy of how documents should be maintained, issues can arise. You have to make rules, such as one folder should not have more than 5,000 subfolders or children. This was advised by Alfresco, but we did not have that advice, so we had challenges when everything was dumped into single folders. It slows down the systems and sometimes becomes unusable. Whoever is going to use it should have that governance system in place.

It has been in use for around 10 years now.

Deployment is now straightforward with WAR-based deployments. They have a straightforward one-file deployment system. If you have different components, they need to improve that part as sometimes requirements are not declared.

Initially, the clustering was not efficient as you could not start multiple servers together. Those issues have now been corrected. In the past, you had to restart or start servers one by one, as two nodes could not join the cluster at the same time.

Customer support is good because they are responsive. Sometimes it takes time to resolve issues, but the customer support team attends to concerns promptly.

Positive

Before choosing Alfresco, there were in-house document management systems. Many document management systems existed with every business unit having their own system.

Initially, there were challenges. After release 6.2, these things became much better. Before 6.2, we faced various issues. With the help of Alfresco Technical Account Manager, we could resolve many of the problems.

I give Alfresco a rating of 8 out of 10. If I expect resolution today, I sometimes don't get it until tomorrow. However, the overall experience is not bad.

Alfresco works excellently for audits since all documentation of the processes is stored there, and when auditors request access or a document, we find everything directly.

I have noticed a change in team efficiency, response times, and error reduction thanks to the centralization of information. Time has improved; time is not wasted searching for documents, and errors have been reduced. You always have the correct version of the file. There is not one version here and another one there; you always have the updated version.

Security has been improved with Alfresco since with granular permissions we can give the appropriate access to collaborators. Those who need to read a document only have that permission, and we can also see who has permission to view a document and regulate who can edit and who can upload a document.

Everything is centralized, so you do not have to waste time figuring out if the information you need is on this server or on the other server. Everything is in one place, and everyone has their own access.

I could say that it is not a plug-and-play platform. It has a considerable implementation curve, and the technical administration is demanding.

By having all documentation centralized, errors such as using a contract where the incorrect version was taken have been reduced. Since everything is centralized, the correct version of the document is always used.

My main use case for Alfresco was working for a healthcare company in 2023 that was using Alfresco, where I helped them migrate all their documentation out of it into Contentful.

The documentation I was migrating included Word documents and PDF documents, all healthcare-related. I was in charge of the team that was to extract them and ensure that they did not get corrupted, while ensuring that everything naming-wise was detailed correctly for the metadata to be transferred into Contentful.

Alfresco had the ability to store a large volume of documents, which was excellent, although handling images, videos, and clips was somewhat more challenging. It proved to be a good data document CMS system.

The best features Alfresco offers in my experience include a strong document repository, the ability to conduct audits on the history of the documents, and having security and permissions around it, which I found very useful.

Alfresco positively impacted my organization by enabling the ability to store hundreds of thousands of documents. This capability helped my team save time and reduce errors. It enabled users to find exactly what documents they were looking for in a timely fashion, as well as to export to patients and healthcare members what they needed to do for Medicaid, Medicare, or any other secondary insurance, including the documents they needed to fill out as well as prescriptions.

Alfresco can be improved by having a more intuitive interface and greater ability to be customized without needing a developer, making it a more user-friendly out-of-the-box CMS.

There is always a learning curve for users, and more helpful documentation on how to find things for people who are not accustomed to working in a CMS platform would be beneficial.

I have been using Alfresco for about a year.

Alfresco is stable.

Regarding Alfresco's scalability, I think it is able to be scaled for specific industries. However, if you are looking to expand into areas with more images and videos, the scalability is somewhat limited without a developer and customization.

Before choosing Alfresco, they did evaluate other options. At that time, Alfresco had the most security and governance for regulated industries, which is why they chose it.

I have not seen a return on investment, as at the time it was not saving them money at Evernorth and Cigna, which is why they moved out of it.

I would give advice to others looking into using Alfresco that it is a strong document management system great for version control and security. However, sometimes finding content if you do not use the right metadata practices can be difficult, and user understanding of how to search is not quite as easy. More documentation and how-to guides would probably be more helpful, along with a bit more technical support. I am rating this review five stars.

Positive

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 the scanning solution, the ability to search, and the capability to store and index to capture metadata. The digitalization of workflow, forms, operations, and business processes is also significant.

Alfresco could improve workflow digitalization and enhance artificial intelligence capabilities.

I have been working with Alfresco for approximately four years.

The stability of Alfresco is rated highly as it hardly goes down, deserving a rating of eight out of ten.

We encountered no issues with scalability. It scales well.

Customer support is responsive when we encounter issues, however, I would prefer a direct relationship with them, focusing on updating their products more like in an agile practice.

Neutral

We switched to SharePoint because it was part of our existing license with Office 365, eliminating the need for a separate license fee.

The setup process for Alfresco was complex.

We required a consultant for implementation, which was another concern.

Pricing is considered mid-range, and there are considerations regarding the cost of licensing.

On a scale of one to ten, I would rate Alfresco six. There is certainly room for improvement. I can recommend the product to other users.

I use Alfresco primarily to look up documents. However, it is not as user-friendly as the previous solution, Nautilus, which I was more familiar with due to my involvement in its configuration and setup.

It is a basic solution where you store documents and perform searches. Alfresco allows broad searches with many index fields that you can search on, although the created fields and their values may not be intuitive.

The configuration of Alfresco is a big challenge. The index fields and their values are not intuitive, making it difficult to find documents. You often need a cross-reference document to navigate categories for specific items like check images.

I have been using Alfresco for probably two years.

We have had to contact Hyland for scheduling classes or recertifications. They were always very helpful and friendly.

Previously, we used Nautilus, which I found more robust. I was involved in the configuration and setup of Nautilus, which made it easier for me to use. I have no idea why our company switched to Alfresco.

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.

The product might seem less robust due to improper configuration, and proper training is essential for effective use.

I'd rate the solution five out of ten.

I mainly use Alfresco for content management, workflow, integration to scanning solutions, and reduction.

The most valuable feature is the flexibility of the searching elements of the metadata. Other good features are that it's open-source and allows a lot of customization.

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.

I've been using Alfresco for two years.

We've had no issues with scalability.

Alfresco's technical support is average.

Neutral

The setup is straightforward as it's deployed by the vendor or integrator. It took about three weeks to get it set up and running.

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.

In order to leverage Alfresco, you have to have a very large dataset. So if you're just working on a couple of million documents, it's probably not worthwhile installing it. Also, if you're looking for a look of customization, go with Alfresco, but if you're just going to use standard, out-of-the-box connectors, I would go with a different solution. I'd rate Alfresco six out of ten.

The best feature is extensibility. Hands down, the best feature of Alfresco is what is "not there yet". The product allows engineering teams and developers to introduce new things in a seamless and easy way. Alfresco, as a company, is supporting this approach by improving the Alfresco Maven SDK and extending native APIs.

Alfresco plays a core part in our business, where we use the platform as a Learning Content Management System (LCMS) as opposed to a "simple" CMS. We have developed a proprietary solution to integrate Alfresco with a third party Learning Management System (LMS), which is the key success of our business.

I've been working with Alfresco (both with the product and as a partner with the company) since 2010.

There were no particular stability issues. Alfresco underwent a major refactoring in a few areas of the product, such as:

• Migration from ANT to Maven building environment
• Migration to Solr first, and Solr4 eventually
• Introduction of Dojo JS framework
• Angular2JS

These changes require engineers to pay particular attention when migrating or upgrading older versions of the product. As long as they follow the recommended upgrade procedure, there wouldn't be any major issues.

Alfresco has a very steep learning curve, and unfortunately, during the learning process, it's very easy to make errors, which often are unforgiving.

This is also why usually companies interested in buying Alfresco have to rely on companies that are specialized in administrating and customizing the software.

There were no scalability issues at all. Alfresco Enterprise is top notch with its clustering capabilities. Even in smaller installations, the software requires just minor adjustments to server resources and a few configuration changes.

It's been a big selling point of the software for years, and that's easily one of the strongest Alfresco features.

Technical support is good, but their internal workflow is very slow. Even if you end up getting the correct answer or suggestion, a good Alfresco engineer will probably find it's way through a bug, question, fix or whatever he's having difficulties with, before the technical support.

This doesn't absolutely mean their support is not able to answer, but due to their complex internal structure, the answer fails to arrive within a "decent" time frame.

This also shouldn't affect you if and when you considering buying Alfresco, since usually you'd rely on a re-seller or partner for that. They can provide, most of the time, a better and quicker Alfresco support.

Never. But I came across different solutions for previous clients and I did perform migrations from Documentum and SharePoint. I also integrated Alfresco with a lot of other business software (eg. SAP).

Alfresco offers two initial setup options: basic and advanced. If you're not comfortable with terms and concepts like ports, DNS, hostname, database etc, the basic setup will do all that for you and will set up Alfresco with defaults parameters.

A Zero Day guide is available through the official docs, which can help then configure Alfresco accordingly and in relation to each specific use case.

The advanced setup requires a little bit more knowledge, but then again, if you're installing Alfresco on your own, you should know what are you doing anyway. You'll most likely need both system admin and DBA to configure the server and the database properly. Other than that, the initial setup is not complex at all.

Alfresco did change some things about the pricing and licensing recently, and I've always been on the other side of the fence. In other words, I worked as an engineer and not as a "business partner".

My top priority has always been developing against Alfresco and not selling the product. That said, if you buy Alfresco through a partner, there is usually a OEM licensing option (this depends on each Alfresco<->partner contract). Otherwise, the smallest individual business license will allow you to have a single instance Alfresco (that is 1 license = 1 server), with up to 300 users.

It's also worth mentioning that Activiti has recently become a standalone product and now has a separate license and pricing. The Activiti engine within Alfresco is still included in the Alfresco license though.

The choice of the product depends exclusively on what the requirements are. However, Alfresco is the only enterprise CMS that has features like contribution, sharing, workflows, automation and robust content and record management, that are also Open Source.

Find expert people with years of knowledge. Alfresco is a complex platform. The better the engineer, the less the chance of having major issues with the product.

We are using Alfresco for collaboration and IT project records. I am only using it for team sites. My sites are not really collaborative, but more sharing info and documents. I like the ease of use, sections, and calendar.

Sharing is easier than using file shares. Hopefully less duplication of files.

Metadata, auto class, disposition log, and legal hold.

We have used it for about two to three years, and the growth is incremental.

It was a decent deployment. We have an expert on staff.

No issues with stability at this time..

We did not have a prior software solution.

It is easy to set up, similar to SharePoint.

There are costs for any upgrade or additional functions.

I did not evaluate other options. IT selected Alfresco.

As long as they maintain DoD certification, it is a useful product. Everything will cost. I didn’t give it too high of a rating, mainly because the use is ad hoc. We do not have a lot of rules in place for governance, content, metadata, or disposition at this time.