IBM FileNet vs Laserfiche comparison

IBM and Laserfiche are both solutions in the Enterprise Content Management category. IBM is ranked #2 with an average rating of 7.9, while Laserfiche is ranked #22. IBM holds a 6.5% mindshare in ECM, compared to Laserfiche’s 2.0% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Laserfiche users who would recommend it.

IBM FileNet

Read 105 IBM FileNet reviews

4,015 Views
3,694 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

Laserfiche

Read 1 Laserfiche review

881 Views
626 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM FileNet

Laserfiche

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between IBM FileNet and Laserfiche based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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

To learn more, read our detailed Enterprise Content Management Report (Updated: January 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Enterprise Content Management

January 2026

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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:

Categories and Ranking

IBM FileNet

Ranking in Enterprise Content Management

2nd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

105

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Laserfiche

Ranking in Enterprise Content Management

22nd

Average Rating

10.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Document Management Software (9th)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Enterprise Content Management category, the mindshare of IBM FileNet is 6.5%, down from 10.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Laserfiche is 2.0%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise Content Management Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
IBM FileNet	6.5%
Laserfiche	2.0%
Other	91.5%

Enterprise Content Management

Featured Reviews

Shankar-Kambhampaty

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.

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Christian Begaux

Consultant DMS/ECM at NSI IT Software & Services (Cegeka Group)

A powerful solution that offers BPM and automation to assist with our digital transformation

We use this solution for DMS, ECM, scan and imaging, plus workflows and forms solutions spread over the entire company This is a very complete and powerful solution. No code: We can address all of the features and functionalities with computer-minded people without having to call the IT Dept or…

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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

"It saves our customers time by 30 to 40 percent by eliminating the time to process paper."

"It improves the time when providing customer service to our constituents."

"We probably would not have seen adoption so strongly without it."

"The most valuable feature for me is the possibility to share and to collaborate, the possibility to connect FileNet with many other IBM products as well. It helps avoid the possibility of creating "island applications." We have an ecosystem where everything can be interconnected."

"IBM FileNet supports our document management and compliance processes."

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

"There aren't very many ECM solutions that scale properly, both up and out. We have customers who hold billions of documents. There aren't very many that can scale that far, and that can also scale out so that they can handle lots of users, lots of documents, and that understand how to handle external users. FileNet is one that can."

"There are a lot of valuable features, but the biggest advantage is that this system is stable; it's always online, it always works... once it's configured and running, we don't need to touch it and constantly make changes to it. It's a low-maintenance platform."

More IBM FileNet pros

"This is a very complete and powerful solution."

Cons

"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."

"I would like to see expanded search features, like content search."

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

"The usability is fair. It could be a bit better. It could be better designed. They could put more effort into the user experience and do a better job of integrating other components, like Datacap, to be a bit more seamless."

"It could be simpler to use, considering multiple use cases."

"The response time and resolution of issues by technical support need improvement."

"The setup process is very complex."

"We do have some individuals that do need to come up to speed on it technically, and the only onsite training for Case Manager is in Europe, there is not a lot of US-based training. So they have to do all their training online rather than being able to go and have a good bootcamp-style training somewhere nearby."

More IBM FileNet cons

"We would like to see more features for RPA and AI."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Talking about the cost is difficult because IBM has offers that combine different products, and each of these offers has different types of licensing. IBM also has a policy that the actual price for a given customer may be very different from the stated book price. It's hard to say whether it's expensive or not."

"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 licensing cost of FileNet is comparable."

"My customers have seen ROI. There have been productivity gains, time savings gains, and things that they have been doing much more efficiently in a more modern way than they were before."

"The cost is about $40,000, plus yearly maintenance."

"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."

"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

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

18%

Computer Software Company

Government

Insurance Company

Government

20%

University

Retailer

Energy/Utilities Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	32
Midsize Enterprise	13
Large Enterprise	74

No data available

Questions from the Community

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 somewhat expensive, it remains manageable. The company rates it between 3 and 5 be...

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM FileNet?

We almost do not utilize the automation capabilities of IBM FileNet to streamline our business processes. The process automation and business automation features are barely used. Currently, we prim...

See all answers

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Comparisons

OpenText Content Management vs IBM FileNet

Compared 14% of the time

SharePoint vs IBM FileNet

Compared 13% of the time

Hyland OnBase vs IBM FileNet

Compared 9% of the time

Alfresco vs IBM FileNet

Compared 9% of the time

OpenText Documentum Content Management vs IBM FileNet

Compared 9% of the time

More IBM FileNet Competitors

SharePoint vs Laserfiche

Compared 14% of the time

OpenText Documentum Content Management vs Laserfiche

Compared 13% of the time

Hyland OnBase vs Laserfiche

Compared 10% of the time

Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management vs Laserfiche

Compared 9% of the time

Hyland Perceptive Content vs Laserfiche

Compared 3% of the time

More Laserfiche Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM FileNet

January 2026

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Buyer's Guide

Enterprise Content Management

January 2026

Download Laserfiche product report

Overview

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

Powerful Document Management Software and Agile Enterprise Content Management Solutions

Laserfiche

Sample Customers

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

D.L. Evans, College of the Desert, Community Action, Tompkins County, Hanson McClain, Olmsted County, Old Line Bank, Steinhafels, CIRCOR Pibiviesse

Buyer's Guide

Enterprise Content Management

January 2026

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Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, IBM, OpenText and others in Enterprise Content Management. Updated: January 2026.

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We monitor all Enterprise Content Management reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.