IBM Enterprise Content Manager vs. Square 9 Softworks

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
IBM ECM
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
IBM Enterprise Content Manager and Enterprise Content Management (ECM) applications enable organizations to manage all forms of content and secure secure data with respect to compliance needs. The platform enables capture, activation, sharing, analysis and governance of unstructured data to lower costs and risk while improving efficiency.N/A
Square 9 Softworks
Score 9.7 out of 10
N/A
For document-intensive companies looking to improve business efficiency, Square 9 Softworks develops solutions for process automation that aim to drive increased productivity across all business applications.
$45
per month per seat
Pricing
IBM Enterprise Content ManagerSquare 9 Softworks
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Square 9 Process Automation Essentials
$45
per month per user (5 User Minimum)
Square 9 Digital Transformation Essentials
$68
per month per user (5 User Minimum)
Square 9 Enterprise Essentials
$75
per month per user (10 User Minimum)
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
IBM ECMSquare 9 Softworks
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
Additional Details—Offered via a three-tier pricing model that allows customers to scale their solution up or down based on the changing needs of their organization. Pricing excludes professional services and implementation fees
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
IBM Enterprise Content ManagerSquare 9 Softworks
Top Pros

No answers on this topic

Top Cons

No answers on this topic

Best Alternatives
IBM Enterprise Content ManagerSquare 9 Softworks
Small Businesses
Square 9 Softworks
Square 9 Softworks
Score 9.7 out of 10
PowerDMS by NEOGOV
PowerDMS by NEOGOV
Score 9.6 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
MediaValet
MediaValet
Score 9.9 out of 10
MSB Docs
MSB Docs
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
MediaValet
MediaValet
Score 9.9 out of 10
Kofax Capture
Kofax Capture
Score 5.8 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
IBM Enterprise Content ManagerSquare 9 Softworks
Likelihood to Recommend
8.1
(6 ratings)
9.6
(42 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.6
(6 ratings)
9.1
(6 ratings)
Usability
7.3
(1 ratings)
8.6
(4 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
8.2
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.6
(22 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
6.4
(3 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
IBM Enterprise Content ManagerSquare 9 Softworks
Likelihood to Recommend
IBM
Again, I like to think of my association and usage of IBM Case Manager V.5.2. Please keep in mind that this is only one component of the IBM Enterprise Content Management suite of products. I believe IBM Case Manager is an ideal solution for medium to large companies looking to automate lnad
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Square 9 Softworks
Square 9 Softworks is great in data management and flow. For us, they've done an excellent job with the Health Screening Tools, Cloud Storage/Management and Online Applications. It seems to be a very diverse product. I think because of that, you can talk with Square 9 Softworks about what you are envisioning to see if they are capable of it. I would not do that with many other products - they just don't have that flex.
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Pros
IBM
  • It provides easy to use administrative tools to work with the product.
  • Good documentation on the production is available which makes it easier to use.
  • It supports high availability architecture
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Square 9 Softworks
  • Fast Manual indexing with what we consider the best in point-n-click OCR indexing.
  • Webserver that incorporates Full-Text Content Searching, Workflow Queues, Full Document Management and Live document Signing on any mobile device or location.
  • Fast workflow designers for rapid implementation
  • Broad range of capture and information processing tools, easy to configure
  • Loaded with essential security options
  • Low price, and about 10X more powerful than MS SharePoint right out of the box.
  • Multi-database support for a very low price with disaster recovery licensing, this is very rare in the industry.
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Cons
IBM
  • As enterprise and mid-market systems go, the price is highly competitive (especially when you consider what's included in the license). That said, this product is not accessible for small businesses as a self hosted solution. The "Navigator on Cloud" solution is much more accessible, but gives less control over data.
  • To get all the features, there are many moving parts. For large enterprises, this is no problem, and the cloud solution obviates most of these concerns.
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Square 9 Softworks
  • Some of the administrative/security configuration with Windows Active Directory can be tricky when managed by separate corporate IT personnel (alignment in strategy)
  • User adoption with any new process can be challenging, but overall user friendly menus
  • As Database sizes grow (200,000+ records) paging through records can be cumbersome, probably need to migrate to an archive process to offload some of the data.
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Likelihood to Renew
IBM
There is no plan to change ECM at organizational level. Replacing products and changing custom applications involves lot of effort
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Square 9 Softworks
We absolutely can't imagine not continuing software maintenance as there are always new additions that improve the system not to mention the excellent tech support when issues are encountered. Response times for troubleshooting are very quick and usually, my issue is resolved in less than an hour after connecting with support.
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Usability
IBM
The end-user experience is excellent. The Administration experience needs some more work.
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Square 9 Softworks
Super simple software to operate and configure. Very granular permissions and controls. Browser based setup with everything and very intuitive visual workflow building makes it easy to set things up. Troubleshooting document workflow issues is also made easy via the batch manager when you can track each document as it moves through the workflow.
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Reliability and Availability
IBM
No answers on this topic
Square 9 Softworks
Square-9 can get this product out to you in almost the same hour your order it. We got ours very fast.
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Performance
IBM
No answers on this topic
Square 9 Softworks
With the PDF projected viewer, the document retrieval-to-display can drag for a second more than some systems, and the capture workflow if you overload a server array can also drag, but those are the only two issues we've ever seen with this product, and they are not serious issues at all.
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Support Rating
IBM
No answers on this topic
Square 9 Softworks
The support we received from Square 9 Softworks was exceptional. From deployment to implementation, we always felt supported. The team we worked with had patience and exceptional response time. They were amazing to work with, I always felt supported. No matter how simple or complex my question was they always delivered.
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In-Person Training
IBM
No answers on this topic
Square 9 Softworks
It would have been higher, but the training is a bit muted for the lesser qualified office equipment vendors who signed up as partners to sell and support it. The more experienced ECM vendors and customer end-users will find the training very good, but a bit slow.
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Implementation Rating
IBM
No answers on this topic
Square 9 Softworks
I think the implementation could have gone a little smoother than it did. Now that I know how to use the software, I could do it myself. I feel that as an organization, we could have been a little better prepared. If the consultant was more aware of what we were looking for, they could have assisted in setting up some workflows for us as per the contract. But because we were not prepared, the initial implementation process was a little painful. That said, adding a document management system to ANY business kinda means everyone has to re-think the way they do their work which can be difficult for some staff.
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Alternatives Considered
IBM
Our relationship with IBM is long standing. We have been Gold Partners for some time and are viewed by many internal groups as their Go To partner for large ECM deployments. Most of our systems engineers hold multiple certifications as solutions developers. Our clients are national and international. The support we receive from IBM has been excellent and our partnership with them on numerous projects has been excellent.
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Square 9 Softworks
A similar product I have used was Time Matters. For a Law Firm, I think Time Matters is more useful as it keeps track of everything for a client, including billing. However, since I now work for a legal department of a corporation, SmartSearch is definitley more useful. It is not possible to seperate the documents we have internally in neat client files. We have various miscellaneous documents for many different services and customers or vendors. SmartSearch allows us to organize in broad categories that make sense to internal employees using it and to make sure security is set on specific documents. Time Matters would not have been sufficient for our managers to have access to, since it uploads all documents to the file - some of which are confidential.
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Scalability
IBM
No answers on this topic
Square 9 Softworks
The scale-ability is quite good actually, but you need competent sales/support folks providing it to you, so the scale is set right for the demands of your system use. Some resellers are not good at doing this, some are fantastic. If you are scaled correctly at first implementation, you'll be very happy with this system.
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Return on Investment
IBM
  • We have seen our customers realize increased employee efficiency by reducing the amount of time it takes to process a transaction.
  • We have seen improvements in customer service because information can be made more readily available to customer service personnel who are fielding service calls.
  • We have seen improvements in decision making because processing-related statistics are more readily available to the managers who need the input to make quality business decisions that affect the day-to-day operations.
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Square 9 Softworks
  • OCR capabilities allow users to quickly and accurately index files without data errors from manually keying in data
  • Administrators can update users access through active directory without ever opening Square 9 and without generating accounts in yet another system
  • Users can find files needed without ever leaving their desk
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ScreenShots

Square 9 Softworks Screenshots

Screenshot of GlobalSearch, which is used to organize and sort documents based on extracted data.Screenshot of indexed data, where users can performs a 3 way match against an order receipt and purchase order.Screenshot of GlobalCapture, which is used to build workflows and automatically assign tasks to users.Screenshot of a front-facing Portal for new hires and applicants. This lets them fill out important employee documents such as job application, Direct Deposit and W-4 forms.Screenshot of the hiring and onboarding portal, where new hire documentation is completed.Screenshot of GlobalForms, which has new hire government forms such as I-9 and W-4 forms.