Microsoft 365 vs. Square 9 Softworks

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Microsoft 365
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) is a Microsoft Cloud subscription service that includes Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, and Access). The software can be installed across multiple devices and ensures that users always have the most up-to-date version of the included Office applications.
$5
Per User Per Month
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.
$250
per month 5 users
Pricing
Microsoft 365Square 9 Softworks
Editions & Modules
Business Basic
$5.00
Per User Per Month
Individual
$5.84
*Per Month
Business - Apps
$8.25
Per User Per Month
Enterprise - F3
$10.00
Per User Per Month
Business Standard
$12.50
Per User Per Month
Business Premium
$20.00
Per User Per Month
Enterprise - E3
$32.00
Per User Per Month
Enterprise - E5
$57.00
Per User Per Month
Square 9 Process Automation Essentials
$50
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
Microsoft 365Square 9 Softworks
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
Additional Details*When billed annually.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
Microsoft 365Square 9 Softworks
Considered Both Products
Microsoft 365

No answer on this topic

Square 9 Softworks
Chose Square 9 Softworks
Square 9 Softworks specializes in advanced document capture, workflow automation, and indexing, while Microsoft 365 focuses on collaboration and general document management. We chose Square 9 for its robust tools tailored to digitizing and automating document-intensive …
Chose Square 9 Softworks
We tried Etrieve before Square 9 and it never got off the ground. Our requirements were too complex and the platform could not accommodate them. Square 9 offered the flexibility and customization we needed from the start. Support worked with us to build workflows that actually …
Chose Square 9 Softworks
Square 9 Softworks is very easy to setup, use, and maintain, when compared with SharePoint from Microsoft. Also, support is extremely easy to work with, more so than Microsoft. They are easy to reach, and easy to work with. Square 9 Softworks is a niche software company and a …
Chose Square 9 Softworks
We only looked at and ultimately chose Square 9 Softworks as our solution.
Chose Square 9 Softworks
The main thing we liked was the ease of use of GlobalSearch. Also, the people doing the demo were able to answer somewhat technical questions without having to get back to us a day later from one of their more technical people.
Chose Square 9 Softworks
We reached out to Iron Mountain but did not pursue this option since we had an established relationship with Square 9 Softworks that could be expanded and not a complete restart.
Chose Square 9 Softworks
I have not used other document management software. Prior to Global Search we manually entered metadata through Adobe Acrobat. This was extremely time consuming and not exactly user friendly. Global Search cut the indexing time to less than 1/4 the time we were spending on each …
Chose Square 9 Softworks
Our company has been using this product for 20+ years. Since it was Fortis, then SmartSearch, to GlobalSearch, and for every transition the Square 9 team has been a great asset to making the change go smoothly
Chose Square 9 Softworks
We actually had installed IBM FileNet and ended up switching to Square 9 Softworks due to an issue with the IBM reseller. In the end, we're happy it worked out this way because Square 9 Softworks was more suited for our small business. It was not only easier to use but required …
Chose Square 9 Softworks
I did not comparison shop. It was offered by a very trustworthy local business that we were currently doing business with. I was presented with the software, and bought it without hesitation. No regrets.
User Ratings
Microsoft 365Square 9 Softworks
Likelihood to Recommend
8.8
(259 ratings)
9.7
(72 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.5
(6 ratings)
4.9
(7 ratings)
Usability
8.7
(29 ratings)
7.8
(6 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(2 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
8.9
(54 ratings)
7.9
(26 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(2 ratings)
6.4
(3 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
4.5
(2 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(2 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(2 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
Microsoft 365Square 9 Softworks
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft
Microsoft 365 would be well suited for medium to large enterprises. This is where there are several hundreds or thousands of people. Since most everyone has used one of the applications the learning curve would be reduced. Another reason would be the ability to implement security measures to prevent access to sensitive data. This could justify the cost of an Enterprise license.
Read full review
Square 9 Softworks
Great for automating invoice processing where you want to set it and forget it. Also works well for document storage where you need things organized and easy to find. If you have complex requirements and need flexibility, this platform can handle it.
Not ideal if you expect a lot of exceptions or manual intervention since troubleshooting misrouted documents can be tricky. Also not the best fit if you want something that works out of the box with zero setup. You get the most out of it when you invest time upfront to build workflows.
Read full review
Pros
Microsoft
  • Chat with teams and the integrations with the other apps, and many more smaller ones, like to-dos, news, and the recent Outlook integration.
  • Easy embedding on SharePoint to broadcast all the content created in the different tools.
  • The office package is still robust with the good things from the past and new additions.
Read full review
Square 9 Softworks
  • The software is very flexible, and the technicians were great at implementing our customizations for the PO project.
  • While indexing fields in Global Search, the Key Free tool works great.
  • Global Search is well-organized. It's easy to navigate and find your documents.
  • The process for completing your project was well done. Communicating with individuals at Square 9 who were responsible for different aspects of the project was easy.
Read full review
Cons
Microsoft
  • Slack is 1000x better than teams. Why put a 250 limit on a chat? Our company hasn't moved fully to channels and it's making us lose transparency. Plus, the teams channels we do have nobody is going to. 90% loss in visibility and engagement.
  • Teams for web meetings. I think the UI/UX should match Zoom which is the standard for all our customers. They don't like it when we use Teams.
  • Chats and Channels need to somehow be on one screen automatically without having to choose that view because majority of our company hasn't opened Teams Channels and only stays in chats.
Read full review
Square 9 Softworks
  • GlobalSearch could use some enhancements in layout - THIS IS FIXED WITH THE NEWEST VERSION OF GLOBALSEARCH 6.3 and their Sleek GUI GlobalSearch GO! - WELL DONE!
  • GlobalSearch could use external sharing of documents THIS IS FIXED WITH THE NEWEST VERSION OF GLOBALSEARCH 6.3 and their Sleek GUI GlobalSearch GO! - WELL DONE!
  • GlobalForms could have better formatting tools to enhance the fields and text formatting
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Microsoft
There are many features of Office that we cannot replicate in any other tool. Plus people know it already. It's not going away anytime soon.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Usability
Microsoft
Microsoft 365 is the gold standard for performing project tasks in a professional environment, enabling the quick transfer and exchange of files and ideas for team members who work locally and remotely. Its suite of tools is familiar and has evolved to being cloud based, allowing for files to be updated in real time from near and far.
Read full review
Square 9 Softworks
The items I am searching for are easily found. They are found in at least 95% of the searches. The failure rate generally is related to another employees user error or a template error set up by our Square 9 team in house.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Microsoft
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.
Read full review
Performance
Microsoft
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.
Read full review
Support Rating
Microsoft
Over the past 8 years of using Microsoft 365, I have noticed that they change vendors often. This always leads to a poor experience in the beginning, then levels out after some time for the company to get things worked out. As a customer, it is really frustrating because I don't have time when something isn't working to have them "look into my issue" and get back with me. They have even closed a ticket I specifically told them to keep open. Your applications are only as good as the support.
Read full review
Square 9 Softworks
We had one "production down" incident that took about a day to get help on. I think that's a bit too long. The support people seem confident but not that friendly. I feel like I'm bothering them when I get help, but they get the job done.
Read full review
In-Person Training
Microsoft
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.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Microsoft
Everything works and I use it all the time.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Microsoft
Its very user-friendly, collaborative and efficient that boosts productivity using cloud tools. their security is strong and it provides data protection. There are regular updates that shields us from attackers too. It offers a wealth of learning resources, including tutorials, help articles and video guide to help users make the most of the application and personally upgrade their skills.
Read full review
Square 9 Softworks
Laserfiche could not even complete their installation. Square 9 Softworks was able to come in and rescue the failed project. We have hardly scratched the surface of what we believe we can do in terms of more implementations of the Square 9 Softworks program in other business processes in our company. Square 9 Softworks was demonstrated to our procurement management team while they were struggling with the Laserfiche implementation, and they were ready to abandon Laserfiche immediately upon seeing the Square 9 Softworks program demonstrated. We abandoned Laserfiche even though we had financial investments with them already. This is testimony to how clearly Square 9 Softworks is a better solution than Laserfiche.
Read full review
Scalability
Microsoft
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.
Read full review
Return on Investment
Microsoft
  • We have a lot of nonprofit users, so they have a good ROI.
  • I like the constant updates without having to purchase the software repeatedly.
  • I used to purchase each Office (insert year here) often, so the software was up to date and had the newest options and connectors. I think my return on investment would have been much better if Microsoft had updated those versions to keep them current; after all, we did pay for them.
  • Microsoft 365's offering a monthly fee or a discount for a year helps, and you can look at it as a free backup if you have everything set to back up to One Drive. (Cloud-based document filing you can access anywhere ( with an internet connection)—you Can't beat that!)
Read full review
Square 9 Softworks
  • Having less paper in the office has saved space and supplies. We no longer need to purchase those expensive cardboard folders for archiving.
  • Having someone do their own health screening is safer and saves us from keeping a staff member devoted to that task.
  • I used to have to spend hours physically culling archive records. Now I can sort it and weed it with clicks of a button!
Read full review
ScreenShots

Square 9 Softworks Screenshots

Screenshot of GlobalSearch Go, which organizes documents based on extracted data.Screenshot of InquireAI, which offers AI-driven data extraction of invoice and receipt fields to eliminate the need for manual data entry.Screenshot of a contract. Contracts are a complex document format that can require contextual understanding to collect accurate data points.Screenshot of where using natural language prompts, InquireAI works as an agent to extract, classify, and analyze information from any type of document.Screenshot of the invoice review process, where users can be notified by email when a pending approval is available.Screenshot of a fully indexed document. These can be released for secure access within GlobalSearch or sent to other repositories, including QuickBooks, Dynamics 35 Business Central, Citrix ShareFile, or Google Drive.