OpenKM
Spanish DMS with a free Community Edition, a Professional Edition and a cloud service
Quick Overview
| Company | Open Document Management System S.L. |
|---|---|
| Category | Document Management |
| Headquarters | Palma de Mallorca, Spain |
| Founded | 2005 |
| EU Presence | EU (Spain) |
| Data Location | On-premises, or OpenKM Cloud; the hosting provider and country of the cloud are not stated |
| Open Source | No |
| Pricing | Community Edition free of charge; Professional Edition and OpenKM Cloud price on request, with special prices for academic and non-profit organisations |
| Free Option | Trial of the Professional Edition on request, run in the OpenKM cloud; duration not published |
| Replaces | Microsoft SharePoint, OpenText, Box |
Detailed Review
OpenKM is a document management system from Open Document Management System S.L. that covers document management, records management and knowledge management. OpenKM comes in three forms: the free Community Edition, the commercial Professional Edition and OpenKM Cloud.
The Community Edition is distributed as a cross-platform installer that requires Java JDK 1.8 or newer and is supported through the community forum. The Professional Edition adds a support tracker with guaranteed responses around the clock, software patches, remote monitoring, performance tuning and help with migration and installation. OpenKM Cloud includes installation, automated backups, SSL encryption, antivirus protection, OCR and 24/7 monitoring.
Open Document Management System S.L. is based at c/ Bunyola 13 in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, and its terms place disputes under Spanish law with Palma de Mallorca as venue. The company was founded in 2005 by former developers and project managers and released the first version in January 2007.
On licensing, OpenKM states that versions 6.3 and earlier are under GPL-2.0 with source code on GitHub, and that from Community Edition 7.0 the source code is no longer published. For OpenKM Cloud the vendor gives a minimum network availability of 99% but names neither the hosting provider nor the country.
OpenKM Community Edition is free of charge. OpenKM publishes no price for the Professional Edition or for OpenKM Cloud; the cloud is described as pay-for-what-you-use, and OpenKM mentions special prices for academic and non-profit organisations.
A trial of the Professional Edition in the OpenKM cloud can be requested, without a stated duration. OpenKM suits organisations that want a free installable DMS and are comfortable with Java. It ranks last here because the price and the cloud hosting location are not published and because the current Community Edition is no longer open source in the sense of published source code.
What OpenKM does well
- OpenKM Community Edition is free of charge
- OpenKM is offered as Community Edition, Professional Edition on-premises and OpenKM Cloud
- OpenKM Professional includes a support tracker with guaranteed responses 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
- OpenKM Cloud includes automated backups, SSL encryption, antivirus protection and OCR
- OpenKM mentions special prices for academic and non-profit organisations
Where OpenKM falls short
- From Community Edition 7.0, OpenKM no longer publishes the source code; only versions 6.3 and earlier are under GPL-2.0
- OpenKM publishes no prices for the Professional Edition or the cloud
- OpenKM does not state the hosting provider or country of OpenKM Cloud
- No certifications are named on the OpenKM pages read
Standout feature. OpenKM is the only Spanish product in this comparison, with a free Community Edition, although the vendor states that the source code is no longer published from version 7.0.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- OpenKM Community Edition is free of charge
- OpenKM is offered as Community Edition, Professional Edition on-premises and OpenKM Cloud
- OpenKM Professional includes a support tracker with guaranteed responses 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
- OpenKM Cloud includes automated backups, SSL encryption, antivirus protection and OCR
- OpenKM mentions special prices for academic and non-profit organisations
Cons
- From Community Edition 7.0, OpenKM no longer publishes the source code; only versions 6.3 and earlier are under GPL-2.0
- OpenKM publishes no prices for the Professional Edition or the cloud
- OpenKM does not state the hosting provider or country of OpenKM Cloud
- No certifications are named on the OpenKM pages read
Alternatives to OpenKM
Frequently Asked Questions
What is OpenKM?
OpenKM is a document management system from Open Document Management System S.L. that covers document management, records management and knowledge management. OpenKM comes in three forms: the free Community Edition, the commercial Professional Edition and OpenKM Cloud.
The Community Edition is distributed as a cross-platform installer that requires Java JDK 1.8 or newer and is supported through the community forum. The Professional Edition adds a support tracker with guaranteed responses around the clock, software patches, remote monitoring, performance tuning and help with migration and installation. OpenKM Cloud includes installation, automated backups, SSL encryption, antivirus protection, OCR and 24/7 monitoring.
Where is OpenKM based?
OpenKM operates from Palma de Mallorca, Spain, which places it under EU (Spain).
What does OpenKM cost?
Community Edition free of charge; Professional Edition and OpenKM Cloud price on request, with special prices for academic and non-profit organisations. Trial of the Professional Edition on request, run in the OpenKM cloud; duration not published.
Who is OpenKM best for?
Organisations that want a free Java-based DMS from Spain and can work with community support or a quote. OpenKM is the only Spanish product in this comparison, with a free Community Edition, although the vendor states that the source code is no longer published from version 7.0.
What are the drawbacks of OpenKM?
From Community Edition 7.0, OpenKM no longer publishes the source code; only versions 6.3 and earlier are under GPL-2.0. OpenKM publishes no prices for the Professional Edition or the cloud. OpenKM does not state the hosting provider or country of OpenKM Cloud. No certifications are named on the OpenKM pages read.
Is OpenKM a good alternative to Microsoft SharePoint?
OpenKM is built as a European alternative to Microsoft SharePoint: Spanish DMS with a free Community Edition, a Professional Edition and a cloud service. It will not be a like-for-like feature match in every respect, so check the review above for where the two genuinely differ before switching.
How does OpenKM compare to other Document Management tools?
OpenKM is one of several European Document Management tools we cover. It is most often compared with Microsoft SharePoint, OpenText, Box.