Content is a way too valuable asset not to handle it with utmost care — from its creation to its revision, all the way to its... distribution. And with utmost efficiency, as well! But how do you choose the business software to “orchestrate” your entire content workflow? Since, on one hand, you have the top enterprise content management systems in 2018 and, on the other hand, you have... Drupal?

And the dilemma that you're facing right now could be summed up like this:

Choosing between a complex ECM system with a load of powerful tools that comes at a cost and a feature-rich one — already famed for its robustness and customization options — with no price tag on...

Now to ease your decision-making process, let's compare these enterprise information management solutions, the top rated ones, to Drupal, by weighing their feature loads and costs.
 

1. But What Is an Enterprise Content Management System More Precisely?

First, let's try to define what we mean by “content” in relation to a content management software:

Content is all the written pieces of information entering and “moving about” your organization. It comes in the form of:

• internal process documents
• content for your company website (or blog)
• sales-focused content
• targeted, custom content available to paying cutomers only
• ... and the list goes on.

As you can see, I've intentionally left out graphical and audio-visual content. And this because it's only text-based digital content that a CMS would handle.

Now, coming back to our initial question:

An enterprise content management system is a software geared at managing all the processes in your content's lyfecycle: creation, revision, publication, distribution to multiple channels, promotion etc.

Packed with different sets of tools designed to automate all your content-based processes, an ECM system is a... “Swiss knife” type of business software.

The one you'd use to streamline your content workflow(s).
 

2. M-Files, One of the Top Enterprise Content Management Systems in 2018

Introducing the enterprise-leveled information management solution of the year: M-files!

The promise that it makes? 

To break the “siloed information” pattern and enable users to access specific content from any buiness system, any device.

… to easily access it, but also to organize it, to manage it, to identify particular information/documents, to set up custom workflows and even to manage document reviews. 
 

Top features
 

• version control 
• automated workflows
• pre-built search engine: you get to track documents by type, name, keywords; it provides within-text search features as well 
• notifications: users get alerted whenever they'll need to review or approve changes made to documents
• approval processing 
• permission management and offline access 
• integration capabilities: it easily integrates with Microsoft Dynamics, NetSuite, SAP, Salesforce 
• document collaboration tools: co-authoring features and check-in/check-out tools 
   

Price

Mi-files is one of those enterprise content management vendors that leverage the quote-based method for pricing their services.

Basically, there are no standard prices, as there are no standard packages that they offer, only tailored content management solutions.
 

Cons

The great majority of negative user feedbacks revolve around the M-Files mobile app's limited functionality.
 

2. OnBase 

Another one of the top enterprise content management systems in 2018 is OnBase:

An all-in-one software coming “equipped” with:

• business process management tools
• integrated document management tools
• records management tools

And before I “expose” to you its most heavy-weighing features, I feel that I should put the spotlight on its versatility feature first:

You get to easily configure your OnBase ECM system to fit any environment of choice.
 

Top Features 
 

• approval process control
• indexing
• version control
• built-in search engine
• document management
   

Cons

Do expect a steep learning curve! So, be prepared to invest a significant amount of time in growing comfortable with using it.

In learning to “juggle” with all its apps and functionalities.
 

Price

You'll need to contact the OnBase team for a custom pricing plan.
 

3. Box 

Box is a cloud content management platform built to assist you with:
 

• online sharing your files
• storing your files
• integrating content across your entire “infrastructure” of digital tools via open APIs
• collaborating within your team
   

Top Features 
 

• granular access permission
• easy integration with other platforms 
• advanced security capabilities: device trust, watermarking, data governance
• easy integration with other platforms
• collaboration tools: a document management system that enhances collaboration among end-users on various file types and devices; tools which also enable them to choose the right storage place, to set up metadata-driven content workflows etc.
   

Cons

Even top enterprise content management systems manage to collect their own “pile” of “bad reviews”. What users reproach OnBase here, for instance, is its user-based pricing model. 

In other words, if you have +100 people in your company, expect to get charged separately for each email domain... and thus to overstretch your budget over time.
 

Price

Box pricing plans start from €4.50 per user/month (we're talking about a starter business plan here) and can go up to $500 per month or more if it's a “build with BOX platform” plan that you'll select.
 

4. Drupal 

And now that we've put the top-rated ECM systems in 2018 into the spotlight, let's see what Drupal here has to offer. How it can counterbalance all these heavy loads of tools, features, and functionalities.
 

Drupal's Key Features 
 

• advanced integration capabilities: Drupal “spoils” its end-users with conveniently accessible API, backed by a rich collection of modules built precisely for 3rd party integrations
• no maintenance effort required: since it runs in Acquia Enterprise cloud, Drupal gets automatically updated; maintenance is already included in the Enterprise support costs plan
• feature richness: and we're talking here about features, plug-ins (thousands of them) and content management tools that you get right out of the box
• modular architecture: which goes hand in hand with the unlimited freedom of customization that you'll get to leverage
• high performance: Drupal's already famed for its robustness and capabilities to withstand high influxes of traffic
• unmatched scalability
• a full toolbox (contributed modules here included) put at editors' disposal: Drupal's also won its reputation as a CMS that's been constantly improved to enrich the experience; all the in-built content-handling tools speak best of its “empower the content creator/end-user” philosophy
   

Price
 

• license costs: unlike the top enterprise content management systems previously outlined, Drupal's open source; there are no license costs, only support costs associated with the Acquia Enterprise Platform 
• vendor lock-in: all modules and plug-ins that you might select and mix and match to custom-tune your CMS are free
• development costs: Drupal resources are available to anyone who wants to build and then to custom tune and scale up its CMS
   

In conclusion...

… Drupal comes feature-packed and, moreover, it “spoils” you with unlimited freedom of customization. And all this without putting a price tag on.

On the other hand, some of the top enterprise content management systems do tempt you with their feature richness, but at a cost. One that can go up precisely if you feel like customizing your ECM solution or scaling it up sometime in the future. 

In short: you do get your share of customization freedom... but not for free.

So, it's not really an “apples vs oranges” type of dilemma that you're facing, but rather an:

Apples vs Apples with a price tag on