# OpenKM Document Management System

> OpenKM is an enterprise document management system (DMS) and knowledge management platform that helps organizations store, organize, manage, and track electronic documents and digital content.

## What is OpenKM?

OpenKM is a freeware and enterprise document management software (DMS) used by thousands of companies worldwide to:
- Centralize and organize all corporate documents in one secure repository
- Automate document workflows with OKMFlow, its native workflow engine
- Apply OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to scanned documents
- Manage records lifecycle and ensure regulatory compliance (GDPR, ISO 15489)
- Integrate AI and RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) for intelligent document search
- Control document access with granular permissions and audit trails

## Key Features

- **Document Repository**: Hierarchical folder structure, versioning, metadata, full-text search
- **OKMFlow Workflow Engine**: Design, execute, and monitor document-based workflows visually
- **AI & RAG Integration**: Intelligent search that answers questions with source citations; supports Mistral AI, OpenAI, and local LLMs
- **OCR & Data Extraction**: Advanced OCR for scanned documents and automatic metadata extraction
- **Digital Signatures**: Electronic signatures with legal validity
- **Records Management**: Retention policies, legal holds, disposal schedules
- **Integrations**: SAP, Office 365, Google Workspace, SharePoint migration, REST API, n8n, OAuth 2.0 / Azure AD
- **Collabora Integration**: Online document editing (alternative to Google Docs / Office Online)
- **Multi-language**: Available in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and more
- **Mobile Access**: iOS and Android apps

## Deployment Options

- **Cloud SaaS**: Fully managed, from €75/month, no servers needed
- **On-Premise**: Full control of data, recommended for regulated industries (healthcare, legal, finance)
- **Hybrid**: Mix of cloud and on-premise
- **Perpetual License**: Buy once, own forever

## Who Uses OpenKM?

OpenKM is used by organizations in:
- Legal firms (contract management, e-discovery)
- Healthcare (patient records, compliance)
- Finance & banking (invoice processing, regulatory compliance)
- Manufacturing (quality documents, ISO certification)
- Government & public sector (records management, FOIA)
- Real estate (property documents, lease management)
- Education (student records, accreditation documents)

## OpenKM vs Competitors

- **OpenKM vs SharePoint**: OpenKM is purpose-built for document governance; lower TCO, no vendor lock-in, flexible deployment. We have extensive experience migrating from SharePoint.
- **OpenKM vs DocuWare**: OpenKM offers perpetual licensing, open API, and on-premise AI; DocuWare is cloud-only
- **OpenKM vs OpenText**: OpenKM delivers comparable governance at a fraction of the cost; faster deployment
- **OpenKM vs OnBase (Hyland)**: OpenKM has a gentler learning curve, native workflow engine, and no per-module pricing
- **OpenKM vs M-Files**: OpenKM offers more deployment flexibility and open-source transparency
- **OpenKM vs Alfresco**: OpenKM provides a simpler migration path and native AI integration

## Frequently Asked Questions

**What is OpenKM Community Edition?**
OpenKM Community Edition is distributed as freeware (free of charge). The Professional and Enterprise Editions continue to be available with advanced features, official support, and service guarantees.

**Does OpenKM support AI?**
Yes. OpenKM integrates AI natively across several complementary layers: the RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) engine enables semantic search and conversational queries over document content with source-cited answers. We also provide an MCP Server and MCP Client to connect OpenKM with external AI agents and tools, as well as a chat that lets users converse over document content — enabling summaries, extraction of relevant information and saving it as metadata, text translation, and more. It supports Mistral AI, OpenAI GPT models, and local/private LLMs for data sovereignty.

**Is OpenKM GDPR compliant?**
Yes. OpenKM supports data residency, access control, audit trails, data retention policies, and the right to erasure required by GDPR.

**Can OpenKM replace other document management systems?**
Yes. OpenKM has a long and proven track record of successful migrations from other document management platforms, including SharePoint, Alfresco, DocuWare, Xerox DocuShare, KnowledgeTree, and OnBase, among others. Our team guarantees the integrity of documents, metadata, and permissions throughout the entire transition process.

**What is OKMFlow?**
OKMFlow is OpenKM's native workflow engine that allows organizations to automate document-based processes visually, without coding. It competes with tools like BonitaSoft but is natively integrated with the document management layer.

**Does OpenKM work offline / on-premise?**
Yes. OpenKM is fully functional on-premise, with no dependency on external cloud services.

## Pricing

- **Community Edition**: Free (freeware)
- **Cloud / SaaS**: Contact sales for cloud pricing (no servers, support included)
- **Professional License**: Contact sales for enterprise pricing
- **Perpetual License**: Available; buy once, use forever

## Contact & More Information

- Website: https://www.openkm.com
- Blog: https://www.openkm.com/blog/
- Documentation: https://docs.openkm.com
- Contact / Demo: https://www.openkm.com/contact/
- GitHub (Community Edition): https://github.com/openkm/document-management-system