The Competition Is Running Circles Around Open Text
Open Text's problem isn't product quality. It's that competitors deliver similar or better functionality with less friction and better user experience. Box trades at higher multiples despite half the revenue and zero profit. Why? Cloud-native, modern interface, fast AI rollout. Box customers get document Q&A and smart tagging immediately. No migration required.
Box's challenge is monetization; storage is commoditized. But on product velocity, Box is ahead. For enterprises that want ease of use with security, Box wins.
ServiceNow competes for the same AI budgets. Its agents autonomously handle IT tickets, approve workflows, and coordinate processes. That's real agentic AI, not document search with a chatbot.
ServiceNow trades at 10x revenue versus Open Text's 2x because workflow automation shows clearer ROI than document intelligence. When CFOs choose between agents that reduce headcount and features that speed up contract review, ServiceNow wins most of the time.
Microsoft isn't trying to beat Open Text. It's making Open Text irrelevant. Copilot in SharePoint and OneDrive offers document intelligence bundled into Microsoft 365. For most enterprises, "good enough" AI that's already included beats "better" AI requiring a new vendor and integration project.
Open Text's defense: Microsoft's governance isn't sufficient for regulated industries. True today: Microsoft is spending billions on Azure compliance. That gap is closing.