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Azure NetApp Files vs Box - Intelligent Content Management comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 12, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.4
Azure NetApp Files provides high performance and flexibility, enabling significant cost savings and improved IT management despite initial costs.
Sentiment score
5.0
Box - Intelligent Content Management offers 90% time savings, enhancing efficiency and compliance, with anticipated positive returns yet unquantified.
I would say time was saved as instead of hours of somebody sitting there uploading files another way, such as MassTransit or zipping them, Box - Intelligent Content Management probably saved 90% of the time.
Agile Solutions Designer at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.4
Microsoft and NetApp provide Azure NetApp Files with varying support quality, appreciated for complex issues despite regional inconsistencies.
Sentiment score
4.8
Customers appreciate responsive service and technical expertise, though delays and accessibility issues are noted with varying service quality.
Microsoft has limitations with Azure Files, which do not support disaster recovery, so they approached NetApp for help based on their experience in on-premises and cloud storage.
Cloud Architect at IBM
They have top-notch people.
Cloud/Data/Database Manager at a government with 10,001+ employees
Typically once you do, they are able to provide assistance on whatever you need.
Manager, Technology & Integration at GlobalMac IT
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Azure NetApp Files offers flexible scaling and cost efficiency for large deployments, despite regional and minimum storage limitations.
Sentiment score
7.1
Box's scalable infrastructure supports seamless user expansion and efficient large data management, despite minor admin console challenges.
Scalability is high. I would say it's probably around nine because it's quite a robust solution that can scale up to maybe even five hundred terabytes of data.
Cloud Architect at IBM
Box - Intelligent Content Management plans have unlimited data, which is great.
Manager, Technology & Integration at GlobalMac IT
I am uncertain about its effectiveness at an enterprise level, where SharePoint might be preferred.
Consultant at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
In my experience, I think it is good; it can handle the volume that we needed to be sent over and sent back for our purposes.
Agile Solutions Designer at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.4
Azure NetApp Files is highly stable, offering reliable performance, seamless migrations, and no downtime, even under increased loads.
Sentiment score
7.9
Users praise Box for its stability and security, highlighting quick resolution of outages and no data loss in 17 years.
In terms of storage stability, I believe it's robust and stable, with a high level of redundancy in the cloud backend.
Cloud Architect at IBM
Box was very stable and did not have any latency issues.
Consultant at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Azure NetApp Files needs enhanced disaster recovery, cost-effective pricing, improved support, and broader regional availability to boost user adoption.
Box struggles with permissions, collaboration, and cost, needing better search, offline features, UI, integration, and security enhancements.
I would definitely expect NetApp to come up with that solution so that customers can start using it because they do not have confidence in backup as it is still in preview.
Cloud Architect at IBM
I would like for them to have more compression so that it can avoid using more storage.
Cloud/Data/Database Manager at a government with 10,001+ employees
If Box had an AI feature to summarize and identify documents based on their contents, it would significantly enhance usability.
Lead Ai Tech And Tech Automation Engineer at a individual & family service with 11-50 employees
It needs to keep up with it and incorporate some ideas to help folks who need assets to come quicker or perhaps suggest more tags to identify them.
Agile Solutions Designer at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees
To open and see who is accessing the document now and see my movements across the document or the file we are sharing together.
Senior Projects Manager at Tech-hub
 

Setup Cost

Azure NetApp Files is costly with a four-terabyte minimum, but its premium features compete with Oracle and Amazon.
Box offers flexible enterprise pricing with free, monthly, and annual plans, providing value and competitive options compared to Citrix.
It is expensive, especially with NetApp Ultra Storage.
Cloud/Data/Database Manager at a government with 10,001+ employees
It's highly priced, and there's no cost reservation option available compared to Azure Files.
Cloud Architect at IBM
Box - Intelligent Content Management has fairly good pricing for licenses, especially if you do an annual plan.
Manager, Technology & Integration at GlobalMac IT
I found the pricing reasonable because when I was working for an IBM partner, Box was free for us.
Senior Projects Manager at Tech-hub
 

Valuable Features

Azure NetApp Files excels in performance, integration, and scalability, providing high redundancy, data protection, and efficient storage solutions.
Box offers secure, user-friendly content management with strong integration, AI automation, and real-time collaboration across multiple platforms.
The most valuable feature is that the sixty-terabyte database snapshot can be done in less than two to three minutes.
Cloud/Data/Database Manager at a government with 10,001+ employees
I think the most valuable feature is using the cross-region replication because this feature was not available in Azure Files, and this was the differentiator.
Cloud Architect at IBM
There is about a 90% reduction in errors.
Agile Solutions Designer at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees
The best features that Box - Intelligent Content Management offers include security controls, smooth integrations with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, an intuitive interface, and it is user-friendly and easy to use.
Freighter Load Controller at a transportation company with 10,001+ employees
Box had a very easy-to-use search feature and a good user interface on its website, which was faster and better than SharePoint.
Consultant at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Azure NetApp Files
Ranking in Cloud Storage
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Migration (9th), Public Cloud Storage Services (14th)
Box - Intelligent Content M...
Ranking in Cloud Storage
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
46
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Content Management (9th), Digital Asset Management (2nd), Document Management Software (2nd), Content Collaboration Platforms (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Cloud Storage category, the mindshare of Azure NetApp Files is 2.9%, down from 6.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Box - Intelligent Content Management is 4.7%, up from 4.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud Storage Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Box - Intelligent Content Management4.7%
Azure NetApp Files2.9%
Other92.4%
Cloud Storage
 

Featured Reviews

Rajat Wadhwa - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Architect at IBM
Cross-region replication has delivered seamless disaster recovery for enterprise storage needs
In terms of improvement, I would say cost reservation; the cost is a bit high. If we compare Azure Files and Azure NetApp Files, I know that customers are using less of Azure NetApp due to the cost. If they bring the cost a little bit closer to what Azure Files offers, it can be a great product in the market and bring a lot of business to NetApp. Backup is quite critical. As of now, Azure NetApp Files requires you to use Azure NetApp Backup solution, which is in public preview at the moment. I would definitely expect NetApp to come up with that solution so that customers can start using it because they do not have confidence in backup as it is still in preview. They are still doing some testing and research on that product, which is not officially released for use by multiple customers.
Jeremey Kenney - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager, Technology & Integration at GlobalMac IT
Secure file governance has improved collaboration and automation for client document workflows
The best features are around security, being able to set up different groups, and the governance features are really great. The new AI functionality that they released has been pretty handy. For governance and security, the audit trail capability is excellent. We are able to see when people interact or change files or if something was deleted, and we can go through and review that audit trail. The AI has been great for creating different workflows that we are able to execute. When a form gets submitted into Box - Intelligent Content Management or a file is uploaded, there are certain automations that we can put in place to where it can essentially generate tickets in our system for new users or other tasks.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise14
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise35
 

Questions from the Community

How does Azure NetApp Files compare to NetApp ONTAP?
Azure NetApp Files is a Microsoft Azure file storage service built on NetApp technology. The platform combines the file capabilities of Azure and NetApp to move critical file-based applications to ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure NetApp Files?
On pricing, I would rate it around eight. It's highly priced, and there's no cost reservation option available compared to Azure Files. If NetApp could bring that kind of model for customers to sav...
What needs improvement with Azure NetApp Files?
In terms of improvement, I would say cost reservation; the cost is a bit high. If we compare Azure Files and Azure NetApp Files, I know that customers are using less of Azure NetApp due to the cost...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Box?
Box - Intelligent Content Management has fairly good pricing for licenses, especially if you do an annual plan. We always suggest our clients do a month-to-month plan so that they have flexibility ...
What needs improvement with Box?
I would suggest more out-of-the-box integrations as far as the automations go. Box - Intelligent Content Management has many templates, and you can customize some things, but there appear to be som...
What is your primary use case for Box?
Box - Intelligent Content Management is used for file storage for clients and provides a secure way to share files with other people as well as internally with our team. Box - Intelligent Content M...
 

Also Known As

NetApp ANF, ANF
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

SAP, Restaurant Magic
GE, Toyota, P&G, Caterpillar, Flex, Schneider Electric, Sally Beauty, Eurostar, AstraZeneca, AirBnB, Whirlpool, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Nationwide, Aeropostale etc
Find out what your peers are saying about Azure NetApp Files vs. Box - Intelligent Content Management and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
917,433 professionals have used our research since 2012.