Knowledge base alternatives: Is Confluence the best choice for you?

For those who prioritize open-source solutions, Confluence is not the best choice. If you are unsure of how to handle Confluence's structure with its various spaces, you may be better served by considering an alternative. Today we will take a closer look at BlueSpice, which is integrated into Easy Redmine, and compare both systems.

Confluence: A popular choice

Confluence has established itself as a common choice in the central knowledge management market. Confluence's namespace structure, divided into spaces, provides clear organization and separate authorizations for each space. However, setting up a meaningful tree structure for pages within the spaces can be time-consuming and cumbersome, especially if authors have to do it themselves using drag-and-drop methods.

Confluence's rights management system is also a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it helps restrict access to sensitive information, but on the other hand, it can limit interaction and creativity between users. For example, if a page in one space is only accessible by users who have access rights to both spaces, it can restrict collaboration and the sharing of ideas.

The rights management system also affects the search functionality. If a user does not have access rights to a space or page, it will not appear in the search results, even if it is relevant to their search query. Also, Confluence has a reliable in-house search, supporting keyword and parameter searches, but lacks semantic search. This can be very limiting for some users.

BlueSpice: Confluence’s Agile alternative with semantic search

BlueSpice is an enterprise wiki built on the open-source software MediaWiki, the foundation behind Wikipedia. The company behind BlueSpice, Hallo Welt! GmbH has invested years of effort into making MediaWiki a powerful knowledge management system that meets the demands of Agile environments. BlueSpice is integrated within Easy Redmine as a Knowledge base 2.0

It shares some internal structure with MediaWiki, but it is not merely a clone. Pages are usually situated in a central naming system and sorted according to various factors, such as the type of content they contain. This allows for the use of sub-pages, but categories can be added to provide some hierarchy.

One of the key features of BlueSpice is its semantic search, which is an advanced search option achieved using the SemanticData extension. This makes searching much easier in technology-focused wikis, and BlueSpice is ahead of its competition in this aspect.

BlueSpice is up-to-date in terms of compliance, including key security features and adaptability of appearance. It integrates directly with LDAP or AD, or you can manage your own user database. The user interface is intuitive and user and group rights can be managed independently or with LDAP or AD.

Knowledge Base 2.0 of Easy Redmine

Knowledge Base 2.0 of Easy Redmine, on the other hand, builds on the Wikipedia approach: Knowledge should be as accessible and quickly findable as possible. All knowledge is therefore organized much more “centrally” and captured with a fast and precise search engine. In addition, there are the most important functions for fast and systematic editing, quality assurance, mapping complex content, and much more. And, of course, extra rooms for teams and projects can be set up with Name spaces, in specific cases by dedicated Knowledge base instance.

One of the key features of Knowledge Base 2.0 is its semantic search, which is an advanced search option achieved using the SemanticData extension. This makes searching much easier in technology-focused wikis, and BlueSpice is ahead of its competition in this aspect.

BlueSpice is up-to-date in terms of compliance, including key security features and adaptability of appearance. It integrates directly with LDAP or AD, or you can manage your own user database. The user interface is intuitive and user and group rights can be managed independently or with LDAP or AD.

What solution is best for you?

The following product comparison makes clear that Knowledge Base 2.0 with its feature set and integration to Easy Redmine is a serious alternative, a compact product that doesn’t require add-ons purchasing and thus brings clear and predictable values and cost of ownership. The table below provides the main comparisons between Confluence and Knowledge Base 2.0.

	Knowledge base 2.0	Confluence
Purpose	Organizes documentation, processes, manuals, and quality management and maintains knowledge within the whole organization.	For sharing knowledge with only a selection of coworkers.
Use cases	- Knowledgebase - IT documentation - Technical documentation - Intranet - QA, manuals, and process descriptions - Process documentation - Support and customer service documentation - Quality management - Organization manuals and how-tos - Integrated management system	- Knowledgebase - IT documentation - Technical documentation - Intranet
Technology	PHP, JavaScript	Java
Open source
Server licenses (On-premises)
Cloud licences
License for distributed architectures (high performance)	BlueSpice farm subscription	Datacenter license
Other ways of technical provisioning	- Docker - Virtual Machine	- Docker
Expandability	Various MediaWiki extensions	Accessible plugins via App Store
Localization	Over 25 languages supported	25 standard languages
Customizations and services	Professional and personal support	Support via external partners

Which knowledge base is better?

When it comes to knowledge base alternatives, both Confluence and BlueSpice have their pros and cons. Confluence is a popular choice in the market and has a well-structured namespace system, but its rigid rights management system can limit collaboration and creativity among users.

For a wide spectrum of companies, BlueSpice may be a better choice than Confluence due to its advanced semantic search. Why? Because semantic search understands natural language queries and provides more accurate results, even when the user accidentally misspells his query. For example, if you accidentally type "risk management", the search is still able to find “risk management”.

Add a flexible rights management system and an intuitive user interface, and you have a formidable Confluence alternative to help your team to find the right knowledge.

BlueSpice offers efficient organization and easy access to information, making it a strong contender in the knowledge management market. Its compliance with key security features and adaptability also make it a top choice for (not only) Agile technology companies.

Also, BlueSpice is a more cost-effective option compared to Confluence. BlueSpice is more budget-friendly for smaller and midsized businesses and organizations. With its open-source roots, BlueSpice offers a more affordable option without sacrificing features or functionality. This makes it a compelling alternative for those looking to save costs while still maintaining a robust knowledge management system.