Our client M-Files Corporation continues to prosper as a developer of data management solutions. The firm was awarded a Millennium Distinction by Technology Academy Finland. The recipe for success of M-Files Corporation starts with a brilliant idea. The idea involves a product or a service for which people are ready to pay, which offers something new, solves a problem, is superior – and brings added value (Aamulehti 22 October).
Sounds like product development worth patenting.
And patenting is something that M-Files Corporation has been diligently doing since it started product development in 2002. Assisted by Tampereen Patenttitoimisto Oy next door in Hervanta, Tampere, the technology house has built up a well managed portfolio of patents and trademarks including as many as seven granted patents in the US and one EP patent. The trademarks which are most important for brand management have been protected by the firm with registrations.
The core idea is what is stored instead of where
The patenting of M-Files Corporation relates primarily to the technology developed by the firm on the basis of metadata. The enterprise information management (EIM) solution leverages metadata to classify and organize data and information by what it is instead of where it is stored.
As many as 5,000 firms are already using the M-Files® application for the management of documents, quality, information, or clients, and there are no limits to the demand in sight. The main market for the products is the US, but the volume of orders in Europe is rapidly increasing.
"We are forerunners in metadata based information management, so that we have to find new solutions to many conventionally folder-based features in a way that is workable in the metadata world. Our competitors will face the same challenges a few years behind us. Our patent portfolio may then turn out to be very valuable," Antti Nivala, founder and Chief Technology Officer of M-Files Corporation, says Nivala (on the left, CEO Miika Mäkitalo on the right).
Growth of international renown
The Millennium Distinction awarded to M-Files Corporation on 22 October is a prestigious recognition for the technology house. The Millennium Distinction is awarded in alternate years with the Millennium Technology Prize, and the recipient is selected by Technology Academy Finland.
Thanks to its breathtaking growth rates, M-Files Corporation has also been entered on the lists of Forrester, Deloitte, FastTech and Gartner measuring the growth or significance of international technology companies. The firm's turnover has increased by 40 to 50% each year. The staff level has more than trebled in three years, being now 280.
"Our vision is to change the way in which information is managed in the world. This goal is tough but inspiring, and the recognitions received by us show that we are on the right track," Nivala says.
Carefully building up and managing intellectual property
What about innovation and new ideas – how does M-Files Corporation secure their inexhaustibility and competitiveness?
According to Antti Nivala, the firm is full of uniquely talented individuals who are capable of tremendous achievements when working in a relatively small team.
As the IP partner of M-Files Corporation, Tampereen Patenttitoimisto Oy has helped the enthusiastic work community to recognize and analyze new ideas.
"An Invention HuntTM event arranged by us involves brainstorming that is more high-spirited than conventional brainwork and where our attorneys facilitate problem solving by leading to "side tracks", too. In some cases, very interesting idea potential is found there as well," Marjut Lattu-Hietamies, European Patent Attorney, says.
Together with Kim Simelius, European Patent Attorney, Lattu-Hietamies has consulted M-Files Corporation in versatile IP affairs for years. Success has been achieved, for example, in an infringement case brought by a patent troll and closed by M-Files Corporation (BERGGREN MAGAZINE 1/2012).
In addition to their cooperation in the IP field, Berggren and M-Files Corporation share the interest in developing modern electronic work environments and working methods. Like M-Files Corporation, the Berggren Group has developed an application of its own: the GreipTM electronic tool for IP management, which is used by M-Files Corporation in the management of their IP portfolio. Berggren, in turn, has used M-Files® content management solutions, such as DMS and CRM, for a long time.
"Cooperation with Tampereen Patenttitoimisto Oy has been smooth and efficient, so that it has been possible for us to focus on the actual product development," Antti Nivala says.
