Wreathed in Finnish heritage, and inspired by a thirst for innovation and values, M-Files is a market-leader across the software development space. Founded by CEO Antti Nivala, the firm’s key tenets of equality, trust and honesty shine through in their work today as they leverage automation and AI to revolutionise the workplace.
Since it initially released software way back in 2005, M-Files has been transforming the landscape of information management with its cutting-edge technology and unique approach to helping knowledge workers find information faster and work smarter. The company’s leading knowledge work automation platform combines the advantages of automation and artificial intelligence to boost the performance of knowledge workers.
Born out of a necessity identified by Nivala’s father in the architectural engineering sector, the company has experienced significant organic growth following its entry into the market.
Its success has been so strong that M-Files attracted over $150m in growth investments under Nivala’s leadership, enabling the company to introduce new innovations in product development, AI, and its cloud platform.
Furthermore, M-Files has maintained its independence throughout its time in the market. Consequently, it has never been compelled to merge with a larger, multi-product company. Instead, its growth has been steady and organic, enabling it to penetrate new verticals and expand its presence into North America.
Yohan Lobo, Industry Solution Manager – Financial services, at M-Files, sat down with FinTech Global’s Harry Slade to discuss the company’s storied journey.
When speaking about the unique nature of M-Files, Lobo said, “M-Files is the only true pure-play platform in the market, delivering innovative capabilities and common use cases across multiple industries. At its core, our platform is designed to help knowledge workers, like analysts or advisors, and their firms be more productive by minimizing manual work. As M-Files continues to evolve, we remain true to our Finnish heritage of core values rooted in equality, trust and honesty. Our guiding principles of “make it happen, help others, and love customers,” drive how we work and interact with others internally and extend externally to customer and partners.”
The difference maker
As explained by Lobo, M-Files stands out in the crowded information management market as the only true pure-play platform.
The offering’s primary strength lies in its ability to curate and connect an organisation’s entire enterprise information across all systems and repositories.
This approach focuses on the nature and purpose of the information rather than its stored location.
With M-Files, businesses can control the structure and content of their information through templates and workflows, ensuring compliance with policies and regulations.
This strong foundation supports the use of advanced AI technologies to enhance information understanding and management.
Lobo explained the company’s core offering, remarking, “Our knowledge work automation platform curates and connects a firm’s entire enterprise information across all repositories; it’s about what the information is and what it’s for; not where it is stored. And because you can control the structure and content of your information with templates and workflows, you can make sure it’s compliant with policies and regulations.”
Pioneering AI Integration
M-Files has embedded AI technology into its platform since 2016, leveraging machine learning to automate content classification and extract meaningful details.
This AI-driven approach enhances information discoverability and enables automation of security and compliance processes. Additionally, it supports the development of workflow automation, driving productivity and accuracy.
One of M-Files’ standout innovations is the Generative AI assistant, M-Files Aino. This assistant enables users to quickly learn from their enterprise data through natural language conversations and mathematical and calendar logic. M-Files Aino helps knowledge workers process vast amounts of information quickly, get answers to complex questions and arrive at conclusions faster. Knowledge workers get the benefits of advanced AI capabilities while keeping their data safe.
The offering is unique in the market, allowing enterprises to get the best possible results. “With M-Files Aino, you can answer questions about your enterprise information with fine-grained control on the scope of your question, whether it’s the whole enterprise repository, search results, selected business objects or documents, ensuring accuracy and relevance of the results,” Lobo stated.
Navigating challenges
The biggest roadblock to embracing AI is the pace of change. The rapid speed of AI advancement presents both opportunities and difficulties, particularly for financial services firms that struggle to adapt to new technologies quickly.
M-Files addresses this challenge by providing a unified platform that connects legacy systems with modern AI capabilities, helping firms navigate the transition, as Lobo explained.
“The ability to connect legacy core systems with a unified platform that can allow firms to take advantage of this new technology at pace is where we fit into the equation. Our challenge is to work with financial services firms to help them on this journey.”
The general attitude towards AI has evolved significantly since M-Files’ entry into the market.
The launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late 2022 has democratised access to information, shifting the focus from AI capabilities to practical use cases that enhance productivity, expertise, and client experience.
This positive shift is further supported by new regulatory frameworks, such as the Consumer Duty in the UK, which highlight the potential benefits of AI in real-time customer support.
Lobo added, “The general attitude is moving from questions around language model capability and accuracy, as well as the impact on workers, to a focus on use cases that enhance what is already happening. This could be boosting productivity, amplifying expertise or improving client experience all whilst maintaining a human touch where needed.”
Future Prospects
Looking ahead, M-Files is poised to continue its growth trajectory by focusing on education and helping business leaders and workers understand the benefits of AI technologies.
As conversational user experiences become embedded in software applications, M-Files envisions AI simplifying interactions with software and content.
Lobo explained this premise, stating, “It has become clear though that conversational user experiences will be embedded in most software applications going forward. At M-Files, we see AI technologies simplifying both the way people interact with software applications as well as content itself. We will see more and more assisted experiences where the applications understand user intent and deliver meaningful results through conversations, whether it’s about absorbing existing information or creating new content.”
On top of this, the visionary firm unsurprisingly sees AI advancement as the future. Education is seen as a perennial area for growth – with a clear emphasis on worker education expected to enwrap the space as firms get to grips with what AI can really mean for a business.
Lobo explained, “Worker education will also be important. People will need to learn how to get the most from these new technologies to develop new use cases. In some cases, the nature of work itself will change which means recruitment, training and individuals also need to adapt to new ways of working.”
Moreover, M-Files anticipates that businesses will have to deeply analyse market-trends and think outside the box to maximise their ROI when it comes to AI, as the technology is still in its fledgling phase, innovations don’t quite have a grip on when best to apply it yet – but research and exposure to it will change that as we head into 2025 and beyond.
“Business leaders should develop an understanding of what the technology is and what it can achieve. This means that they can focus time and resources on the right areas to maximize ROI,” Lobo suggested.
For the past two decades, M-Files has experienced steady growth across various industries and regions.
As the shift towards fully digital knowledge work accelerates, M-Files has its eyes firmly locked on further expansion.
The company, brimming with confidence, is determined to continue fulfilling its core Finnish values of rooted in equality, trust and honesty.
Opening up on the firm’s plans as we look toward H2, Lobo said, “Every organisation benefits from maximising the time and energy their employees have for value adding work. As a product company, we will continue investing in the development of our product and cloud platform. We will also continue to build a strong global partner network providing localized services for our customers. Finally, we will continue accumulating best practices from the industries we serve and actively engage customers to become even more relevant partners for their business.”
In summary, M-Files is not just a company; it’s a visionary leader in information management, setting new standards with its AI-driven platform and unwavering dedication to customer success.
As the digital landscape evolves, M-Files is well-equipped to lead the charge, transforming how organisations manage and leverage their information.
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