A typical project implementation period is 6 to 8 weeks. This depends on many factors, such as the complexity of the solution and the client’s availability to work with us during the planning process. M-Files is not an out-of-the-box solution and each system is tailor made for each client. This requires a time investment by the client to co-design their system with us.

The cost of a system consists of implementation/configuration costs and ongoing M-Files subscription costs. M-Files is a software as a service (SaaS) offering and therefore operates on a subscription pricing model based on the number of users who need to access the system. Each M-Files solution is different and costs vary considerably. Please schedule a no-obligation demo consultation with us to find out more.

M-Files can be hosted locally on a server or in M-Files Cloud. Each approach has its own strengths and limitations. Hosted in Microsoft Azure, M-Files Cloud offers very high information security and availability and very low maintenance costs. An on-premise server can offer enhanced flexibility for when data storage needs are high. Schedule a consultation with us to discuss the best M-Files hosting solution for your needs.

Once your M-Files solution is initially configured it can be put to straight to work, though there will inevitably be situations in the future such as:

• A new employee needs to be set up with access to M-Files
• An employee resigns and their M-Files access needs to be removed and their license reallocated
• A new document class is needed
• Access restrictions to certain documents or information need to be changed
• A new workflow is needed or an existing workflow edited
• M-Files therefore needs a System Administrator, a person who M-Files users in your organisation can go to request changes. We can either train some of your staff in M-Files system administration, or you can choose to outsource M-Files system administration to us. 

We believe that implementing M-Files is a journey, not a destination. 

Once your system ‘goes live’, we are there to back you up. We offer a ‘vault refinement period’ where we work with you and your team to refine your M-Files solution based on user feedback. 

From then on, we are committed to supporting you. We handle any support requests, and we proactively initiate regular review meetings to ensure your M-Files evolves along with your changing business needs.

We will work with your organisation to understand its needs and objectives for effective document management. A detailed planning process is key to successful M-Files implementation, and our experts will work with you every step of the way. We arrange installation of the M-Files software into your IT environment, and following construction of the M-Files ‘’vault’, we comprehensively train your staff in M-Files use. We will assist you to plan migration of existing content, and once ‘live’ we are always available to support your M-Files in the long term.

While adding metadata when filing documents into M-Files initially requires some effort, the long-term benefits in terms of time saved, improved organisation, and streamlined processes make that time a worthwhile investment. When documents are ‘tagged’ with relevant metadata, it becomes easier to locate them later. Instead of manually browsing through folders, you can quickly search for specific files based on their attributes (e.g., author, date, project, keywords). This streamlined retrieval process ultimately saves time compared to traditional folder-based systems.

When properly configured and users trained effectively, M-Files is often a valuable investment due to the productivity savings it is capable of delivering. Implementation costs of M-Files vary considerably according to the scope of a project. Contact us and we will be happy to provide a cost estimate and an overview of how M-Files can deliver cost savings for your organisation.

M-Files maintains a complete history of all versions of a document. Users can view the document history to see who made changes, when they were made, and what those changes were. This audit trail helps with accountability and understanding how a document has evolved over time. M-Files can also send email notifications to keep users informed about document changes or updates.

 In most cases, yes. We have found that close to 100% of our clients have chosen to have customised workflows integrated into their M-Files solution. We work closely with our clients during the planning phase to identify opportunities for productivity gains using M-Files workflows. We also find that once M-Files has been deployed, many of our clients see the wide-ranging benefits of workflows and engage us to have additional workflows configured.

AI assists knowledge workers achieve productivity gains. For example, M-Files Aino allows for rapidly locating information without needing to manually open and document and searching it. AI reads documents to help M-Files suggest relevant metadata (such as customer name, invoice amount, postal address), speeding up document filing considerably.

We help you to configure auto-populating templates during the project planning process by identifying opportunities for template usage, and ensuring the relevant metadata fields have been correctly configured. Once metadata has been entered into M-Files, it is subsequently available for use in any auto-populating template. A popular use case is contract document creation. With M-Files auto-populating templates, you can define standard contract templates with placeholders for relevant information (e.g., party names, contract dates, payment terms), enabling rapid document creation.

Connecting M-Files to other popular document repositories may enhances document management, streamline access to business data, and leverage the strengths of multiple platforms for efficient collaboration and information management. For example, integrating M-Files with SharePoint Online provides a unified view that combines documents and business data. This means you can access everything you need in one place without the need for data migration.

M-Files can indeed connect to your existing network drive, allowing seamless integration between the two. Once a connection is configured, you have the choice of migrating documents into M-Files itself, or continue to retrieve and edit files from the network drive via the M-Files interface.

M-Files features a check-out/check-in function to protect document version history tracking, however M-Files can be

configured to enable concurrent document editing across multiple users.