Using the latest in Artificial Intelligence (AI), M-Files stands out among other document management software applications helping you organize, secure, and access information with ease. In today’s article, we’re going to review M-Files and show you why it is -or not- the perfect fit for your business.
What is M-Files and what is it used for?
M-Files DMS, which is sometimes also referred to as M Files, is a document management platform that assists businesses when it comes to organizing, storing, and accessing digital files and information.
Unlike traditional online storage solutions, for example OneDrive, Box, or Google Drive, M-Files uses a metadata-driven approach. This improves discoverability and management over traditional systems.
M-Files Features
M-Files Apps
M-Files connects documents across different platforms without requiring migrating all documents to a single location. These software’s functions are brought together in the M-Files apps, which are available for major platforms such as client and server versions of Windows, Android and iOS, and as a web-based version. There is no dedicated client for Mac and Linux users, which means that the web-based version needs to be used on these systems.
Search
Search is one of the main features of M-Files. It is metadata-based, which means that it benefits from proper tagging while a document text is created or updated. Using the right tag, employees can quickly find all relevant documents associated with a project or task.
Advanced permissions and use of encryption ensure that documents are only accessed by users with clearance.
Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
M-Files includes built-in optical character recognition (OCR) technology, which makes your documents fully searchable after scanning them. This function let’s you extract any text from physical media, enhancing searchability and making easier to share documents. This lets users take their workflow to a whole new level.
Offline Access
M-Files can designate files for offline use, so team members can access and work on them even when they don’t have an Internet connection. This is perfect for user on-the-go and m business users, who need unlimited access to their files no matter where they are. Once online access is restored, the files are automatically synced, saving the latest version of them.
Document Control and User Permissions
M-Files supports access management for groups of documents, for example all of the files within a certain project, by allowing you to add granular user permissions. This control extends to different versions of a document or different types of user access.
The document management service uses role-based access to documents. This allows specific users of a project team may access only some project files while the team leader or supervisor has access to additional documents or data.
Compliance management plays into this as well. Key features include the use of dynamic permissions, support for full audit trails, and workflow automation, but these may only be available in the higher tiers.
Microsoft 365 Integration
M-Files AI: Aino
Artificial intelligence has become an indispensable tool for businesses recently. M-Files Aino is a digital language-independent assistant that serves several purposes:
- Run search queries through all data or specific documents in M-Files using natural language.
- Refine search results through conversations.
- Combine M-Files documents with enterprise data.
- Automate tasks using AI, e.g., the automatic saving of metadata.
- Classify and organize information manually or automatically to ensure that the AI has access to relevant documents and data only.
- Automate permissions to ensure that classified information is not disclosed.
Workflow automation
Another key feature is M-Files support for automation. This ranges from the automatic categorization of documents to task-specific automations that enable workflows. When a worker completes a document, automation may create a new task for a supervisor or reviewer to review the document. Automation also helps to ensure that procedures are followed.
Help, Support and M-Files Academy
| — | — | — | | Email, web chat and Phone Assistance | No | Yes (standard support hours) | | Community Support | Yes | Yes |
M-Files Academy is an online learning resource which offers webinars, courses, video guides, etc. Businesses may book courses, for instance for business or IT administrators, regular users, or super users.
Security and compliance
- ISO / IEC 27001:2013
- ISO / IEC 27017:2015
- ISO / IEC 27018:2014
- ISO 22301:2012
- ISO 9001:2015
- SOC 2 and SOC 3
- GDPR
- HIPAA
- Anti-Slavery Position Statement
- Records Management – SÄHKE2, DoD 5015.2, MoReq2, and more
- FDA 21 CFR part 11
- Eudralex Vol 4 Annex 11
- SOX-404
- FIPS 140-2 Level 2
The M-Files Compliance Kit adds compliance capabilities to an account. Some of the features listed above are only available when the extra license is purchased. This may include advanced workflows, advanced audit trails, or electronic signatures.
Advanced modules, like log exporter, advanced notifications, or user synchronization between M-Files user accounts and external services such as Active Directory, are also included.
M-Files Pros and Cons
As every other document management software, using M-Files has its advantages and disadvantages. After testing this software, here’s what we believe are its main pros and cons:
Pros of M-Files
- Centralizes document management using a variety of platforms and services.
- Neatly organized user interface
- Makes it easy to save documents with relevant metadata.
- Versioning feature that tracks document history.
- E-signature integration with DocuSign, allowing e signing documents with ease.
- Process automation, improving the companies’ workflow.
- Supports metadata and text-based search.
- Allows to designate files for offline access on laptop or mobile devices.
- Excellent third-party integration.
- Document automation with M-Files Ment.
- Internal and external collaboration with M-Files Hubshare.
- Strong compliance and security features.
- A 30-day free trial is available for testing.
Cons of M-Files
- Setup of M-Files requires technical expertise.
- There is an initial learning curve due to the way information is organized.
- No pricing information on the website.
- Advanced features, including access to AI tools, are only available in higher tiers or as add-ons that need to be purchased separately.
- The on-premises version of M-Files is not available for Mac and Linux users.
M-Files Pricing
These offer different sets of features. Base, for example, is only available as an on-premises solution while AI features are only available in the Business plan.
Here is an overview of the key features of each M-Files plan:
| — | — | — | | Cloud and Self-hosted | On-Premises only | Yes | | Metadata-Driven Architecture | Yes | Yes | | Search | Basic | Advanced | | Cross-platform access | Yes | Yes | | Version Control | Yes | Yes | | Integrations | Some | Full | | Importing Tools | No | Yes | | Standard Support | No | Yes | | Advanced Document Comparison | No | No | | High-Availability and High-Resilience for Self-Hosting | No | No | | M-Files Aino | No | No | | Price | Custom Quote | Custom Quote |
A free 30-day M-Files trial is available. It is a good option to test the ins and outs of the service without making a commitment.
What we like about M-Files
M Files offers a feature-rich document management platform that integrates well with services like Microsoft 365 or Salesforce. It helps businesses streamline document management and access documents without sacrificing compliance and security. Its usability is beginner friendly thanks to its clear and comprehensive user interface.
Workflow automations and the use of artificial intelligence assist users and enable them to focus on the tasks at hand without spending too much time on mundane tasks.
What could be better
While using M-Files is not complicated from a user perspective, setting up the document management solution is rather complex and ideally handled by IT because of that.
Furthermore, M-Files Base clients and Teams clients lack some of the advanced features of the Business plan. Base, for example, is only available as an on-premises solution and without any option to contact support via phone.
M Files-Aino, the integrated AI, is also only available for Business plan users and Enterprises.
Our recommendation
Based on our review and experience, M-Files is best suited for the following user groups:
- Large business and enterprise: here, ideal for document-heavy industries, such as finance, legal, or consulting.
- IT and Document Management Professionals: for improved content organization and the automation of workflows.
- Anyone needing strong compliance: organizations that require compliance and risk management.
M-Files Competitors
M-Files competes with several document management systems, including DocuWare, SharePoint, or Alfresco.
M-Files vs. Docuware
DocuWare is another robust document management platform that shares many core features with M-Files. Both platforms offer cloud and on-premises solutions, strong security and compliance, and workflow automation.
The two DMS use different approaches to how documents are managed and stored. Where M-Files uses a metadata-driven approach, DocuWare’s approach is a bit more traditional.
M-Files vs. Sharepoint
SharePoint can be integrated into M-Files, but it is also available as a standalone document management system. Like DocuWare, Sharepoint focuses more on the traditional way of storing and managing files and documents.
The Microsoft-product uses a folder-based structure, which is great for Microsoft-heavy businesses, but less than ideal if this needs to be combined with third-party services and platforms.
Final Thoughts: One of the Best Document Management Software for Businesses
M-Files DMS is a powerful content collaboration and document management platform for large businesses and enterprises. Its metadata-drive approach sets it apart from most of its competitors who lean towards traditional systems.