Inteum

We migrated to Inteum just over a year ago from a bespoke database

Commenti: It has met our requirements and also added in CRM functionality, which has been useful for our commercialisation team. Key agreements and other IP-related docs can be uploaded and then are accessible to all the team - from anywhere with the web-hosted option.

Aspetti positivi:

The web-hosted environment is great - apparently an app is on its way. Great to quickly access in meetings. We have quite comprehensive reporting requirement for Government and this was the only alternative that I found that could cope with the details. Specific format forms need to be used and these were able to be created on Inteum so that we can produce the requisite form directly. Whilst we were assisted to create that and some more complex reports (e.g. for our finance processing, where we needed concatenated reference fields created) the other reports are easy to create. Often we can filter tables of data on-screen and if necessary export them immediately to Excel. Saved filters enables one to produce the simple reports very easily and standard reports are used to provide various stakeholders with their portfolio reports. It has been easy to learn. There is considerably more functionality that we are planning to make use of during the course of 2018. The ability to create user defined fields on one's own is great. Training is comprehensive - either through "Inteum Central" where where there are procedures as well as tutorial videos. There are also live webinars.

Aspetti negativi:

It would be great if "out of browser" updates could be managed in the background so that one does not need to wait for the weekly update to download before getting access. There are a number of modules from a user perspective (the database, then Analytics for reporting, then Central for help) and as an Administrator there are others. It would be great if they were more integrated and shared the same password. Certainly manageable, but perhaps not ideal. During migration I think that it is important for Inteum to understand how the office's systems are currently working (workflows, etc.) and that more time is allocated to advising new clients regarding how they can adapt Inteum to mimic what they are used to. Some things understandably will change. I found it difficult to work out how to structure things when I did not know the functionality of Inteum as I was new to it. Its not only about 'data' migration (which was handled well), "process" or workflow migration is very important when moving to a new platform.

Still adding more power and capability to our business after eight years of use

Commenti: Improvement in all aspects of our business that relate to Inteum's capabilities.

Aspetti positivi:

From day one Inteum has improved the quality of our business - and is still adding more value as we use more features. We benefit from having software that is specifically designed for and used by technology transfer offices - so we can design new business processes driven by Inteum with some certainty that they are best-practice. The range of capabilities is very large and hence a bit confrontational to start with but over time, it allowed us to add more and more business processes to the system. Its connectivity is terrific - reports, excel import and export and direct access to the database by analytics tools such as their own Analytics program and tools such as Tableau. Updates, improvements and bug fixes are timely. Support is terrific. Absolutely first class. Even in a completely different part of the world, we receive prompt attention and escalation is very quick when necessary. Sorting out technical problems and even custom programming is readily available. We selected Inteum from amongst three other products that we evaluated thoroughly and never for a second have regretted our choice.

Aspetti negativi:

Sometimes takes quite a while for our particular special tweak to make it to the top of the "new features to be implemented" list.

I live with it, not perfect but better than other databases

Commenti: easy retrieval of information

Aspetti positivi:

it usually works well. Easy to search and retrieve most information.

Aspetti negativi:

the reporting to iEdison has problems and does not always work smoothly. Trying to update older 'legacy' files is diffcult to impossible It has cryptic error messages

The webinars, staff helpfulness and ease of use have been refreshing.

Commenti: Functional ability to track IP and Agreement deadlines and keep good oversight on our multiple IP Attorneys all over the world. The ability to keep our documents with our projects is very convenient, especially when the security on the server files are not able to allow all inventors access to their application information with the IP Portal. Now they can track progress of their applications and frees up the IP team.

Aspetti positivi:

The functionality of the program is capable of handling our IP needs, as well as our Agreements. The Agreement functionality is basic, but that's all we need. The Agreement Portal and the IP Portal are fairly new to us, but it has great potential to get adopted as it seems very user friendly. I like that the company updates the software regularly and is building Minuet to adapt to all browsers. The training is webinar based and foundation based, but the customer support helps expand on the foundation we get in webinars, so we can get as advanced or stay as basic as our needs or curiosity dictates. I like that they have a suggestion box for Users and that they actually read them and implement many of them to make our data entry and data management more functional.

Aspetti negativi:

The Activity Report standard form is not as functional as I would like. Analytics should fix the problem as I learn how to use it better, but the field names are so similar that it is difficult to figure out which one applies to the information I need. I'm not a big fan of the Dashboard. It's a very complex method for organizing data and the data manipulation in the Dashboard can generate deceptive reporting, especially when counting international applications filed and money expended for filing, particularly when tracking filings from a PCT application.

Surprisingly easy to use

Aspetti positivi:

The application is easy to use; support from the team is great. Our users are able to run their own reports and they use it to manage their business. As we are based in Australia, there are less opportunities to attend any training session or participate in activities organised for Inteum users. However, Inteum Central is a great tool for our users as our staff is encouraged to use this to learn more about its functionality. The other pro is the ability to customise the fields to suit our needs.

Aspetti negativi:

The default to technology category is annoying and it does not appear that we can set the default to agreements which is where we normally start off with. The other is the menu tabs at the top of the screen. They are fixed and we cannot seem to change the order of the tabs.