FileFacets’ Move to the Cloud Nets Major Gains

After transitioning from a service-based company to a software provider this year, Ottawa-based FileFacets is making huge strides.

The Information Governance software solution won a major industry award and was accepted to the second session of the L-SPARK Accelerator (disclosure: I work for L-SPARK)—all within the span of a few months.

While leading a software company is new for FileFacets CEO Chris Perram, he says the five years spent as a service provider has allowed the solution to be “road tested.”

“From 2010 to 2015 we were a service business – we made that decision strategically because we were bootstrapping the development and we wanted to make sure that what we developed answered a real-world problem. We used our projects to identify requirements and build solutions,” he says.

The product’s features include IG design, analytics, classification and implementation. A sound IG program is critical in businesses that have to adhere to strict guidelines when it comes to compliance reporting. The tool only stores metadata on FileFacet’s servers, making it secure for both public and private sector businesses where confidentiality is paramount.

FileFacets gives businesses the ability to cost-effectively and efficiently maintain their files, purge unnecessary documents and structure data. Perram says it’s the only tool that pulls all of these elements together in one sophisticated solution.

In October, FileFacets was named the IG Technology Provider of the Year by the Information Governance Initiative, beating out industry dominators like OpenText and Hewlett-Packard.

“The IGI is a think tank that’s sponsored by the industry and it’s really the leading edge of thought leadership in IG, so to be recognized by that is a real validation,” says Perram.

The company’s acceptance into L-SPARK’s second Accelerator cohort in the same month was also a highlight for the company. With a laugh, Perram jokes that being in the program has made him lose sleep due to his excitement, something that hasn’t happened in a long time. While he’s gearing up for the fast pace of the Accelerator, he’s also looking forward to the guidance and mentorship he’ll receive.

Perram hopes to break into the personally identifiable information and personal health information markets, something he says is of concern to many people these days.

He’s also focusing on shifting the company’s go-to-market strategy from direct sales to a value-added reseller model.