ContractZen built an automated metadata extraction feature in weeks with Softlandia, saving its customers 50% of the time previously spent on manual data entry.

Executive Summary

• Before: ContractZen customers manually entered metadata for all imported contracts, a process that was time-consuming and inefficient.

• Now: ContractZen implemented a scalable AI engine that automatically extracts metadata, delivering 50% time savings without hallucination issues.

• Time to Market: By partnering with Softlandia, the solution was built 6 months faster than if ContractZen had developed it in-house.

About ContractZen

ContractZen is a SaaS governance suite offering services such as contract and document management, virtual data rooms, e-signatures, and a board portal. 

By providing automated tools, ContractZen helps businesses accelerate processes, reduce risks, and ensure they are always 100% ready for due diligence. 

ContractZen, with offices in Palo Alto, US and Helsinki, Finland, serves customers in over 30 countries and holds a 4.7 rating on Capterra, reflecting its commitment to customer satisfaction.

Challenges and Objectives

The ContractZen team noticed that their customers started asking for AI-enabled features in 2023. This was because competing legal tech companies promoted GenAI as an efficient tool and quickly introduced some features that were helpful for end users. Time to market was essential.

ContractZen identified a major inefficiency in their process: customers had to manually input over 20 metadata fields for each imported contract.

Realizing the potential benefits of automation, ContractZen sought an AI solution to streamline this process.

Many vendors claimed to offer AI-driven data extraction but relied on outdated methods that in reality weren’t genuine AI solutions.

ContractZen needed an applied AI partner capable of delivering a solution that ensured data privacy, compliance with international standards (ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27018, FedRAMP, SOC 1, SOC 2), and alignment with country-specific regulations.

ContractZen also had to balance this new initiative with other ongoing development projects. Clients expect the highest level of performance, reliability, and data privacy. There was no room for error — the AI feature needed to be seamlessly integrated without compromising the existing platform or the ongoing development backlog.

The Solution: Softlandia built an AI Engine

Softlandia's expertise in applied AI engineering was essential in overcoming these challenges. 

After agreeing on the targets for the implementation, ContractZen and Softlandia formed a team and kicked off the project.

It was quickly decided to implement the AI Engine directly into ContractZen's Azure environment. The reasoning was that this way, ContractZen could benefit from a scalable approach by implementing the design according to best practices, keeping all customer data in the same Azure environment, and simplifying the process with an internal API for the ContractZen application.

The AI Engine offered:

• Scalability: Designed to handle large volumes of contract data with ease.

• Data Privacy: Direct integration with ContractZen’s Azure environment ensured compliance with GDPR and international data protection standards.

• High-Quality Outcomes: Softlandia’s AI engine avoided hallucinations and produced reliable, accurate metadata extractions.

• Rapid Time-to-Market: ContractZen needed an integration without disrupting ongoing projects. Softlandia delivered a fully functional solution including an API within 8 weeks of kickoff.

By partnering with Softlandia, ContractZen was able to focus on its core platform and UI while Softlandia handled the complex AI architecture. The AI engine was integrated into ContractZen's existing infrastructure, allowing for quick deployment with minimal risk.

Results

The AI feature was successfully integrated into ContractZen’s platform, significantly enhancing contract management capabilities by automatically filling in key information such as contact details, dates, and contract types. This new feature:

• Saved 50% of processing time for users importing and managing contracts.

• Improved customer satisfaction through faster, more accurate data handling.

• Protected sensitive data by ensuring all operations were conducted within ContractZen’s secure Azure environment.

• Full compliance with international data privacy standards and country-specific regulations.

By leveraging Softlandia’s expertise, ContractZen was able to maintain focus on its core product development while launching a cutting-edge AI feature 6 months faster than anticipated.

Future Plans

"This was a really important milestone for us," says Markus Mikola, CEO & Founder of ContractZen. "We’re planning a new product generation with AI fully embedded across all product segments, and we will definitely continue collaborating with Softlandia to ensure we stay ahead in legal tech."

About Softlandia

Applied AI Engineering company with world-class expertise

• Olli-Pekka Heinisuo, Senior Software Architect, has worked with Google and built the OpenCV Python open-source project, which has over 100 million downloads and is used by NASA in their Mars helicopter

• Henrik Nyman, Senior Software Architect, has worked with two FAANG companies on software and hardware projects

• Mikko Lehtimäki, Chief Data Scientist, holds a PhD in computational neuroscience and has developed GenAI apps for the Finnish Broadcasting Corporation

We have contributed to several AI open source projects such as Llama Index, Guardrails, Metaflow and Qdrant.
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