TL;DR: Microsoft has partnered with M-Files – officially recognising it as the first Enterprise Content Management (ECM) platform fully embedded in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. For NZ businesses already using Teams, Outlook, Office and SharePoint, this unlocks a powerful new reality:

• A seamless experience across Teams, Outlook, Office & more
• Built on SharePoint Embedded for deep, secure integration
• Smarter, metadata-driven control and searchability
• Stronger information governance without sacrificing end user productivity
• Real AI potential with Copilot and Aino

If you’re already invested in Microsoft, this means one thing: you can now have it all. If you’re interested in learning more, reach out to DocSmart today for a quick catch up!

Big news has just dropped in the world of document management – and for New Zealand organisations, it couldn’t come at a better time.

Earlier this week, Microsoft and M-Files announced a global strategic partnership – one that officially positions M-Files as the first enterprise content management (ECM) platform to be fully embedded within the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

This is a major move that fundamentally reshapes how businesses can manage content, collaborate, and harness AI – all without compromising on security, compliance, or usability.

Let’s unpack what it actually means, especially here in Aotearoa.

NZ businesses are already Microsoft-heavy. So why is content still a mess?

Across the country, most organisations are already deeply invested in Microsoft 365 – using Outlook, Teams, Office, SharePoint, and now Copilot as part of their daily workflow.

But here’s the reality: content and document management still feels broken.

Documents live in silos. Version control is unreliable. Staff waste time searching for files across inboxes and network drives. SharePoint becomes another folder-based dumping ground. And the promise of AI falls flat when your information isn’t structured or centralised.

Many organisations have looked outside the Microsoft ecosystem to find better content management tools – but until now, that meant trade-offs.

If that sounds familiar, it might be time to take another look at what’s possible…

Historically, you had to choose: Microsoft experience or proper document control

To get strong enterprise-level document control and real business system integration, many businesses turned to third-party ECMs. But the catch? Content often had to live in a separate repository, disconnected from the Microsoft apps their teams actually use.

That meant:

• No native integration with applications such as Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, or Excel
• Limited ability to apply Microsoft Purview policies
• AI tools like Copilot couldn’t fully engage with the content
• User adoption suffered due to disconnected experiences

Customers had to compromise between Microsoft productivity and information governance.

With M-Files and Microsoft now working together – that trade-off disappears

This partnership signals a clear change in direction.

As put by Deep Analysis, this is not a light integration – this is a deep architectural integration. M-Files will now be using SharePoint Embedded to natively store customer content in Microsoft 365. This allows secure, compliant, metadata-driven storage – fully managed by Microsoft, but with the structure and logic that M-Files brings.

In practice, this means:

• Content stays within the Microsoft 365 environment
• M-Files applies its metadata-first, AI-ready structure on top
• Documents are now Copilot-ready and Microsoft-compliant
• Users can access and collaborate on documents directly from Teams, Outlook, and other familiar apps

And importantly for NZ businesses – it works alongside your existing tools and systems.

No more folder chaos. No more guessing games. Just one source of truth, connected across your organisation.

It’s a massive step forward – and a great time to rethink how your business manages content.

What does this mean for New Zealand businesses?

At DocSmart, we’ve worked with 190+ customers across New Zealand, Australia, and the Pacific Islands, helping organisations of all sizes modernise their document and content management.

We’ve always understood the power of combining metadata, integration, and smart automation – and now with Microsoft’s official partnership with M-Files, that message is louder and clearer than ever.

If you’re already using Microsoft 365, but still struggling with version control, document sprawl, or compliance headaches – this is your moment. You don’t need to change systems. You just need to layer M-Files into the Microsoft tools you already trust.

This partnership brings the best of both worlds together. Seamless user experience. Unmatched document control. And AI that finally makes sense in your business context.

Want to learn more?

Check out the official press release from M-Files and Microsoft here, or get in touch with us at DocSmart if you want to see how this partnership could help your organisation finally get its content under control.

We’re New Zealand’s leading M-Files Premier Reseller, and we’d love to help you unlock the full potential of this partnership.

www.docsmart.co.nz

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