Revolutionizing Contract Management: Persistent Systems Launches ContractAssIst

In an exciting leap forward for AI-driven enterprise solutions, Persistent Systems has unveiled ContractAssIst, a cutting-edge contract management platform that leverages the power of Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft's Azure AI technologies. This new tool aims to tackle one of the most cumbersome operational bottlenecks faced by businesses: managing mountains of vendor contracts with precision, transparency, and efficiency.
Packed with intelligent features like natural language processing (NLP), real-time collaboration tools, and observability, ContractAssIst promises to be a game-changer for modern enterprises. Let’s dive into the details of what Persistent’s innovation entails and how it could transform contract workflows for businesses.

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A Quick Look at the Problem: Contract Management Chaos​

For large enterprises, contracts are the backbone of partnerships, vendor relationships, and day-to-day operations. Keeping track of thousands—sometimes millions—of active contracts while staying compliant with legal and operational standards is no trivial task.
Manual processes, siloed tools, and reliance on outdated systems create inefficiencies in contract workflows, causing:

• Missed deadlines for renewals and obligations.
• Increased communication overhead, often requiring extensive email exchanges and extended review cycles.
• Compliance risks, with legal requirements sometimes falling through the cracks.

Persistent Smartly spotted this pain point and used its expertise to deliver ContractAssIst — a solution that integrates deeply with Microsoft’s robust ecosystem to simplify, streamline, and secure these traditionally manual workflows.

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What Can ContractAssIst Do? Features at a Glance​

Imagine having all your contract needs centralized in a single, AI-powered hub. ContractAssIst provides this and more, enabling businesses to jump from fragmented communication methods to an intelligent, unified platform.
Here’s what makes it stand out:

1. AI-Driven Insights with Microsoft 365 Copilot​

• Natural Language Processing (NLP): Built on OpenAI models like GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 accessible through Azure OpenAI Service, it allows users to search, analyze, and interpret contracts with simple queries. These language models understand the nuance of legalese and can intelligently surface insights.
• Conversational Chatbot Integration: Within Microsoft Teams, an AI-powered virtual assistant answers questions like "What’s the expiration date for Vendor X’s contract?" or "List contracts requiring termination notices this month."

2. Centralized Dashboard for All Contract Needs​

• ContractAssIst integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Teams, Azure, and the Microsoft 365 suite. Users can edit, approve, and track contracts in real time, all within a Teams workspace that everyone is already familiar with.
• All approvals and edits are logged, auditable, and transparent for compliance purposes.

3. Real-Time Collaboration and Intelligent Notifications​

• Version Tracking: Like Google Docs tracking for contracts—no changes slip through the cracks.
• Approval Summaries: AI simplifies contract reviews by generating summaries and highlighting critical clauses or edits needing focus.
• Automatic Notifications: Missed deadlines are a thing of the past with automated alerts for renewals, expiring contracts, or pending approvals.

4. Cost and Time Savings​

• Productivity Boost: Persistent claims users can save 20-25 minutes per day per employee by eliminating redundant searches and emails.
• Instead of standalone software for legal management, the tight integration with Microsoft 365 Copilot reduces licensing costs for other third-party products. Expect up to 95% fewer emails exchanged!

5. Scalability with Observability​

• With Application Insights and Elastic observability tools, ContractAssIst ensures that processes remain transparent and scalable even as enterprises grow.

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The Technology Behind the Magic​

Let’s break it down for our tech enthusiasts who love peeking under the hood:

1. Azure AI and OpenAI Models:​

Microsoft’s Azure backbone offers the security, agility, and scalability modern enterprises crave. By embedding OpenAI's language models (GPT-3.5/4), Persistent ensures the platform excels in interpreting and managing complex documents. Natural language queries are converted into actionable insights in seconds.

2. Microsoft 365 Copilot:​

When Microsoft introduced Copilot a while back, it demonstrated its vision of deeply integrating AI into productivity tools. ContractAssIst builds on this foundation to make contract management better rooted in the apps teams already rely on—like Word, Excel, and Teams.

3. Integration into Microsoft Teams:​

Microsoft Teams is already a hub for employee collaboration. By embedding contract tracking and conversations directly into this ecosystem, ContractAssIst eliminates the need to juggle multiple apps or tools.

4. Elastic Observability Platforms:​

Observability tools like Elastic Search ensure not only seamless data handling but also transparency across workflows. Every action is easy to monitor—useful for compliance audits.

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Why Does It Matter for Windows Users?​

If you're an enterprise already running a Microsoft environment, ContractAssIst might just be the missing puzzle piece you didn’t know you needed.

• Deep Microsoft Ecosystem Integration: Being a WindowsForum.com audience, chances are many of you are already using Windows with Microsoft Teams and 365. ContractAssIst fits neatly into this world, adding no extra layers of complexity.
• Secure by Design: Built on Azure, ContractAssIst benefits from Microsoft's unparalleled security framework, ensuring your confidential agreements stay protected.
• AI-Powered Productivity: Contracts are no longer bottlenecks for Windows users—AI handles much of the grunt work, so your team can focus on negotiating better deals, not chasing emails.

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Real-World Implications: A Glimpse into the Future​

Contract management may not seem glamorous, but think of the cascading impact of implementing something like ContractAssIst:

• Reduced Risk: Regulatory fines or litigation often arise from missed legal obligations. A smarter system literally pays for itself in avoided penalties.
• Smarter Legal Negotiations: With all the data at your fingertips, renegotiating terms with vendors becomes informed and tactical.
• Seamless Collaboration Across Teams: Whether your marketing department needs to approve creative licenses, or procurement is closing out supplier agreements, everyone’s on the same page.

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Persistent’s Partnership with Microsoft: More Than Tech​

Persistent Systems CEO Sandeep Kalra touts this solution as a key milestone in the company’s AI-first, platform-driven approach. Meanwhile, Microsoft sees this collaboration as a cornerstone in delivering practical AI tools across industries. Both leaders highlighted the shared goal to “modernize operations, improve collaboration, and achieve operational excellence.”

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Should You Be Excited? (Spoiler: Yes!)​

ContractAssIst seems poised to redefine how businesses think about contract workflows. By marrying Persistent’s digital engineering expertise with Microsoft's AI and cloud ecosystem, what we have is an intelligently automated tool that could potentially become as essential as email in enterprise environments.
Persistence’s adoption indicates a growing trend: AI is no longer a buzzword; it’s a tangible tool for optimizing day-to-day operations across industries.
So, dear Windows users, the next time that hefty licensing proposal lands in your inbox, you might want to hope your company’s got ContractAssIst deployed. It could save you hours of head-scratching and back-and-forth emails.
What do you think about AI managing your contracts? Let us know in the forum comments below!

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Source: Longview News-Journal https://www.news-journal.com/persistent-launches-contractassist-using-microsoft-365-copilot-to-streamline-contract-management/article_c01f9d10-ae77-599d-9829-8d17e8c4f9da.html