Tebicom and M-Files: Metadata-Driven Automation for Construction and Industry

I couldn’t load the FinTech Global page directly — the site returned an interactive CAPTCHA that asks a human to disable Google Translate and complete a puzzle before viewing the article. I can’t control your browser or solve that CAPTCHA for you, and I can’t disable Google Translate on your device. I did search the files you’ve uploaded and didn’t find the FinTech Global article there.
I can, however, write a full, 2,000+ word feature-style article about Tebicom’s work with M‑Files by synthesizing other public sources (M‑Files press material, partner spotlights, case studies and industry reporting). Below is a polished feature article in Markdown that draws on publicly available material about Tebicom and M‑Files; I’ve cited the sources I used. If you prefer the original FinTech Global text verbatim, please either paste it here or solve the site CAPTCHA and tell me I can re-fetch the page.
If you want me to proceed with the synthesized feature, read on — the article follows.

---

Tebicom and M‑Files: How a Swiss integrator is accelerating knowledge‑work automation in construction and industry​

By [Author] — October 2025

Lede​

Switzerland’s Tebicom has long been a recognized integrator for enterprise document and information management. In 2022 and beyond, Tebicom has doubled down on a close partnership with M‑Files — the metadata‑driven information management platform — to modernize file-based processes, automate workflows, and embed AI-assisted metadata and search into document lifecycles for construction, engineering and public‑sector customers. This article explores how Tebicom is positioning M‑Files as the central nerv e system for information flow in complex projects, why metadata-driven automation matters for industries like construction, and what companies should know before committing to a similar path.

Why the problem matters: documents, fragmentation and the construction lifecycle​

Large construction and engineering firms are, by nature, document‑intensive. Project offices manage drawings, contracts, specifications, permits, supplier invoices, site photos and a tangle of vendor documents — often across multiple subsidiaries, branches and software systems. Historically these files live in siloed shared drives, email attachments, or file cabinets; the result is duplicated copies, inconsistent naming, and time lost to searching and re‑assembly. The consequences are real: delays to project delivery, rework, disputes and costly compliance headaches.
Tebicom’s customers — including Swiss contractors with multi‑subsidiary structures — face exactly this mix of scale, variability and regulatory traceability. For these organizations, centralizing and automating information flows is not a “nice to have”; it’s a business requirement to remain competitive and auditable. Tebicom’s go‑to approach has been to implement M‑Files as the core enterprise content management (ECM) layer and build project‑specific integrations on top of it.

The technology: metadata‑driven information management and M‑Files’ positioning​

At the heart of the approach is M‑Files’ metadata‑first architecture. Instead of relying on nested folders and human file naming, M‑Files assigns rich metadata to each piece of content — describing project, phase, document type, status, author and other attributes. That metadata provides the scaffolding for automated classification, lifecycle rules, search, and secure access — regardless of where the underlying file is stored. In practical terms, the metadata model lets organizations:

• Find the right document by business context rather than guessing folder paths.
• Automate routing and approvals (e.g., send design review packets to the right approver when metadata marks them “ready for review”).
• Keep single source‑of‑truth copies while providing contextual views to different groups (site teams, procurement, legal).

M‑Files has invested heavily in automation and AI features (notably M‑Files Aino — their GenAI capability) that can automatically suggest and set metadata, extract structured data, and power natural‑language search across content. These capabilities reduce human tagging overhead and help surface the correct documents when time is critical on site. M‑Files also emphasizes integrations with Microsoft 365 and enterprise systems, enabling organizations to blend M‑Files’ curated, metadata‑backed repository with existing collaboration platforms.

Tebicom’s role: partner, implementer and productizer​

Tebicom is a Swiss digital services company with about 100 employees and a focused practice around M‑Files implementation and customization in Switzerland. It is a certified M‑Files partner and has built several offerings on top of M‑Files, including “tebifiles” — an exchange and integration platform that leverages M‑Files to connect external applications and streamline data exchange across project stakeholders. Tebicom places emphasis on the construction, engineering and local government sectors, where document flows and regulatory traceability are particularly demanding.
Tebicom’s positioning is threefold:

• Technical depth — shipping teams of M‑Files‑trained consultants who can design metadata models and integrations.
• Vertical specialization — templates and best practices tailored to construction, engineering and public-sector processes.
• Productization — creating repeatable modules (like tebifiles) that reduce implementation time and add pre-built integration connectors.

This combination lets Tebicom move faster than a purely bespoke SI and avoids the trap of every customer facing a six‑ to nine‑month bespoke implementation. The Tebicom approach stresses pilot projects, rapid metadata modeling and staged migration from shared drives into M‑Files.

Case example: Groupe Grisoni and the shift to a central ECM​

A revealing reference point is the adoption of M‑Files at Groupe Grisoni — a multi‑subsidiary Swiss construction group. With multiple branches, diverse service lines and thousands of employees, Grisoni faced classic document chaos: scattered master drawings, inconsistent versioning and expensive time lost to re-finding files. Tebicom, working with M‑Files, implemented M‑Files as the central ECM platform to consolidate project documents and introduce digital workflows for project handover, approvals and contract management. The result was a move away from paper‑driven processes to a single, controlled information environment, improving collaboration between central offices and field teams. The public case highlights the concrete payoffs of tight integrator + platform collaboration in construction.

What Tebicom + M‑Files implementations typically deliver​

From the various Tebicom and M‑Files accounts, implementations commonly deliver these measurable outcomes:

• Faster document retrieval and reduced duplication — metadata search replaces folder hunting.
• Automated file classification and reduced manual tagging — driven by M‑Files’ AI capabilities (Aino) and connector‑based ingestion.
• Tighter audit trails and compliance — enforced lifecycles and version control support regulatory recordkeeping and dispute resolution.
• Streamlined approvals and workflows — automated routing based on metadata reduces cycle times for design and procurement approvals.
• Better external collaboration — exchange platforms like tebifiles enable structured data exchange with subcontractors and authorities.

These outcomes are particularly valuable in construction, where schedule slippage and documentation disputes are frequent cost drivers.

Implementation approach: recommended pattern from Tebicom’s work​

Based on Tebicom’s partner materials and practical case narratives, a repeatable implementation approach looks like this:

• Discovery + taxonomy design
• Interview core teams (project managers, QA, legal, procurement).
• Map existing document types, naming conventions and pain points.
• Develop a business information model (projects, phases, document types, roles, retention).
• Pilot migration and metadata model refinement
• Migrate a representative project to M‑Files.
• Enable Aino-assisted metadata suggestion to accelerate classification.
• Iterate with the teams until search results and views match expectations.
• Workflow automation and integrations
• Configure approval flows and notification rules using metadata states.
• Integrate with ERP/financial systems for invoice linking and with BIM/engineering systems where required.
• If needed, build an exchange layer (e.g., tebifiles) for secure supplier/subcontractor exchange.
• Training and change management
• Demonstrate time saved via daily tasks and make power‑user templates.
• Embed governance roles (metadata curators) to keep the model healthy.
• Scale and continuous improvement
• Roll out across subsidiaries and projects, measure search time, approval cycle times and duplicate rate reduction.
• Tune Aino models and connectors as new document patterns appear.

Challenges and how Tebicom mitigates them​

Every information modernization program carries risks. The common friction points and Tebicom’s mitigations are:

• Metadata buy‑in: Users can resist a new tagging discipline. Tebicom mitigates this by using AI-assisted metadata suggestions and configuring views so users rarely need to type tags manually.
• Integration complexity: Linking M‑Files with ERP, BIM and accounting systems can be non‑trivial. Tebicom’s tebifiles and pre-built connectors reduce re‑engineering time and manage mapping logic.
• Migration effort: Large shared drives are messy. Tebicom advocates a phased migration with automated de-duplication and validation rules — not a big‑bang cutover.
• Governance drift: Over time, metadata models can decay. Tebicom recommends assigning metadata curators and building governance processes into the toolchain to enforce quality.

The AI angle: M‑Files Aino and practical GenAI benefits​

M‑Files has extended its platform with Aino, a GenAI capability described as able to automatically set metadata, distill documents and improve search quality. For Tebicom customers, Aino’s most practical uses are:

• Auto-classification of incoming documents and suggested metadata fields, reducing human touchpoints.
• Summarization for long contract documents, enabling quicker review by legal or procurement.
• Intelligent duplicate detection and suggestion of canonical documents.

M‑Files’ product messaging stresses that generative AI must be grounded in curated metadata and controlled knowledge models to avoid hallucination and to ensure compliance — an argument that fits construction and regulated sectors where provenance and accuracy are essential. Tebicom’s implementations leverage these capabilities for time savings without compromising auditability.

Why Tebicom’s vertical focus matters​

Integrating an ECM platform is as much a business engagement as a technical project. Tebicom’s domain focus on construction, engineering and local government gives it a library of reusable templates and an understanding of sector‑specific regulatory and contractual workflows. That domain knowledge shortens discovery cycles and produces quicker wins — which in turn helps secure broader organizational adoption. The combination of vertical templates plus M‑Files’ metadata engine is a pragmatic formula for clients who need fast ROI.

Business outcomes: what leaders can expect​

Senior executives evaluating a Tebicom + M‑Files deployment should anchor expectations on a few concrete KPIs:

• Search and retrieval time: measure average time to locate a needed document before and after.
• Approval cycle time: measure time elapsed from submission to approval for design packets or supplier invoices.
• Duplicate reduction: track percentage of duplicate documents discovered and consolidated.
• Compliance/record retrieval time: measure time to produce an archived document for audit or claim purposes.

Realistic timelines: expect pilot results in 6–12 weeks for a representative project; enterprise‑wide rollouts will typically span multiple quarters depending on scale. Tebicom’s productized modules (tebifiles and pre-built connectors) shorten that timeline relative to fully bespoke projects.

What this means for other regions and for enterprise IT​

M‑Files has shown continued growth (including channel expansion and partner programs), and Tebicom sits in a broader ecosystem of certified M‑Files delivery partners. For international firms evaluating the model:

• Evaluate local partner depth. The right partner will have both technical and industry competence in the target geography. Tebicom is a strong fit for Swiss and French‑speaking Swiss markets.
• Plan for hybrid architectures. Many firms keep a mix of cloud and on‑prem content; M‑Files supports hybrid deployments and offers connectors to Microsoft 365 and other enterprise systems. Ensure your partner has experience with the chosen deployment topology.
• Insist on governance and measurement. Build long‑term governance roles and metrics into the program from day one to avoid decay in metadata quality and search accuracy.

The larger industry context​

M‑Files has been positioning itself as a leader in “knowledge work automation,” combining metadata foundations with AI, partner networks and strategic integrations. The vendor’s inclusion in industry recognitions and press coverage signals market traction and continued product investment in automation and GenAI features. For integrators such as Tebicom, this momentum expands the set of capabilities they can deliver, but it also raises customer expectations around automation outcomes. The integrator’s role in translating platform potential into measurable operations improvement remains critical.

Final thoughts: pragmatic automation wins​

Tebicom’s work with M‑Files demonstrates a pragmatic route to modernize document‑centric operations: focus on metadata, automate classification and workflows with AI‑assistance rather than attempting to automate everything at once, and productize integrations so implementations are repeatable. For construction and engineering firms — where project pace, clarity and auditability matter — this approach replaces friction and uncertainty with structured information flows that deliver business value.
If you want a tailored follow‑up, I can:

• Produce a 2,000+ word feature fully formatted for publication (this write‑up is already longform — I can expand any sections to meet a word target and add pull quotes and a sidebar with implementation checklists).
• Produce a customer‑facing one‑page executive brief that highlights ROI metrics and an implementation timeline.
• Create a technical checklist for IT teams evaluating M‑Files integrations (connectors, APIs, identity and security considerations).

Sources used (synthesized)

• Tebicom partner spotlight and company description on M‑Files’ partner blog.
• M‑Files partner/case description for Groupe Grisoni detailing Tebicom’s role in implementing M‑Files for construction workflows.
• M‑Files press materials about automation, market presence and Aino GenAI capabilities.
• M‑Files BusinessWire press release on automation and company growth for context on product strategy.
• M‑Files certified delivery partners catalog (to confirm Tebicom as a certified delivery partner).

---

Would you like me to:
1) Expand this into a 2,000+ word, publication‑ready feature with pull quotes, subheads and a short executive summary?
2) Produce a 1‑page executive brief with ROI metrics and a suggested 90‑day pilot plan?
3) Or would you prefer I try again to fetch the FinTech Global article (you’d need to complete the website’s CAPTCHA or paste the article text here)?
Tell me which option you prefer and I’ll proceed.

---

Source: FinTech Global Swiss firm Tebicom enhances automation with M-Files