Newsec

20 Years of Collaboration – Newsec Takes Property Management to the Next Level with M-Files

Highlights

Flawless reliability with M-Files Cloud: Continuous availability and seamless updates with no downtime.
All information in one place: Property and contract data are now easy to find and always up to date with M-Files.
Seamless Microsoft 365 integration: M-Files works hand-in-hand with the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, bringing automation and analytics into everyday operations.
Smarter and more efficient workdays with M-Files Cloud: IT maintenance has decreased, processes run faster, and user experience has improved across the organization.

Use Case

Customer Information Management
Enterprise Asset Management
Project Information Management
Quality Management

Industry

Real Estate
Property Management

Country

Finland

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Company Introduction

Newsec is one of the leading property management and real estate advisory firms in the Nordics and the Baltics. The company provides a comprehensive range of services for property owners, investors, and tenants. With operations in seven countries and a total of around 2,700 employees, with about 700 in Finland, Newsec manages extensive property portfolios, residential assets, and investments across the country from Helsinki to Rovaniemi.

Newsec’s business is divided into two main areas: Newsec Property & Asset Management, responsible for property management and asset value optimization, and Newsec Advisory, which offers expert consulting services to investors, owners, and tenants.

Through its digitalization unit, Newsec has brought the company’s data management into a new era by using M-Files as its core system for nearly two decades.

Key Challenges Before M-Files

Fragmented Information and Manual Processes

Before adopting M-Files, Newsec’s information was spread across multiple locations, including file servers, emails, and various systems. Finding the right data was slow, and version control was difficult.

Much of the company’s daily work relied on paper-based processes, which made tracking tasks and responsibilities cumbersome. Reporting required combining numerous separate documents by hand, making it time-consuming to form a complete overview.

Maintenance Burden and Security Challenges

Maintaining on-premises servers demanded significant IT resources. Updates, security patches, and system maintenance required continuous effort. Downtime and slow network connections affected productivity, and tracking costs was challenging. At the same time, client expectations were rising where information needed to be available in real time and accessible securely both internally and externally.

“We had a huge amount of data scattered across different systems. We wanted to bring everything together in one place and ensure that information served the business and not the other way around,” explains Leo Keituri, Manager, Digitalization and Solution Management, Team Leader at Newsec.

"We had a huge amount of data scattered across different systems. We wanted to bring everything together in one place and ensure that information served the business and not the other way around."

Leo Keituri, Manager, Digitalization and Solution Management, Team Leader, Newsec

The M-Files Solution

Smart, Metadata-Driven Information Management

Newsec selected M-Files back in 2007 to replace its fragmented document management system. At the heart of the solution was metadata-driven information management, where data is no longer tied to where it’s stored, but to what it represents. This approach made information retrieval faster, more accurate, and seamlessly connected across systems.

Implementation was carried out in close collaboration with M-Files experts. The system structure was customized to fit Newsec’s existing processes, ensuring smooth adoption across the organization. Comprehensive training was organized for all employees, and M-Files became a key part of the company’s onboarding program.

Connected Processes and Workflows

Over the years, M-Files has become the backbone of Newsec’s digital operations and an integral part of its daily business. With M-Files, Newsec manages the full lifecycle of lease agreements, from drafting and signing to archiving. The platform also serves as the main repository for Due Diligence materials, ensuring that property-related information is always accurate and easy to access.

M-Files also streamlines maintenance and inspection processes through intelligent workflows that automatically send reminders for tasks such as fire extinguisher maintenance and regulatory inspections. This ensures all statutory obligations are completed on time. Internal ticketing is also managed through M-Files with workflows, where the system handles approximately 15,000 internal tickets per year without a separate ticketing platform, making the process significantly more efficient and transparent.

Thanks to its flexibility, M-Files allows workflows to be created quickly and easily without heavy programming, while still supporting full customization when needed. This adaptability ensures that the system evolves alongside Newsec’s changing business needs.

Transition to M-Files Cloud

Background and Objectives

Newsec used M-Files in an on-premises environment for many years, but as digitalization accelerated, the need for a cloud-based solution became clear. The goal was to improve performance, reduce IT maintenance, and ensure security and reliability for the future.

“On-premises was a good solution in its time but maintaining it had become consuming. We had many servers to manage, updates took time, and cost tracking was complex. We wanted a solution that was more agile and dependable,” Leo recalls.

A Structured, Phased Cloud Transition

The M-Files Cloud migration began at the end of 2024 and was carried out in close co-operation with M-Files experts. The project was executed in phases, starting with smaller environments before scaling up, ensuring potential challenges were resolved early. A clear project plan, defined responsibilities, and thorough testing guaranteed a smooth and controlled transition. Newsec’s internal IT team played an active role in deployment and user onboarding. The result was a seamless and secure migration to M-Files Cloud with no significant downtime.

New Operating Model and Reduced Support Needs

Since the migration, M-Files Cloud has been in full production use at Newsec. User feedback has been overwhelmingly positive: the system runs faster, searches are more efficient, and stability has improved significantly.

The IT team’s workload has decreased considerably, as server maintenance, updates, and security patches are now handled automatically in the M-Files-managed cloud environment. Support requests related directly to the Cloud have been minimal, and most questions now focus on business development rather than technical issues.

"Cloud brought us clarity and peace of mind. The system updates automatically, and we always know the exact status of our environment. It frees up time for development work."

Leo Keituri, Manager, Digitalization and Solution Management, Team Leader, Newsec

Transparency in Costs and Security

The cloud environment has also improved cost predictability. M-Files Cloud operates on a transparent pricing model, and maintenance costs are easier to track. Built on the Microsoft Azure platform, the solution meets the highest security standards and integrates deeply with the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, which is a critical advantage for Newsec as it manages extensive property portfolios and sensitive client data.

“Cloud brought us clarity and peace of mind. The system updates automatically, and we always know the exact status of our environment. It frees up time for development work,” says Leo.

The Results

Centralized Information and Greater Transparency

M-Files has provided Newsec with a unified platform that consolidates previously scattered data. Thanks to metadata-driven organization, all information related to properties, contracts, and projects is now easy to locate and always up to date. Automated workflows ensure processes are controlled and transparent, allowing employees to clearly track progress and responsibilities.

Enhanced User Experience and Efficiency

With M-Files Cloud, the system performs faster and more reliably than before. Users report that searching, opening, and saving documents is significantly smoother. The intuitive interface and consistent structure have increased adoption across the company. M-Files also supports ongoing business development – new processes and automations can be deployed quickly without the need for heavy IT projects.

Reliability, Scalability, and Continuous Innovation

Since the cloud migration, M-Files has delivered nearly 100% uptime. Updates occur automatically without interruptions, and the system scales effortlessly to meet new requirements.

Newsec leverages both M-Files and the Microsoft 365 product suite as part of its comprehensive digitalization strategy. M-Files acts as a bridge between Microsoft Dynamics 365, Microsoft Power BI, Microsoft Power Apps, and AI-based solutions, enabling intelligent information management and data-driven decision-making.

In 2026, Newsec will launch the M-Files Aino pilot project, designed to bring artificial intelligence deeper into everyday information management and automate repetitive processes even further. This ongoing development reflects Newsec and M-Files’ long-standing partnership and shared goal of taking property management to the next digital level.