In a world where innovation drives competitive advantage, Microsoft needed an intellectual property (IP) management solution as dynamic as its business. Facing challenges with fragmented systems, limited automation, and growing data complexity, the company turned to Anaqua’s AQX® platform. This case study explores how Microsoft partnered with Anaqua to unify its global IP operations, achieve up to 40% efficiency gains, and build a future-ready IP ecosystem powered by AI and automation.
TESTIMONIAL
“We work with Anaqua to maximize the efficiency and productivity of our IP management processes, and to develop new features to better support the whole IP management department in driving Microsoft’s innovation and IP strategy.”
– Raghu Chinagudabha,
Microsoft’s Senior Director of Patent Engineering and IP Operations
CHALLENGES
Microsoft’s Intellectual Property (IP) department plays a pivotal role in supporting the company’s culture of innovation. However, their legacy IP management system was struggling to keep pace with the company’s dynamic needs. Key challenges included:
- Fragmented processes: Critical tasks like IDS processing were handled separately, leading to inefficiencies and limited visibility.
- Lack of automation: Manual checks were required for many processes, increasing delays and costs.
- Inflexibility: The existing system couldn’t adapt quickly to Microsoft’s evolving business requirements.
- Data management complexity: Managing annuity payments for over 30,000 assets annually required better tools for budget control and strategic decisionmaking
RESULTS
- 40% time and cost savings achieved in key areas through platform integration and automation.
- Rapid stabilization postmigration, with major errors dropping to negligible levels within three months.
- Unified IP ecosystem enabling better visibility, efficiency, and strategic decision-making.
- AI and automation are central to Microsoft’s future vision for IP management.
- Strong partnership with Anaqua, marked by flexibility, responsiveness, and collaborative innovation.
TESTIMONIAL
“With Microsoft’s culture of fast-paced innovation, we needed an IP platform that was flexible and adaptable to meet our ever-changing business needs.”
– Raghu Chinagudabha,
Microsoft’s Senior Director of Patent Engineering and IP Operations
SOLUTION
After a rigorous evaluation process, Microsoft selected Anaqua’s AQX® IP Management platform and a comprehensive suite of Anaqua Services. Key elements of the solution included:
End-to-end integration
Patent management, innovation management, portfolio analytics, annuity payments, legal support, and more — all unified in one platform.
Cloud-native infrastructure
Built on Microsoft Azure, ensuring security, scalability, and seamless integration with Microsoft’s ecosystem.
Rapid deployment and stability
The platform stabilized far ahead of expectations, with minimal business-impacting errors.
Customizability and collaboration
Anaqua’s team worked closely with Microsoft to tailor the platform to their unique operational style.
BUSINESS OUTCOMES
- Operational Efficiency: Microsoft achieved up to 40% time and cost savings in key areas.
- Unified Visibility: All key IP processes — from filings to annuity payments — are now visible in a single dashboard, enabling better decision-making.
- Budget Optimization: Improved projections and asset evaluation tools help manage a large annuity budget more effectively.
- Innovation Enablement: The IP team now plays a more strategic role in supporting Microsoft’s engineers and innovation culture.
- Future-Readiness: Microsoft is exploring AI-driven enhancements to further streamline IP lifecycle events, including invention intake, drafting, and docketing.
AQX® delivers workflow automation that aligns to your organization’s needs, drives productivity, and improves visibility – from search, to filing, to renewal. Equally robust for trademarks, disputes, oppositions, TTAB proceedings, and contracts, AQX® allows you to easily keep up with daily demands. And, by using our data verification feature that checks with over 180 jurisdictions, you can always have clean, accurate data at your fingertips.
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