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The AQX Series: Continuing Our Innovation in IP Management Solutions

By Jason Streciwilk, Sr. Director of Product Management
Nancy Hegarty, VP of Marketing

Continuing our innovation, in early 2019 Anaqua released AQX, a next-generation software platform that enables organizations to align their IP portfolio strategy with their business objectives. The latest release, AQX 10.1, includes enhanced portfolio management features and integrated patent analytics dashboards that give users actionable information necessary for making better, more informed business decisions.

To kick off the new release of AQX, we are doing a blog series to talk in more detail about the platform. In the first part of our series, Nancy Hegarty, VP of Marketing, sat down with Jason Streciwilk, Sr. Director of Product Management, to learn more about the background and the most recent enhancements of AQX.

Nancy: Anaqua released AQX earlier this year. Can you share with us a bit more about why we went in this direction?

Jason: AQX is the go-to IP platform, designed with our clients, that helps IP professionals perform their jobs more effectively and efficiently. The platform builds on tools and functionality for IP operations and delivers must-have information and insight for IP professionals, such as Chief IP Officers, Portfolio Managers, and IP business partners.

Founded more than 15 years ago, our company was the first, truly integrated IP management system in the market. The goal was simple – make it easier for IP professionals to do their job. We are focused on staying ahead and advancing technology as the market, and our clients’ needs change. In early 2019, Anaqua addressed these needs with the valuable technology refresh of AQX, and we will continue to keep delivering highly configurable solutions based on our intensive client involvement.

Nancy: What were some common market challenges you heard from clients that have led to Anaqua’s innovations like AQX?

Jason: From my 12 years’ experience in the industry, I’ve seen many IP organizations exist as silos, disjointed from the business. IP struggled to align with and support the business – as a function. IP didn’t have the tools to be business-friendly.

This is where AQX comes in. Our platform is a centralized IP management solution that aligns IP with the business. If you are a corporation then it’s your business, if you are a law firm then it’s your clients’ business. In both cases, AQX is focused on helping businesses manage an IP portfolio from a strategic perspective. It provides clarity into which assets deliver the most value, which assets need to be pruned, and which could be licensed, etc. With the massive amount of data available to business executives, no one needs more data – they need insight. AQX delivers that insight, and all in one platform.

Nancy: What does AQX mean to you?

Jason: When someone asks me what AQX is like, it reminds me of a recent event many can probably relate to. I bought a new car and during the process thought, “Wow, this is very similar to what our clients may experience with AQX.” My car was 5+ years old, still got me from point A to point B but my needs changed, and it was time for a new one. During the 5 years I owned my car, the driver’s experience was being really overhauled and I was amazed at what was now available to me. The new car still gets me from point A to point B but now I have voice commands, improved navigation, and driver’s assist, to name a few. My experience getting from Point A to Point B is significantly enhanced.

AQX is very similar. Yes, it still delivers a fast, effective way to handle your IP operations, but now it delivers more insight about your IP portfolio. The IP holder gets to navigate around their portfolio in ways that suit their organization best.

Nancy: Who benefits from AQX?

Jason: Everyone. Prior to AQX, IP management solutions were mainly for docketers. By developing a more business-centric platform, that is easy to navigate, we have created a solution that can benefit all stakeholders of a business including the docketers, paralegals, and inventors. This key strength of AQX is a result of the Anaqua team bringing all essential IP elements into a single platform to meet the needs of the entire IP organization, from the senior management who help set the business strategy to administrators who keep the system running on a daily basis.

For IP executives, AQX provides visibility, insight, and control to capitalize on opportunities that ensure freedom to operate and enable the protection and monetization of brands. The platform helps engage all levels of the business, drive innovation, and deliver insight needed to make decisions in today’s complex corporate environment. For law firms, AQX helps streamline IP Practice Management while providing controlled visibility to optimize relationships with clients. The platform’s integrated workflow, collaboration, docketing, data visualization, and market analytics deliver new levels of productivity and insight that give firms a competitive advantage.

Nancy: Were there any other key influencers in the development of AQX?

Jason: Several years ago, we established an extensive Customer Advisory Board program that includes a broad array of roles representing all the critical functional topics. As we worked closely with them and developed a deeper understanding of their needs, we knew AQX was the way to go. Now all IP functions can derive benefit from AQX. With our latest updates in reporting and integrating external data, it has opened new doors to serve more IP roles.

Previously, we heard from clients, “This is great for me, but it’s too much detail for our attorneys. Our attorneys want analytics to develop insight about our patent portfolio.” With AQX, we have something for all the key roles. For example, AQX provides:

  • An executive-level overview of all IP for the Chief IP Officer
  • An in-depth dashboard of critical metrics for the Portfolio Manager
  • A workload report to help manage resources for the Docketing Manager
  • A task list of actions needed to be taken that day/week/month for the Docketer
  • An Innovation Portal with visibility of individual submission, request, and award status for the Inventors and Submitters
  • Productivity tools and patent analytics dashboards to increase performance and insight for Law Firms

Nancy: I know this might be tough, but what do you consider some of the key highlights of recent releases in AQX?

Jason: Hmmm there’s a lot there so it’s tough to select just a couple. I’ll highlight – Portfolio Management and Financial Management.

Portfolio Management provides overviews of IP portfolios in a single workspace. The user can personalize the home page, create separate tabs for different portfolios, create charts and queues and so much more. The user can create the view that optimizes their work.

Next, I’ll speak a bit to Financial Management. Here we had a working group that documented business processes and data flows for “budget, commit, spend & pay.” The group was then instrumental in validating AQX worked the way they work – but far more efficiently and effectively.

With our Financial Management capabilities, IP teams can now capture and analyze previous and future spend data to better inform prosecution, maintenance, and portfolio management decisions. The solution supports an IP team’s full spend lifecycle including budgeting, cost estimates, accruals, invoicing, and authorization chain for invoice approval workflow.

Nancy: What makes AQX different from other IP management platforms in the market?

Jason: AQX is an end-to-end solution for the IP function. It is one integrated IP management platform that aligns IP with the business. Unlike others in the industry, it is not silo-ed or disjointed. We work closely with our clients to understand what the market needs and continue to innovate the platform with only enhancements, integrations, and partnerships that align closely with our strategy in making our clients’ lives easier. Our clients’ success is our success.

Built on our three-year history of providing clients with a 360° view of their IP data, AQX’s new release includes even tighter integration with our patent search and analytics platform AcclaimIP. Users can build matrices, launch alerts and build dashboards to have actionable insights on their portfolio.

Focused on AI and analytics, we work closely with our Customer Advisory Board to continue delivering key points of integration with AcclaimIP that will support the growth and evolving needs of our clients.

Nancy: Looking ahead, what can we expect from the AQX platform?

Jason: Continued innovation. As I mentioned earlier, Anaqua was founded to make it easier for the IP professional to do their job. We will continue to keep delivering tools and insights that help transform IP into business success.

Want to learn more about AQX? Schedule a demo.