Let us understand in short exactly what metadata is and why is it so important?

Metadata is the important data from contracts or underlying documents, it can be further described as the content by a set of fields and values so that one can get structured data from a contract that can be stored for various important records.

Different documents consist of varied information that can be tracked or stored for reporting and review. The importance of these elements varies depending on each type of contract. Below are the most common meta-data attributes that are generally extracted along with the other contract-specific attributes:

• Party Name
• Counterparty Name
• Effective Date
• Type of Contract (NDA, MSA, Confidentiality Agreement)
• Expiration date
• Renewal date
• Payment terms

Contract metadata provides great value to your business departments by extracting useful information which can be used for data-driven strategic decision making

Capturing metadata serves many purposes like –

1. Searching – search becomes easy after extracting the meta-data from your contracts. you can search for key data associated with a contract/s and have the information in a fraction of seconds.
2. Business Intelligence – gain easy access to all your contract data, giving senior managers a strategic insight into all legal obligations, risks, and opportunities.
3. Reporting – you can now have accurate information for reporting purposes, which can be accessible to any department who might want a look.

It is very important to monitor and follow up on key legal provisions on a regular basis without missing a single contract, and that can be done very efficiently through meta-data, which is a key to manage big data.