YEDA streamlines technology transfer with Zoho CRM

The company

YEDA Research and Development is the commercial arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science. Founded in 1959 as Israel's first technology commercialization company, it is located on the institute's campus in Rehovot. YEDA is in charge of identifying and assessing commercial potential in academic research projects and discoveries made by the researchers at the institute, and manages the entire process of bringing them into marketable intellectual property and practical applications. In more than six decades of work, YEDA was involved in registering over 3,500 patent families in the pharmaceutical, agrotech, life sciences, and other scientific fields, channelling commercial revenue back into scientific research and education at the institute.

The challenge

Intellectual property (IP) management involves several core processes, including invention evaluations and stakeholder coordination. YEDA used a Magic-based management platform and online spreadsheets to manage these processes. Though reliable and effective, this solution functioned mainly as a static database.

The company sought a software solution with additional capabilities for streamlining its operations. Specifically, a unified system that would enhance marketing capabilities with real-time analytics and insights into commercialization activities and engagement with researchers and companies, while providing connectivity to the website and reducing data entry time.

The solution

YEDA Research and Development turned to Cloud CRM systems, a local Zoho partner specializing in developing and implementing Zoho-based systems in organizations of varying scales and industries. Their evaluation concluded that YEDA required a solution capable of supporting complex workflows and many-to-many relationships across researchers, patents, and commercial partners throughout the commercialization process.

Based on this evaluation, Cloud CRM Systems proposed utilizing Zoho CRM's marketing capabilities—like contact, account, deal, and product management, with tech transfer industry-specific modules—on a platform later called Technology Transfer Ultimate (TTU).

Shifting away from a static database with a Zoho system

Zoho's client relationship management platform had several features that made it a suitable infrastructure for TTU. The platform's flexibility allowed Cloud CRM Systems to customize, expand, and adapt to facilitate relationships between all of the modules added to the system. That also includes pre-existing in-house and third-party services like accounting and cloud storage.

Once the infrastructure was set, additional Zoho products were added to streamline YEDA's workflow.

Zoho Forms, an online form builder with robust capabilities, was used to collect invention disclosures from researchers and contact information from parties interested in YEDA's various activities. For contracts and documents, Zoho Sign, an eSign solution integrated seamlessly into the system, making document management efficient and simple. Zoho Projects introduced structured project management into the company's workflow, improving collaboration and adding workflow automations.

To enhance YEDA's marketing capabilities, Zoho Analytics, an AI-assisted BI and analytics platform, provides data visualization and insights for marketing operations, and Zoho Marketing Automation assists in marketing material distribution and prospect follow-ups.

Benefits and ROI

YEDA required a system combining robust IP management with modern CRM functionalities. Combining their deep understanding of data commercialization and Cloud CRM's expertise, they utilized Zoho CRM's customizable platform to create a system tailored to their technology transfer needs. The result was a unified, dynamic technology-transfer system that automates key IP and licensing processes, reducing data entry time by 20% to 50%. Another major benefit was a reduction in the total cost of ownership, saving up to 50%, thanks to a per-user pricing model and natively integrated products.