Sharing Information in the Digital Age

Do you have a single repository where all matter related documents are stored or do these reside in multiple locations? If these are in various locations, how much time does your employee spend trawling through each repository to find what they are looking for? 
An IDC report suggests that the average cost for an information worker to search for documents can amount up to £12000 per person per year*. This is substantial, especially when multiplied by the number of workers that exist in any given firm.
Lawyers and their teams are inundated with matter and research related documents which come in a wide range of formats (pdfs, videos, html…) and that can be found in various places such as a user’s email inbox, document management system (DMS), intranet or mobile devices. Good document organisation and efficient sharing has now become a key factor for productivity and growth.

Innovative technologies such as the electronic binder can facilitate and enhance the flow of information across the firm by improving the way files are stored and accessed. It adds value to the document workflow and helps law firms leverage the knowledge that already exist by:


Aggregating case related information in a single location

Nikec Binder (click to expand)

Lawyers and their teams can save all the documents related to a case court (hearing documents, emails, legal correspondences…) in emails, videos and html and other formats, in a single folder in one location. This can be a local hard drive, a shared network drive, a DMS or a cloud sharing platform depending on how many people need to access the documents.


Increasing communication & interactivity 
The digital binder technology can improve communication between colleagues and clients - a must when teams need to collaborate on documents. Real value is created when suggestions, comments or other input can be captured, relayed and tracked in real time, for integration into the final version of the document. 
When using a digital binder, team members can edit, mark up and leave comments on the actual documents itself and when centralised, these comments/suggestions can be shared with all other team members involved. Not only does this help track comments and the history of the amends made, it also enhances the way teams work together and optimises the overall workflow. 


Enhancing mobility and file sharing

With employees working remotely and teams and clients based in global locations, having a strong platform to share information is paramount. The electronic binder technology makes it easy to organise and move complete sets of documents and access them from different locations or on different devices. In the legal industry, it means that lawyers no longer need to physically carry folders that are bulky, heavy and inconvenient. 



Integrating technologies for document efficiency 
Integrating different technologies impacts the document workflow significantly. Processes become shorter and more streamlined which enhances efficiency. It saves time and reduces the risk of errors. For instance, the digital binder can be updated directly from a multi-functional printer (MFP). A scanned document is automatically routed to a binder file which then directly updates the version that is stored in a DMS. Such integrated workflow takes away inefficiencies associated with having to manually retrieve the original file and also prevents document versioning issues or duplication. For information intensive activities, the benefits are immediate and significant. 


It is essential for teams to keep up with the latest information in this ever changing legal environment. And since information in isolation adds no value, law firms need to find ways of streamlining their processes to capture, share and leverage this across their teams. Technologies such as the digital binder can improve this process. It can be a key driver in improving efficiency and enhancing productivity so that clients are provided with a service that is second to none.  

Nila Hirani [   ]

Nikec Solutions [ www.nikecsolutions.com ]

* IDC 2012 white paper - Bridging the Information Worker Productivity Gap: New Challenges and Opportunities for IT

Nikec Binder is an electronic ring-binder that collates all types of document in a single convenient binder file. Nikec Binder brings the loose-leaf binder into the digital age with a familiar, easy-to-use and intuitive environment, largely inspired from the traditional binder and provides a friendly, familiar look and feel.
Simple, intuitive, it can be used by anyone working with multiple documents or on large projects, in cross organisation teams or with clients. As of today, the main users are lawyers and in-house council, accountants, HR and marketing departments. 
Visit Nikec Binder page

Nikec Docstore is a mobile application designed for professionals which allows storing any type of file, accessing them remotely from a computer or an iPad and sharing them with authorised colleagues or clients. By combining ease of use and the level of security required in the exchange of working and sensitive documents Nikec Docstore is ideal for mobile professionals and collaborative work. Plus the application is available on premise or in cloud (SAAS), so you always keep full control of your documents.
Visit Nikec Docstore page

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