Why switch from Adobe Acrobat to PDF Pro?

PDF standard has become the legally recognised format for sharing and archiving case information. One of the reasons for this is that; PDF can be viewed across all platforms without change in the document, whereas documents of other formats may alter. Furthermore, for an electronic document to be admissible in court it must be created in a format that can’t be altered without leaving a trail. Consequently PDF is one of the most widely used document formats in legal.   

Therefore it is essential for lawyers and other professionals in the legal industry to have a tool that converts paper into PDFs. Most lawyers will have a PDF application on their desktop, but which PDF tool that it is varies from firm to firm. Here we explain why Nuance PDF Pro is the right solution for law firms.

Enhancing business efficiency           

Nuance PDF Pro, the powerful PDF tool, is the optimal solution for the legal industry. It seamlessly converts paper into PDF, enhancing business efficiency by eliminating the need to manually retype information. Additionally it converts PDFs into documents of an accurate format, so that they are fully editable Microsoft Office documents. Where Adobe Acrobat doesn’t PDF Pro also converts PDF forms into fillable Microsoft Word forms. Furthermore, another area that Adobe Acrobat lets you down in is its inability to convert PDF to XPS and Corel WordPerfect (.wpd). With PDF Pro you can convert a selected area of a page using OCR, to a Word, Excel, PowerPoint, WordPerfect, or PDF document, which Adobe Acrobat can’t, making PDF Pro the clear winner in terms of its conversion options.

Speed up productivity further with PDF Pro, as you can create PDFs from any printable PC application, so time and energy is not wasted unnecessarily entering data. As lawyers work with PDFs so frequently, it is important to have a solution that allows you to edit your PDF files, like in a word processor, for example using the PDF Pro Advanced Edit feature. The extras PDF Pro give you in terms of conversion and editing, which enhance efficiency, puts it above Adobe Acrobat.

Security

PDF Pro is ideal for the legal industry because it ensures that confidentiality is never compromised, and the tightest security regulations can be kept to. The security features include; encryption and secure storage, user authentication, redaction and an audit trail that tracks any changes made to the documents.

PDF Pro has increased levels of security compared to Adobe Acrobat converters, for example you can drag and drop security profiles to quickly and easily secure documents. You can also add annotations to documents such as; text boxes, stamps and mark ups etc. or filled form field fixed and permanent, preventing unwanted changes.

Integration

PDF Pro is a fitting choice for firms because of its ability to seamlessly integrate with your DMS, so that all documents converted into PDFs are stored in one central location to streamline work. Furthermore, unlike Adobe Acrobat, PDF Pro allows you to open and save your PDF files to your cloud storage service, using the Nuance Cloud Connector, to make archiving simple. Additionally you can access your documents stored in your chosen cloud platform, enhancing business efficiency, as time is not wasted entering data unnecessarily, with automated conversion of both paper files and PDFs.

Cost

Firms should consider switching to Nuance PDF Pro, because it is the smartest value in PDF software. Its features match Adobe Acrobat, whilst offering compelling extras, such as; more conversion options, additional security and seamless integration with your DMS and cloud service. Therefore PDF Pro should be the obvious choice for firms because of the matching features and its competitive pricing, which means it is considerably cheaper than Adobe.

Why Nikec?

When firms are considering switching to Nuance PDF Pro they need to choose a suitable provider by determining key priorities for the firm. For example Nikec Solutions has been providing solutions to law firms for 19 years, and prides itself in its technical support, making it the optimal supplier of Nuance PDF Pro. 

Next Up, the new event in legal IT

On 23^rd February we attended Next Up, the one day event aimed at mentoring, developing and guiding future leaders of IT in legal. The event was held in London at Tanner Warehouse, and throughout the day we heard from various different speakers, and interactive round tables were held to discuss a variety of topics. Key ideas we took away from the day were about networking, what it takes to be a good leader and how to be a good leader in legal IT.

The day began with a session from Jacqui Thornton, who started things off with networking bingo. This entailed everyone going around and speaking to different people in the room in order to fill in a sheet of statements, finding one person per statement. After this icebreaker Jacqui spoke about the importance of networking and gave us some tips. Key things we took away included; prepare- decide what you’re objectives are and set up follow up meetings, Batari’s box how you think and act affects how the person you’re networking with thinks and acts, and vice versa, 93% of communication is non-verbal, therefore it is important to pay attention to what someone is not saying and react similarly. 

A panel discussion was led by Rupert Collins-White of LSN, and on the panel was Christina Blacklaws of Cripps LLP, Maurice Tunney of Keystone Law, Oliver Morris of Picture More and Moira Slape of Travers Smith, who discussed ‘Climbing the Ladder’.  Key ideas to come from the session were; to be a good leader you should be able to read people, make tough decisions, communicate effectively and engage and influence others. Furthermore, leaders should be passionate about what the people they are trying to lead are passionate about. Another point was that law firms don’t do enough for managerial progress, as daily work gets in the way and leadership is a skill we should be developing regardless of if the employee is a fee earner or not.

Chris White, of Clyde & Co discussed ‘Strategies for Success’ for leaders in legal IT, stating that IT needed to be viewed as a discipline, business needs to be thought about first then technology. Furthermore, when speaking to decision makers, those in IT should talk about the benefits of technology, not the technology itself. He also encouraged future leaders to push the boundaries, and being proactive to work out how you can help the business grow.

Luan de Burgh, of de Burgh group topic was ‘Breaking Through to the Next Level’, he spoke about what it takes to be a good leader;  you need to be likeable so that people will want to do what you say, you need to lead by example and do what you want others to do. He suggested that it is important to be a people developer and provide them with the right tools to develop.  The qualities of a good leader are; the ability to engage others, make decisions, anticipate problems before they happen, find opportunities, be emotionally predictable and be able to praise people. Luan de Burgh stated that leaders should not seek approval; it’s not about your ego, you should put yourself last.

In between the sessions there were interactive round tables, covering the topics; effective communication, better business insight, embracing agile, managing the disconnect between users and systems, security challenges for 2016, monitoring and measuring service availability, and the future of collaboration and mobility. We hosted a table on ‘Effective Communication’, and some really interesting ideas came up. Phil Wood, Head of IT at Bristows, spoke about the pain point they are reaching trying to manage email at the firm. As every email is filed there are duplicates, and the amount of storage space it is taking up is excessive. Law firm’s feel under pressure from clients to move away from email as it’s not secure, and are concerned about security breaches releasing their personal data. Bristows have selected Nikec Hub to help move communications, so clients can securely access on demand information without having to contact the firm. They want to change the company culture and create a better experience for the client, by putting all information in one centralised space.

The event was a great success, and we took away some interesting ideas from the day about leadership and technology. In particular, the conversation around what it takes to be a good IT leader within the legal sector brought out some inspiring ideas, we look forward to attending the next event!

Nikec reviews ILTA’s 2015 Technology Survey and highlights a few common problematic areas for law firms

ILTA’s published their 2015 Technology Survey back in December, which reports the input of 420 firms representing more than 88,000 attorneys and 185,000 users.  In this article we highlight the finds we think are most important, and discuss the solutions to resolve common problems raised in the survey.

Security issues

The survey asked firms what the top 3 technology issues or annoyances are within their firms, security/risk management was at the top of the list with 42%. However, when asked what large file transfer or host file sharing solutions does your firm all or provide to attorneys, Dropbox came in  second with 18%. This is surprising because it is a consumer base solution which does not provide the levels of security that firms need to share sensitive files and confidential data. Firms should be looking for an enterprise solution that provides levels of security appropriate for their law firm’s security policy to resolve the issue of sharing large files.

Mobile Working

ILTA’s survey asked ‘Does your firm provide any firm-owned devices that provide wireless access when travelling while away from the office?’ 21% of firms answered with none or N/A. Additionally, when asked about which hosted file sharing solution their firm uses, 7% answered with none or N/A. In order for people to work remotely, it would be essential to have a file sharing platform agreed to by the firm, to access files the necessary files to work on. This is interesting, as the stats suggest many firms are not encouraging employees to work whilst away from the office. However, more and more people need to work remotely and whilst on the move, with the enhancement of technology to make this easy why are firms not making the most out of this? This indicates that firms are limiting employees by not providing them with the appropriate tools to work whilst away from the office.

Improving Client Relations

Furthermore when asked; ‘Does your firm have an extranet?’ 44% answered none or N/A. As well as providing a space for internal collaboration, an extranet provides a place for clients to access documents and files related to their case. Additionally, along with many firms lacking an extranet 54% do not use any enterprise social networking tool for internal or client communications. Firms do not have the right tools to communicate internally and with clients, whilst out of the office. Firms should look for a tool that will encourage collaboration and enhance communications both internally and externally, to help improve client relations.

Cloud Technologies

ILTA found 51% of firms predict their adoption of cloud-based solutions will increase over the next year. Security is the biggest barrier for firm’s moving technology to the cloud with 44% of the vote, whilst cost comes in second (36%).  Therefore firms should be looking for a cloud-base solution that fits inline with their security regulations, encryption, two factor authentication and audit trails are just some features that they should consider. Moreover, to ensure security protocols are kept to, firms can choose to have data in the cloud hosted by a vendor, or on premise in a data centre run at the firm. With affordable cloud solutions available for firms of all sizes cost should not be considered a barrier. 

ILTA’s survey has brought attention to some of the key issues law firms are facing today, with security at the top of the list. Law firms should look to technology made specifically for them to comply with their strict regulations, rather than using consumer based goods, which could result in breaches. It would be beneficial for firms to encourage mobile working, and provide their employees with the right tools to do so. They also would give themselves a competitive edge by providing clients with a secure tool to communicate and access data on demand, without having to go through the firm. The adoption of cloud-based solutions in law firms is predicted to increase over the year, selecting solutions that provide proper levels security will ensure that this is not a barrier restricting the adoption of cloud-based solutions for firms. 

How can an extranet enhance your firm’s communications?

The way lawyers and clients are communicating has changed with the development of technology. There is now many different ways to communicate such as; email, texting, instant messaging, over the phone or face-to-face. Without a standard way to communicate it can mean that messages don’t correspond and are miscommunicated, and so shouldn't law firms have one recognised method of communication with their clients?

All these different methods of communicating can get confusing, as different messages are sent over different communication platforms. Firms should have one centralised area where any information, resources, ideas and feedback can be exchanged, where all the information about a case can be shared, so the client and anyone working on the case can access all the data in one place. An extranet can provide a firm with a solution for this, so that the user doesn’t have to be in any particular location to access it, making it ideal for sharing information with clients who will be accessing it externally from the firm. Information is accessible on demand and no one needs to be contacted to share data, which will improve communications and client relationships.

Email is a popular way to communicate; however it is not always secure for sending confidential information, as the data is often not encrypted leaving it susceptible to intervention. Choosing an extranet that stores and sends files with encryption would mean that information can be communicated securely. An audit trail and the ability to set different security levels set for each user means that data about cases is communicated to the right people.

People often reply to all or the sender only, which creates many replies to one email and the stream gets lost, deadlines can be missed as they are hidden away in long threads. Additionally over the phone or face-to-face communications can cause disparate messages, as people may forget the action they need to take or what deadline they agreed to. Having one centralised place for data sharing, would mean that it would be the same between colleagues, clients, counsel and suppliers, and there would be no disparate messages or errors, so everyone is kept up to date regarding cases.

Firms should be making the most out of an extranet, as it is an effective way to share information; it enhances company-wide business communication and client relationships by providing on demand information in one centralised location. 

Nikec Solutions [ www.nikecsolutions.com ]

Nikec Hub is a powerful file sharing and collaboration platform that allows integration with your document and practice management system do seamlessly present documents and reporting to your clients in one portal.

Nikec Hub provides firms with a secure and efficient way of managing information, while enhancing communications and collaboration with colleague and clients. It integrates seamlessly with your document management system allowing users to create their own extranet in a few quick steps. It also integrates with many practice management systems enabling firms to provide up-to-date management information to their clients all from within a single, powerful portal. Visit Nikec Hub page

  

Need more information or want to test drive Nikec Hub? Contact us as info@nikecsolutions.com

Why integration is key to improving a law firm’s processes?

Document exchanges between law firms and its clients and/or counsel are rapidly changing, with the move to the ‘less paper’ office. More often than not documents are processed and stored in a digital format, and hence are now exchanged electronically, especially with the rise of file sharing and extranet portals. Whilst using technology to improve this process is a positive move within law firms, many are only at the start of this journey and have not necessarily improved the process, they have just shifted it from paper to electronic. So what can law firms do with this technology to not only move ‘less paper’, but to improve and speed up the process, and give a value add to their clients?

An extranet is a perfect solution for sharing electronic files with clients, a professional platform, for a professional firm. Many firms upload documents to an extranet, which is the part of the process that is far too often manual. Some might say it needs to be manual to avoid wrongly sharing a document or information, however having tight integration with your DMS (Document Management System) and your extranet solution is key to improving and speeding up the process. It doesn't need to be 100% automated, but it doesn't need to be 100% manual either.

A DMS allows lawyers to keep all documents regarding a matter in one place. For a want of a better term, it is an electronic library. Getting documents from the DMS to an extranet could be as simple as right clicking on the document or folder in the matter, and sending or synchronising it with your extranet. This allows firms to share all of the matter from their DMS with their client in one secure place at the click of a button. Simple hey!

Let’s not stop at document exchange when improving the ‘less paper’ process. With the ever changing laws and constant development of solutions to increase business efficiency and present analytics, law firms are under more pressure now than ever to report this to their clients and keep them informed. Having a place where law firms can display this information relevant to each client would go a long way to improving the law firm to client relationship, the overall perception of professionalism and care a law firm gives their client, which in turn is seen as value for money.

Given what we have already mentioned about file sharing and extranets being on the increase, wouldn’t it make sense to integrate these two processes? So when a client accessed their documents they could also access reporting information such as WIP (work in progress) all in one place. Clients have high expectations and want data on demand at anytime and anywhere, therefore some extranets are built with this in mind, allowing the user to integrate all their desired systems into one place. The ability to present clients with data on demand, along with their documents helps build a good relationship with them by developing trust and reliability. And guess what? This also improves your internal processes and saves you time and money when trying to keep your client informed.

It should be a priority for any law firm to have one place to share documents and reporting data with their clients. Not only does it make it easier for clients to access information about their case, it also frees up more time internally by improving and speeding up the process. This integration will help assist with a firm’s transparency to its clients, and not only help retain the client, but it should also help expand your business with your clients by upselling other services.

If you are a law firm reading this and you don’t have a solution that delivers this, you should be worried. If you aren’t doing it, someone else is, and it won’t take long for your clients to realise that!

Nikec Solutions [ www.nikecsolutions.com ]

Nikec Hub is a powerful file sharing and collaboration platform that allows integration with your document and practice management system do seamlessly present documents and reporting to your clients in one portal.

Nikec Hub provides firms with a secure and efficient way of managing information, while enhancing communications and collaboration with colleague and clients. It integrates seamlessly with your document management system allowing users to create their own extranet in a few quick steps. It also integrates with many practice management systems enabling firms to provide up-to-date management information to their clients all from within a single, powerful portal. Visit Nikec Hub page

  

Need more information or want to test drive Nikec Hub? Contact us as info@nikecsolutions.com

How secure are your documents?

It seems like cybercrime is in the news every other week with stories of security issues and sensitive data getting hacked or accessed by the wrong person. Therefore it is questionable where is it safe for lawyers to store and transmit files containing information about cases, now that most firms are ‘less-paper’? Some perceptions of cloud technology however are that they fall to the risk of security breaches, but is this just a perception and how much safer is it than moving physical documents?

When law firms rely on paper based system such as the post or carrying files in taxis, they are in danger of threatening the security of these files, as they could be mislaid or intercepted by someone who does not have a legal right to see those documents. Clearly moving to an electronic document makes sense, but does it come with risk?

Over the last few weeks there have been news reports surrounding the hacking of Talk Talk, and the fact the personal data they were storing was unencrypted which has meant that millions of people around the UK could have been affected by this. With sensitive data such as; names, addresses and bank details being stolen, this type of theft leaves their customers in danger of fraudulent crime. Despite the fact this is the third time this year that they have been hacked, Talk Talk have stated that legally the data protection act does not require them to encrypt this type of data. 
 

So you can see why there is a security fear around transferring sensitive documents within law firms, therefore encryption is a must. In addition, many systems that lawyers often rely on to share files and collaborate on documents often do not provide encryption, posing a threat to the security of the highly sensitive data they deal with every day. Extranets protect data when stored on server or during transfer through the use of encryption technology. Granular permission settings of extranets means that there is greater security over important documents, different permissions can be set for different users, so that files are only seen by those who have permission. This gives greater control for the firm, as well giving the firm, its lawyers and its clients reassurance, as reporting functions can be set so that the system tracks when users look at or edit files and reports it. Furthermore, some extranets give you the option of using cloud or on premise solutions to fit a firm’s requirements and security needs. 

The recent attack on Talk Talk demonstrates how important it is that sensitive data is stored and shared securely. So the reliance on old forms of sharing documents and files, leaves firms at risk of documents and sensitive files getting in the wrong hands. Extranets work to resolve these problems traditional methods pose, by creating a secure place to store and share data, giving greater control to firms over who can see and edit different documents.

 

Nikec Solutions [ www.nikecsolutions.com ]

Nikec Hub is a powerful secure file sharing and collaboration platform that makes sharing data between colleagues and clients simple.

Nikec Hub provides firms with a secure and efficient way of managing information, while enhancing communications and collaboration with colleague and clients. It integrates seamlessly with your document management system allowing users to create their own extranet in a few quick steps. It also integrates with many practice management systems enabling firms to provide up-to-date management information to their clients all from within a single, powerful portal. Visit Nikec Hub page

Need more information or want to test drive Nikec Hub? Contact us as info@nikecsolutions.com

 

Knowledge sharing - 'A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers' *

 

Fundamentally knowledge management is about making the right knowledge available to the right people at the right time. So why is it many employees and employers fail to share valuable information that could save someone else time or win someone else new business. Also, I strongly believe what goes around comes around, so share knowledge how you would like knowledge to be shared with you, don’t hoard it away like a squirrel stashing nuts. 

 

 

 

Many would say the purpose of knowledge sharing is to help your company meet its business objectives. However, knowledge is often seen as information, but I read a great article recently that is spot on. It used a cake as a metaphor. It stated that the ingredients was the information. It then stated a good cook would probably be able to make the cake and a good cake, however a not so experienced cook may not. The reason is there is no recipe. The knowledge is the recipe. Now the good cook will make an excellent cake.

There is also a lot of information on the internet today, however they say 70% of statistics are made up, so what do you believe? Therefore the success of knowledge sharing between peers is crucial, but it can depend on the habit and willingness of you and your employees to seek out, and be receptive to, these knowledge sources. It also relies heavily on implementing and using the right tools to share knowledge.

Here are some key areas where knowledge sharing can aid the business;

• Staff turnover. Knowledge doesn't walk out the door when staff leave and when new staff join, knowledge gives your new employees a much better chance to get into the flow of day to day work at a quicker rate. Think how much time you spend training new staff the same subject matter over and over.
• Knowledge sharing can save time. Think how much time you spend searching for information in many systems, and how many times do you find nothing relevant or you question the validity. Knowledge sharing by the people you know and work with should build trust in the information.
• Competitive advantage. If you aren't doing it you can be damn sure one of your competitors are. Why would you turn down the chance to gain competitive edge?

One point to note. We are in a world of accelerated change these days, so keeping knowledge up to date is just as key as starting it in the first place.

In conclusion, you need to be creating the right knowledge sharing culture. To do that, the right knowledge tool can make all the difference, and companies that centrally collaborate are far more successful than their not so open counterparts.

*Plato

Nikec Solutions [ www.nikecsolutions.com ]

Nikec Hub is a powerful file sharing and collaboration platform that makes sharing knowledge between colleagues and clients simple.

Nikec Hub provides firms with a secure and efficient way of managing information, while enhancing communications and collaboration with colleague and clients. It integrates seamlessly with your document management system allowing users to create their own extranet in a few quick steps. It also integrates with many practice management systems enabling firms to provide up-to-date management information to their clients all from within a single, powerful portal. Visit Nikec Hub page

  

Need more information or want to test drive Nikec Hub? Contact us as info@nikecsolutions.com

 

Making an extranet your own – the importance of brand in a law firm

You would like to think most, if not all, your lawyers understand the importance of your company identity. Your brand is more than a logo or a slogan, it’s about your customer’s experience. Every touch point from your website to the way you answer the phone is key. Ultimately your brand is the way your customers perceive you.

 

Many law firms have spent a lot of time and money creating a brand, but then fall short when it comes to exchanging documents. Having an extranet in place is a first step of many, to providing a better customer experience. It’s only my opinion, but for law firms I don’t necessarily think uploading documents onto an unbranded free consumer file sharing platform and sending your client a link, really reflects a law firm image or reflects the company brand.

We’ve all walked into the grand reception areas of law firms where, given real estate is often at a premium, space is seen to be important in the reflecting the company image. So why when it comes to sharing documents in this digital age, why do many law firms not make the same effort? I am not saying spend a fortune on a solution, but at least make an effort. Can you imagine the customer experience your client would have if they walked into your reception area and they were asked to take a seat on a sofa you’d just purchased off Gumtree? You get my point.

There are many file sharing tools out there. Some do the basics well, but most don’t allow you to personalise and brand. By personalise I mean having a separate area/site for each of your clients that has your branding, but personalised to your customer. Adding your and your clients logo and corporate branding, keeps your brand message alive and using an extranet solution rather than a basic file sharing solution, extends your brand and gives your client another touch point.

Nikec Solutions [ www.nikecsolutions.com ]

Nikec Hub is a powerful file sharing and collaboration platform that allows you to personalise and brand each and every extranet.

Nikec Hub provides firms with a secure and efficient way of managing information, while enhancing communications and collaboration with colleague and clients. It integrates seamlessly with your document management system allowing users to create their own extranet in a few quick steps. It also integrates with many practice management systems enabling firms to provide up-to-date management information to their clients all from within a single, powerful portal. Visit Nikec Hub page

  

Need more information or want to test drive Nikec Hub? Contact us as info@nikecsolutions.com

 

 

Why should users care how big the file they send is?

With the move to a less paper office, the increase in sending documents via email, rather than via post,  is on the constant increase. The size of the attachments is also ever increasing due to the powerful document creation technologies out there today.

There are many ways to share files in today’s world, be it a file sharing or a dedicated transfer solution (some consumer and some not), but many have the same flaw – the user has to do something different from the normal email sending process they are used to, to accomplish the large file send. Why should they? File sharing is more for collaboration with longevity than a one off exchange of an important document. I am all for less emails and more collaboration but not everyone is and you can’t fit a square peg in a round hole.

Also, most people probably never even realise they can’t send large files via email until they hit the roadblock. Most mail servers (both incoming and outgoing) restrict attachment sizes to a maximum of 10MB, and often it can be less than that. I’ve heard stories of IT managers getting calls from their users (lawyers in this case) at the weekend because the important attachment they sent late Friday has just bounced and their client needs it now. I’ve also heard stories of users switching to a consumer email system to exchange emails as often the maximum attachments limits are higher (Yahoo and Gmail allow 20-25MB respectively).

What you want to happen is that your user does nothing different in their process to how they normally send emails, regardless of the size of email and pertaining attachments. Why should the user have to upload a document to a file sharing solution, create a link and embed it into their email? Some users, regardless of the letters after their name,  are just not tech savvy and want something more user friendly and intuitive.

Back to the question in the title ‘Why should users care how big the file they send is?’ – The answer is they shouldn’t. And, the process for doing so should be the norm. So next time you look at a file sharing and collaboration solution to answer the large file send needs, think about the user experience and the process they will go through to achieve this goal and whether the solution has this feature.

Nikec Solutions [ www.nikecsolutions.com ]

Nikec Hub is a powerful file sharing and collaboration platform with in built email large file send, so your user doesn't need to change their process or waste time with blocked attachments.

Nikec Hub provides firms with a secure and efficient way of managing information, while enhancing communications and collaboration with colleague and clients. It integrates seamlessly with your document management system allowing users to create their own extranet in a few quick steps. It also integrates with many practice management systems enabling firms to provide up-to-date management information to their clients all from within a single, powerful portal. Visit Nikec Hub page

  

Need more information or want to test drive Nikec Hub? Contact us as info@nikecsolutions.com

 

Why are we not all using enterprise collaboration platforms?

 How many times this week have you sent out an email to more than one person and the replies come back thick and fast, and before you know it you have many replies all in different emails and getting this back into one string is near on impossible. Then add attachments to the mix and this potentially multiplies the problem.

Am I saying stop using email now? Not yet I’m not, but there is obviously a problem that needs solving. There are solutions out there that solve this exact issue, but why are we not all using them? (I am not saying this is the only problem these solutions solve too)

I have spoken to many clients that say in 5 years no one will be using email in their firm. I disagree; I just don’t think that will happen. What I think will happen is, it will become like faxing is now – very limited. There is always someone that has to send/receive a fax, but faxing has dropped off a cliff in the last 5 or so years (just ask the law firms that used to charge for a lot of faxing). So for me it will be ‘less email’ rather than ‘email-less’.

The younger generations of today are already moving away from email and using social media and messaging services instead. I very rarely receive an email from my younger cousins, but you can’t keep them off WhatsApp or Facebook.

One of the main problems is email is so widely used today and by so many people that stopping using it could affect your business. I’ve read about the firms that ban internal email and only use email for external. I think this is a good idea, but has serious flaws. Asking staff to switch from email (from a client that you would normally forward on for comment) to say, an enterprise collaboration platform, is putting up a barrier that some staff will struggle with.

Enterprise collaboration platforms generally refer to the system that combines tools and processes to ensure employees can connect and collaborate with the people, information and the resources they
require at any given time.

I have used firm owned enterprise collaboration platforms with clients for managing projects and so many times I hear…’can you not just email it to me’ from their own staff. There is nothing wrong essentially with the platforms they are using, staff just don’t buy into it.

And there is another problem. I heard these words the other day ‘there are loads of collaboration platforms used today and so many passwords to remember, it’s just not as easy as email’. I’m sure most people would say email systems are simple and easy to use, however is that because we are used to using one platform every day that rarely changes. If you jump between Outlook 2010, 2013, Yahoo and Gmail every day for a week, the user experience is so different it’s enough to put you off using email.

My conclusion is, like with many projects and implementations, it’s very much about buy in and leadership. There is an answer and a better solution to the problem and maybe this will evolve with time as the younger generation grow into the business world, but it is not widely adopted enough yet, and are the leaders in businesses using them enough and in the right way and leading from the front? Enterprise collaboration platforms give you not only a way to improve the flow of information between employees and customers, but also a way to facilitate interaction with employees internally. I believe the successful businesses of tomorrow are already using enterprise collaboration platforms internally and externally.

So will I stop using email tomorrow? No, but we are using our own collaboration platform (Nikec Hub) and Salesforce Chatter to cut down on internal email…. Oh and using the old fashioned option of speaking to someone directly. Plus I got my dad using email last year, after countless times of trying, but he swears he’ll never get on social media so I’ll keep my Yahoo account live a bit longer.

Damian Jeal [    ]

Nikec Solutions [ www.nikecsolutions.com ]




Nikec Hub is a powerful extranet for all your firms collaboration, communication and document security needs.

Nikec Hub is an extranet that provides firms with a secure and efficient way of managing information, while enhancing communications and collaboration with colleague and clients. It integrates seamlessly with your document management system allowing users to create their own extranet in a few quick steps. It also integrates with many practice management systems enabling firms to provide up-to-date management information to their clients all from within a single, powerful portal.

Need more information or want to test drive Nikec Hub? Contact us as info@nikecsolutions.com

 

ALA 2015 Report – Less Paper, Paperless or Paper-Lite?

  Last week I went to the ALA Expo, to exhibit and find out what law firms are doing in their effort to be paperless.

ALA, The Association of Legal Administrators, is tagged as the undisputed leader for the business of law and law practice management. ALA provides law office advice and resources for all aspects of legal management with one aspect being their Annual Conference & Expo, which this year was in Nashville. For the delegates the expo is an excellent resource for information and education, as well as for networking with and learning from peers.

Having been in Nashville 9 months earlier for ILTA 2014, I knew what to expect from the city – music, music and music. If you haven’t been lucky enough to visit Nashville, you should add it to your list of must go to cities in the US. The ALA Expo was held in the Music City Center, which is a brand new facility with over 350,000 square feet of hall space and the largest Grand Ballroom in the state. Whilst many exhibitors attend both ILTA and ALA, ALA has a very different attendee list that gives vendors a chance to get involved in discussions from a different angle to those at ILTA.

Music Center - Nashville

At Nikec we are very much focused on the less-paper office and client engagement. From our digital binder (Nikec Binder) and extranet (Nikec Hub) solutions through to our outlook email printing reduction tool (ThreadPrint). We had a busy 3 days at our exhibition booth. Whilst the terminology - less paper, paperless or paper-lite – changed per delegate, the theme is the same. They all have a focus on reducing paper in their firms. However, many are at different stages and it’s not always the big well known firms that are leading the way.

Aside from the exhibition area, there were many seminars running for all to attend. The one that really caught my eye pre event, was one led by Deborah Novachick of Strategic Automation Consulting. I set off on my long walk from the exhibition area, in the far corner on level 3, to room 104 where 200 or so delegates were sat. The 1 hour 45 minutes seminar flew by, as Deborah delivered a very engaging talk titled – ‘The paperless office - 20 years in the making and counting’. It was very much focused on a case study of a San Francisco law firm and the role of the Administrator in this project.

There were some great takeaways from the talk and too many for this blog, but here are some key ones:

· It’s hard to change the culture in the law firm to be paperless, so engage the right people in the firm to help gain support with your paperless project. This case study was put on hold originally due to lack of budget and support.

· Think about the generation of staff. It’s not one size fits all, so focus on how you approach this.

· Build a mixed team, and to do that focus on their strengths. In this case study they reflected on the Amazon best seller of 2013 Strength Finders to help with this. And to quote “people who focus on strengths are 9 times more likely to be engaged in their jobs”. Also people involved in paperless projects feel good about saving the environment. They are often paperless type people at home, so get them onside.

· Lawyers and clients are the ones that create the most paper. So there is a need to engage with the client and your lawyers on how and why you are going paperless. Lawyers using tablets are often pushing for paperless, but sometimes they are not thinking where to store the data (e.g. consumer file sharing). There is an education needed here. Also if lawyers can retrieve and access the documents easily there will be a stronger buy in.

· Create a general policy to stop paper coming into the firm then refine to handle internal points such as reducing email printing. And STOP maintaining both hard copy and paper files.

· Start by scanning incoming mail as an early task in your paperless project. Make new matter intakes paperless. Make sure users have confidence in the DMS, not just to save and store documents, but to find them and use them regularly like you would the paper file.

· OCR your documents and get your naming convention right and sell it within the firm.

· Dual monitors were used by most in the room, but many lawyers still don’t. You need to help lawyers take what was on their desk space real estate onto their screens and dual screens will help this along with the right applications.

· Print without cover page and double sided - make sure you have the correct technology in place (at least 15% of the room still use cover pages).

· You can't manage what you can't measure – you need tools in place to measure your paper output over time to show you are reducing paper and in what areas, which will allow you to constantly improve.

The consensus from the room was printing and scanning is going up and copying is reducing, which is a good sign everyone is moving in the right direction.

My big take away from this event was everyone is trying, and some trying very hard, to move to the paperless office. However, they all still have issues which are not always the same. Users still remain the key to your success and it’s about finding the right technology to help, as it can’t be achieved on persistence alone.

Until next year, see you in Los Angeles for ALA 2016.


Damian Jeal
VP Global Sales @ Nikec Solutions

 

Damian Jeal [    ]

Nikec Solutions [ www.nikecsolutions.com ]