We’ve a lot of new product launches and upgrades to catch-up with, including announcements from Peppermint Technology + DocsCorp + Sysero + Elite + Bighand + Aderant + LexisNexis
UK: Peppermint Technology has published full details of its new PeppDirect out-of-the-box version of its Peppermint Platform to meet the needs of law firms with a limited internal IT resource. The product is targeted at small and niche law firms who require ready to use software without any customisation. PeppDirect is a pre-configured, easy to use, modern legal software platform designed and built on Microsoft Dynamics and SharePoint. It provides the same modern, client centric functionality as the multi-award winning Peppermint Platform including: legal accounts, time recording, billing, document management, case management, CRM and marketing, business intelligence and reporting, risk management, legal online services all underpinned with a powerful business rules workflow engine. www.pepperminttechnology.co.uk
GLOBAL: DocsCorp has announce the release of cleanDocs Desktop 1.6 for managing metadata risks for desktop and mobile users. This is a hybrid solution that consists of two modules – cleanDocs Desktop and cleanDocs Mobile, removes more than 100 plus metadata types from documents at sub-second speeds, eliminating bottlenecks and lost productivity. Both modules can be deployed independently or together for a more comprehensive metadata management solution. New features include integration with HP WorkSite 8.5 & 9.0 as well as Microsoft Word 2010 and 2013 + support for Outlook 2007. www.docscorp.com
EMEA: Sysero knowledge products are currently used in more than a dozen top UK and Scandinavian law firms. The new Sysero 2.0 brings together four functions, which were previously only available as separate products, into a single high performance web based platform. Additionally Sysero 2.0 includes a new wiki/web page editor and a powerful Universal Search function. In particular, check out the Digital Drafting feature – this is an Microsoft Office based utility called Sysero Template Builder that works with the knowledge databases to create transaction templates that include static and optional information. Once the data has been entered, completed templates can be downloaded and used immediately or delivered by email. www.sysero.com
GLOBAL: Thomson Reuters Elite has introduced xcelerate Budgeting and Forecasting, a budgeting and forecasting solution strategically designed to help firms protect profits. Powered by OLAP Vision, xcelerate Budgeting and Forecasting is available to firms that use Elite’s 3E or Enterprise financial and practice management systems. From the intuitive dashboard interface, xcelerate provides a single view into firm-wide budgeting and forecasting, delivering detailed analyses of critical information through intuitive reports and alerts.
xcelerate provides real-time budgeting insights for management, ensuring their profits are constantly protected. Through the xcelerate Dashboard, users manage intuitive reports with drill down for detailed analysis of data. The solution’s real-time system alerts notify users of potential errors before they impact reporting data, while notable events widgets provide alerts in real-time when business thresholds are exceeded or require action. xcelerate’s employee calculation engine also rapidly updates timekeeper and employee data for up-to-date intelligence. Implementation time for xcelerate is reduced by up to 50% compared to other solutions by using the Elite Starter Kit. Its pre-configured worksheets and reports are tailored specifically for 3E and Enterprise integration. www.elite.com
GLOBAL: BigHand has launched a major enhancement to its Server-side Speech Recognition module that allows professionals to work in more than one language seamlessly while continuing to improve their individual accuracy. BigHand’s new audio codec ‘Opus’ also improves speech-to-text accuracy via remote devices in addition to optimized audio resampling for smartphones. BigHand Speech Recognition, which is powered by the Dragon SDK Server from Nuance, now supports multiple concurrent languages: Dutch, English, French and German. Compared to other out of the box desktop Speech Recognition solutions the BigHand software is compatible with all the major smartphone platforms, is compatible with terminal services and Citrix and the software can be seamlessly upgraded when required so professionals can always take advantage of the latest improvements in Speech Recognition technology. If required, the BigHand server-side system can also be integrated into document management systems when developed with the BigHand SDK.
Dan Speed, Managing Director Europe, commented: “Multi-lingual language support has been developed directly from feedback from our legal customers in Europe whose lawyers work on a pan-European basis in multiple languages. Likewise, following feedback from our users about smartphone and speech recognition usage, our new Opus codec for remote devices and the audio optimizations for smartphones enable better speech-to-text recognition when professionals are mobile working. We are always seeking to move our technology forward in a manner that helps our clients become more productive and these improvements show BigHand remains at the forefront of voice productivity for professionals.” www.bighand.com
US: Aderant has launched Aderant CompuLaw DocketAlert, which creates a direct link between court databases and Aderant’s CompuLaw Vision and MyView solutions. This direct connection allows law firms to automate yet another error-prone step in the calendaring process, thereby further decreasing risk of a malpractice suit due to missing a court deadline. Starting with Chicago area jurisdictions, CompuLaw DocketAlert creates a more seamless workflow by tracking court calls and black line notifications from within CompuLaw. Firms also receive email notifications when updates occur and are able to run reports of upcoming court calls and black line notifications. CompuLaw DocketAlert will be available for clients later this year via a subscription service. www.aderant.com
US: LexisNexis Legal & Professional has announced several enhancements to the LexisNexis Firm Manager online practice management solution for independent attorneys. The new enhancements provide a range of simple tools to make the process of managing documents and matters easier for small law firms. The showcase feature in this newest Firm Manager software release is “in-app” document editing. This allows an attorney to open, edit and save documents from within the Firm Manager application. The feature works with the Microsoft Office 2013 productivity suite, including Microsoft Word.
A secondary feature of this software release is the addition of an invoice status display alongside the matter view. This means the status of the top three paid – and unpaid accounts – is presented on the screen as an attorney or staff member views matters. The new feature adds to the billing and invoicing features released in September 2014 and provides a simple way to stay abreast of client payments and collectables – providing independent attorneys and staff with a 360 view of everything related to a matter. www.firmmanager.com