LexisNexis Enterprise Solutions today (14 January) announced the latest release of its case management system Lexis Visualfiles, which includes architectural improvements to (ultimately) support deployment in Microsoft Azure and create a “certified pathway” to Lexis Everyfile.
Visualfiles is a Progress-based system but as of 2014 has been available on a Microsoft SQL Server platform. We’re told that this release, Visualfiles 6, optimises Visualfiles’ database engine Lexis Core for the latest version of Microsoft SQL. Lexis says that the improvements to Lexis Core and User-Defined screens are reflected in adjustments to Pro2SQL, its SQL data warehouse tool, which can power the exploitation of Generative AI.
Speaking to Legal IT Insider about the release, LexisNexis product director Nigel Williams said: “We’ve had a SQL back end for a very long time. What we want to do, what this 6 architecture will allow us to do, is exploit native Azure SQL. So rather than having a SQL platform, and you put it into Azure and it’s a virtualized environment, we want to be able to take advantage of cloud Azure, which is a different beast. This is what 6 starts to allow us to do.”
He adds: “Contrary to what might be often challenged by our competitors, Visualfiles isn’t going away, it’s proven in that high volume environment.”
Everyfile, meanwhile, is LexisNexis’ web-based matter management application, available on Microsoft Azure, which provides case management for more complex/less volume matters. It was formally released at the tail end of 2023 with a view to helping law firms to systematise and capture higher end legal work. Clyde & Co is an early adopter and we spoke to head of legal delivery and innovation, Nick Roberts last year here: https://legaltechnology.com/2024/01/15/clyde-co-partners-with-lexisnexis-on-the-development-and-roll-out-of-everyfile/.
Both Everyfile and Visualfiles sit on the Lexis Omni platform and Williams said: “There can be confusion about Everyfile, Visualfiles and Omni. I talk about Omni as everything we can offer, whether that’s accelerators, a workflow platform, Omni is everything and there are two ways you can hook into the technology: you can use Visualfiles, which is a proven Windows-based solution, or the other way is via Everyfile, the newer web-based solution deployed via Azure, and they both connect into the same back end.”
Williams says that the architectural updates allow Everyfile to coexist alongside a Visualfiles world, commenting: “We have customers who will be using Visualfiles and have no wish to move to Everyfile or even start adopting it. But we have a lot of people who have pockets where a web solution would work for them so this is about how can we support both,” adding, “We’re in a world where both complement one another and coexist.”
Further changes in 6 include enabling customers to more easily integrate Visualfiles with their preferred finance and accounting system – beyond the existing options. Williams said: “We made some underlying architectural improvements to make it easier to exchange time recording and disbursement data on a more granular level. We’ve also created an agnostic accounts integration starter template, which exploits the enhancements and makes it easier for an organisation to connect to a 3rd party accounts system and share client, matter, time, and disbursements.”
While Visualfiles has always provided legal forms integration, this new version delivers online forms via One Advanced Cloud Forms.
For further info see: https://www.lexisnexis-es.co.uk/products/lexis-visualfiles/