Paper-to-digital to take centre stage in 2016

After years of discussion on the merits of a paperless office, at last law firms will decisively make paper-to-digital transformation a high

-priority action item within their larger business programme. This will be driven by business objectives, of course, but also
by the availability of advanced technology that allows organisations to innovatively think about paper flow
processes in their organisation, from creation and maintenance through to destruction
and archiving of electronic
matter files.

Furthermore, with email traffic growing incessantly, abetted by other forms of communication via mobile devices and in a variety of formats and file sizes, user frustration is close to reaching tipping point. They are realising that the Microsoft Outlook inbox - the accidental collaboration tool - is simply not fit for purpose. This will compel users to demand practical and functionally rich email and document lifecycle management systems for information storage and collaboration. Due to increased mobile and remote working, strict limits placed by IT departments on the size of the inbox and file transfers, alongside the imposition (and rightly so) of stringent corporate security policies preventing them from using external collaboration tools (e.g. Dropbox), collaboration across an organisation is greatly hindered presently.

The new and innovative email and document management tools coming onto the market in 2016 will be attractive to small law firms and in-house corporate counsels alike. In the last couple of years, lawyer mobility within the industry has increased, and many have moved to smaller firms, branched out on their own, or joined in-house legal departments. Often, lawyers experience disappointment in their new roles on finding that they don't have access to the same productivity tools as they did previously. To equip staff with the necessary tools, organisations will find that these applications are well within their reach: rather than purchasing directly from software vendors, they will acquire systems from solutions providers which have expressly developed propositions that reduce the total cost of ownership of technology and reliance on internal IT resources. In doing so, these niche solutions providers will remove the typical obstacles that prevent smaller firms and legal departments from acquiring 'best of breed' systems.

Interestingly, 2016 will see app stores make inroads in legal. The types of commercial models will expand significantly with software as a service, managed services, and subscription-based licensing gaining adoption and, in some cases, replacing the traditional perpetual licensing model.

In 2016, law firms will take big steps towards facilitating the complete digital matter file while providing processes to satisfy those who still want to continue working with paper. This kind of balanced and practical approach will provide a stronger foundation for many other initiatives, including enterprise search, knowledge management, and even artificial intelligence, while meeting customer expectations and increasing customer satisfaction. SJ

Roy Russell is CEO of Ascertus Limited

@Ascertus

www.ascertus.com