Print in the Channel - issue #18

DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT IN LEGAL AND FINANCIAL

contract management quite seamlessly.” Benedickt agrees that compliance is critical. “They need a system that helps them navigate regulations like HIPAA and GDPR,” he says. “Finally, user-friendliness is essential for employee adoption. A system that’s clunky and difficult to learn will never be used, so an intuitive and user-friendly interface is key.” Reseller conversations But when talking to legal and financial businesses, security is one of just several aspects of document management solutions that resellers should be emphasising. “Resellers must explain the benefits and future-proof nature of a cloud-native DMS,” says Roy. “There are many reasons: the business will save on costs as there is no need to invest in on-premises infrastructure or the maintenance of the application as that will be taken care of by the DMS provider. Alongside this, the firm will always be on the latest version of the application. That is the beauty of cloud applications – no upgrade cycles are needed. “Also highlighting the cloud infrastructure that is used by the DMS provider is key. For instance, is it Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud or Microsoft Azure, for example? In the legal and financial services sectors, with most firms already operating on Microsoft technologies, Microsoft Azure delivers significant advantages – scalability, especially if the adoption of generative AI is a goal, and strong disaster recovery. Additionally, some DMS like iManage collaborate closely with Microsoft to develop newer capabilities and integrations that can be beneficial for the longer-term, for example the integration of Copilot.

“Ensuring that the firm’s data sovereignty needs are understood and met is important in an ever-expanding regulatory landscape. Due to the legal and financial sectors being highly regulated, firms can have varying requirements for where their data is stored and processed based on client mandates, the firm’s data protection policies, and jurisdictional demands. Not all DMS can meet data sovereignty requirements at a granular level. In fact, this is a question that every firm adopting a DMS must explicitly ask of their technology provider! “A good reseller will have a best practice customer success programme that handholds the client from design to implementation and adoption. It is a critical element of any technology deployment, especially a DMS due to its business-critical nature. No matter how good the DMS is, if the implementation process – from start to finish – isn’t thought through, it can lead to disruption, project delays, and ultimately lack of user adoption, and in turn poor return on the investment.” Michael agrees, saying that resellers should highlight features such as enhanced security, and improved efficiency. “Compliance with regulatory requirements can also be particularly persuasive,” he adds. “Additionally, showcasing the potential for cost savings through reduced physical storage needs and the ability to access documents remotely can appeal to businesses looking to modernise their operations. “Resellers should also stress the importance of integration with existing systems and the flexibility to scale as the business grows. Demonstrating how these solutions can streamline workflows, improve client service, and reduce risk will resonate with decision-

Legal businesses need solutions that can intelligently process documents, enabling communication with clients across whatever channel they prefer.

Phil Jones senior business development director

quadient.com

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