nFlow First to Offer Fully Supported Digital Dictation From iPhone in the UK

"Innovative solution to further advance mobile working; deliver enhanced efficiency and productivity gains"

nFlow, a leading developer of digital dictation software, today announced that it has developed an innovative and cost-effective solution that fully supports enterprise-class digital dictation from iPhone devices. Users of the iPhone and iPod Touch devices at nFlow’s customer organisations will now be able to send digital dictation recordings to their offices, for integration into their enterprises’ nFlow Digital Dictation System’s (DDS) Version 5.0 workflow, with the click of a button. With the growing popularity of iPhone in business, this solution will further enhance remote working in professional services firms, delivering increased productivity and efficiency gains to organisations. Integration of dictation recordings into DDSs’ workflow is crucial as it gives administrative staff full visibility of the tasks at hand and allows them to take the necessary action to deliver the best possible service to clients.

This solution is the first of its kind to be offered in the UK. No other UK digital dictation software vendor is able to offer advanced integration of dictations recorded on iPhones into their systems’ workflows. Enterprises using other DDSs on the market are only able to receive dictations from an iPhone as audio files via emails. As a result, there is no facility to capture crucial information such as title of the dictation or urgency of action as guidance for secretarial staff. This diminishes the business benefit of a DDS as a facilitator of efficient remote working.
This nFlow solution is yet another demonstration of the company’s innovative approach to software development, to meet the fast changing business requirements of the professional services sector, including legal and accountancy. nFlow already supports the BlackBerry and Windows Mobile platforms. The nFlow Version 5.0 is a next generation DDS and the only enterprise-class solution, completely based on the Microsoft .NET platform. It has been re-designed from the ground up and represents a significant technological advancement in digital dictation technology.

nFlow has closely worked with iPhone application developer, JOTOMI GmbH, to develop this solution. JOTOMI GmbH has modified its product, JMDictate (www.jotomi.com/jmdictate), a professional recording system, so that it fully integrates with the workflow in nFlow DDS Version 5.0, to deliver all the benefits of the DDS workflow to customers. For instance, irrespective of the mobile device used for the recordings, administrators and resource managers at nFlow customer organisations can have complete visibility of workloads per client, allowing them to manage and assign tasks based on their level of urgency and importance.

nFlow Sales & Marketing Director, Rob Lancashire, commented, “Similar to BlackBerry and Windows Mobile devices, the iPhone is fast gaining adoption as a business tool. We have developed this solution directly in response to customer demand. We are in talks with a number of organisations who are keen to give their fee-earners the ability to use their iPhone devices for digital dictation, allowing them to maximise their use as a remote working tool for business.
“In today’s web-based and geographically spread business environment, allowing remote working greatly contributes towards increasing staff productivity. We are finding that a key driver for the adoption of digital dictation in the professional services sector, particularly in the current economic climate, is its ability to facilitate effective remote working for fee-earners and administrative staff alike.”

iPhone users at customer organisations wishing to use their devices for digital dictation can very simply and cost-effectively download the professional version of JMDictate from the iTunes App Store for £5.99. Once recorded, by clicking ‘send to workflow’, the dictations are imported into the workflow of nFlow DDS Version 5.0 via an integration software deployed at their respective enterprises. nFlow DDS Version 5.0 is a Microsoft .NET work-flow based digital dictation solution that includes USB dictation and transcription hardware and provides a familiar Microsoft Outlook interface for users.

Leading UK Law Firm Improves Efficiency and Customer Service with BlackBerry Solution and Digital Dictation from nFlow

Freeth Cartwright LLP is one of the UK’s leading regional law firms, serving both commercial and private clients. Based in the East Midlands, with offices in Nottingham, Derby, Leicester, Manchester and Birmingham, the firm has a wide range of clients throughout the UK, many of which have international connections. Its 500-person staff, including 260 fee earners, serve clients both regionally and nationally. The firm has a tradition of embracing technology to improve efficiency. Its Applications Development team developed an award-winning bespoke workflow system called Case Viewer, which provides a comprehensive electronic work environment for lawyers. The firm was also an early adopter of the BlackBerry® solution. It uses a BlackBerry®Enterprise Server for Microsoft® Exchange.

THE CHALLENGE
Freeth Cartwright’s fee earners are frequently away from the office visiting clients, and rely heavily on dictation to get work moving and instructions actioned. The cassette tape recorders being used were impractically heavy and it was difficult to edit recordings. Critically, the tapes had to be physically delivered back to the support team in the office which led to delays in workflow and billing. Moreover, if the tapes were lost, anyone could listen to the recordings, which was a security concern for the firm. The success of the BlackBerry solution for email inspired the firm to see if it could be used for mobile dictation. Chris Nicholson, IT Manager at Freeth Carthwright, knew what he was looking for: a system that would allow fee earners to dictate on case matters from their BlackBerry® smartphones when working from locations where it was not possible or convenient to use their laptops.

THE SOLUTION
After market investigation, Chris Nicholson decided to test the nFlow Mobile for BlackBerry digital dictation solution. His research also showed that it would be straightforward for his team to integrate the application into Case Viewer. In addition, the solution was licensed on a per-device basis, instead of being monthly or subscription-based, and didn’t require costly consultancy fees or additional infrastructure costs.“Using nFlow Mobile on the BlackBerry smartphone, the fee earner can record multiple dictations when they are travelling and out of the office. When they’re finished, they simply hit the send button. The dictation is instantly sent to the nFlow Gateway installed on the Exchange server where it is routed to the desired recipient, most often a secretary for transcription and filing in Case Viewer,”says Nicholson.
The BlackBerry application provides features such as pause recording, playback,rewind, forward, insert, overwrite, save as draft, title and mark as urgent. Nicholson organised a pilot of the solution with a handful of the firm’s fee earners. The pilot began in September 2008 and was a resounding success. “The feedback from the pilot was very good. It met the needs of the fee earners in what they expected from a digital dictation system.”Based on these results, Nicholson began rolling out the solution across the firm’s five sites. Each user receives a short training session that explains the key functionality of the solution.“ As we’d already made the original investment in the BlackBerry solution, the addition of nFlow was a small incremental cost compared to the time it would save the fee earners.”Chris Nicholson, IT Manager at Freeth Cartwright

THE BENEFITS
Freeth Cartwright is committed to excellence in client service and efficient business processes that optimise productivity. Dictation is a key function within the firm. nFlow Mobile for BlackBerry smartphones has sped up and secured the dictation workflow. “Within a minute of a fee earner completing a transcription, say, on the train, the secretary can have it on the screen, ready to transcribe. It’s just as immediate as if the fee earner was sitting next to them in the office.”With analogue cassettes, it would take 24 hours on average for a dictation to arrive back in the office and be transcribed. The new solution also “means better service for our clients because we’re turning these dictations around much faster,” says Nicholson. This in turn also leads to timelier billing. According to Nicholson’s calculations, the nFlow Mobile for BlackBerry pays for itself with the first dictation. The one-time fee for nFlow is the equivalent of a few minutes of a fee earner’s time.

“One hour of a standard associate’s charge-out rate buys at least five one-time licences.” He goes on to add that, “as we’d already made the original investment in the BlackBerry solution, the addition of nFlow was a small incremental cost compared to the time it would save the fee earners.”

The sound quality on the nFlow solution is good, the feedback from the secretaries who do the transcription has been excellent. In addition, the sound files are compressed, so they don’t put pressure on the Exchange server. “The average file size is around 2MB, which is very manageable,”says Nicholson. In addition, if a BlackBerry smartphone goes missing, there’s no risk that someone will be able to listen to the recordings. Like the rest of the data stored on the smartphones, draft dictations are protected by the smartphone’s built-in password authentication and encryption. Completed dictations are encrypted during transmission between the BlackBerry Enterprise Server and the BlackBerry smartphone before being erased from the smartphone’s memory. Finally, the BlackBerry solution with nFlow Mobile has improved time recording.

“Effectively, a digital dictation is time captured as a file. So if the recording is 20 minutes long, that can be apportioned against the fee earners charge-out rate. Whereas when you’ve got an analogue tape, you can’t really make a good judgement about how long that recording is, unless you sit there with a stopwatch,” explains Nicholson.Within just a few months of the pilot, the nFlow Mobile for BlackBerry solution has proved to be a simple-to-implement solution with a rapid ROI, that provides value-added functionality and increases the productivity of Freeth Cartwright’s fee earners.

Newly Merged UK Law Firm Consolidates Digital Dictation Deployment With nFlow

Cullimore Dutton reduces IT administration with nFlow Version 5.0

nFlow, a leading supplier of digital dictation solutions, today announced that Cullimore Dutton, recently formed by the merger of reputed law firms Birch Cullimore and Mason & Moore Dutton, has successfully upgraded to and consolidated the deployment of nFlow Version 5.0 to 53 users across the new enterprise. nFlow Version 5.0 is a second generation, Microsoft .NET platform-based Digital Dictation System (DDS). Prior to the merger, Birch Cullimore was already using nFlow Version 4.0.

Cullimore Dutton chose nFlow Version 5.0 as its enterprise DDS because it offers centralised administration of the solution. nFlow Version 5.0 does not require any client-side configuration. All user device and hardware driver configuration are served centrally from the server, reducing operational costs. This was a key consideration for the firm as the newly merged entity is split between two office sites.

Further, Cullimore Dutton has significantly invested in creating a virtualised IT environment. Therefore, any solution that the firm deploys must be able to leverage virtualisation technology. nFlow Version 5.0 easily integrates into a virtualised environment, allowing Cullimore Dutton to maximise its IT investment.

With firm-wide access to nFlow Version 5.0, Cullimore Dutton will be able to maximise staff resources, increase productivity and achieve cost savings as a result of reduced operational and IT management costs.

Stephen Roberts, IT Manager, Cullimore Dutton, commented, “The business benefits of digital dictation technology to law firms is a no-brainer, especially in today’s web-based environment. We have been using nFlow’s digital dictation in the Birch Cullimore part of the business for four years now.
“However, in this instance, our decision to upgrade to nFlow Version 5.0 as opposed to opt for another digital dictation system across our newly merged entity, has been based purely on the solution’s technical merits. The solution has very smoothly integrated into our virtual environment, it is very easy to administer and it can also be seamlessly integrated with other third party platforms. In fact, it is by far the quickest implementation we have ever done. We could not have asked for more from nFlow.”

Contrary to industry norm for major solution upgrades, nFlow has provided Version 5.0 software free of charge to existing nFlow users at Cullimore Dutton.

In addition to the existing implementation, Cullimore Dutton is planning to integrate nFlow Version 5.0 with its new case management system, IRIS Law Business, in the immediate future.
Rob Lancashire, Sales and Marketing Director at nFlow, added, “Version 5.0 truly represents a major technological advancement in digital dictation technology – it is not an incremental upgrade to an existing solution, simply to make it “current”. Enterprises recognise this. Further, they are interested in it because in comparison to competitive systems, it is a future-proof technology that can enable them to maximise their IT investments whilst reducing IT administration costs – especially at a time when budgets are under intense scrutiny. We look forward to continuing our long standing and mutually rewarding partnership with Cullimore Dutton.”

nFlow DDS Version 5.0 is the only enterprise-class digital dictation solution of its kind on the market today. It has been completely re-designed from the ground up based on the Microsoft .NET framework, to deliver an unrivalled low cost of ownership, exceptional functionality and benefits to users and customers alike.

Adoption of nFlow Digital Dictation Continues at a Rapid Pace in UK Accountancy Sector

Greenstones Limited realises efficiency gains with nFlow solution; nFlow provides cost savings calculator

nFlow (http://www.nflow.com/), the market leading supplier of digital dictation workflow solutions to the accountancy market, today announced that Greenstones Limited, a Cambridgeshire-based accountancy firm, has become the latest accountancy practice to implement its nFlow Digital Dictation Software (DDS) solution, replacing the incumbent traditional tape-based dictation system. Greenstones chose nFlow for the solution’s proven ability to deliver immediate efficiency improvements to the firm, especially in the current difficult economic climate.

The nFlow DDS solution is facilitating greater business efficiency through better utilisation of staff resources and faster turnaround time of transcripts. In addition, fee-earners and secretaries alike at the firm are able to prioritise tasks based on client imperatives, greatly improving client service.

nFlow is seeing an accelerated adoption of its DDS in the accountancy sector, primarily driven by firms’ needs to reduce operational costs, increase staff productivity and business efficiency as well as enable mobile working. Some high profile firms that have recently implemented nFlow’s solution include PKF LLP, Scott-Moncrieff, and Johnston Carmichael, to name a few.

Simon Chaplin, Managing Director, Greenstones Limited, said, “We have been using analogue tape technology for dictation for many years, but in today’s web-based business environment, moving to digital dictation is crucial and perhaps an obvious thing to do. For us, adopting technology that improves business efficiency and productivity is critical to meeting our business goals.

“nFlow has been brilliant – the company has delivered exactly what we bought, both from the technology and customer service perspectives. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend nFlow to anyone”

Rob Lancashire, Sales and Marketing Director at nFlow, added, “The fixed fee nature of accountancy work means that any increases in business efficiency and productivity directly impact the bottom line of a firm, making adoption of digital dictation workflow technology an easy choice to make.

“In fact, to enable practices to quantify the savings they can make as a result of using digital dictation workflow software, we have developed a cost savings calculator to help them make the business case for this technology within their firms.”

The nFlow Digital Dictation Cost Saving Calculator is available free of charge on www.nflow.com/cost-reduction-calculator.php. Alternatively, practices can contact nFlow directly on info@nFlow.com for access to the tool.

nFlow DDS is a work-flow based solution that includes microphone and headphone-related hardware, and offers an intuitive Microsoft Outlook-style interface. The solution can be deployed in both, Terminal Services or Citrix environments and utilises the industry standard Microsoft SQL Server. It also supports a wide range of mobile devices including BlackBerry and Windows Mobile.

London City Law Firm Consolidates Digital Dictation Deployment With nFlow

Devonshires Solicitors to benefit from increased productivity and flexible working practices

nFlow, a leading supplier of digital dictation solutions, today announced that Devonshires Solicitors, a leading London City law firm, has successfully consolidated the deployment of nFlow Version 5.0, its second generation, Microsoft .NET platform-based Digital Dictation System (DDS). Driven by the business need to adopt industry best practises, the firm has replaced its traditional tape-based and incumbent digital dictation systems with nFlow Version 5.0 for 120 users across its social housing, projects/PFI/PPP, employment, property, corporate/finance and litigation (including fraud) departments. In addition, the firm has also installed the nFlow Mobile for BlackBerry application, to facilitate remote working and offer employees greater flexibility.
The firm chose nFlow Version 5.0 for the solution’s balance between good product functionality and simplicity, .NET-based infrastructure, very low overhead systems management capability, competitive pricing and proven company track record. Further, the company’s non-intrusive approach to customer service and product support was very appealing to the firm.

With firm-wide access to digital dictation technology, Devonshires Solicitors will benefit from increased productivity, ability to extend remote working practices, and capability to devise creative ways to maximise staff resources in the long term.

Andrew Cowan, Chief Executive at Devonshires Solicitors, commented, “Working practices in the legal sector are changing rapidly, and given the competitive nature of this business especially in the current climate, we are committed to adopting technology that aids productivity in the firm to give us a distinct advantage – not just from a client perspective, but also for recruiting and retaining talent. Digital dictation is one such technology.

“We considered all the major digital dictation solution suppliers, but chose nFlow as it was able to meet all our selection criteria – right from technology compatibility to product functionality through to understanding our needs and approach to customer service.”Users of nFlow Version 5.0 at the firm include fee earners and secretarial staff. A standard unified system across the firm will facilitate more efficient workload sharing and task management. The clarity of dictation recording delivered by nFlow Version 5.0 will considerably reduce the time spent by staff in creating and reworking transcribed documents. Further, the remote access offered by the solution means that fee earners will now be able to send their dictations to their office for typing from any physical location, resulting in faster turnaround times on deliverables to clients.
Rob Lancashire, Sales and Marketing Director at nFlow, added, “We are very encouraged by the interest we are continuing to see for Version 5.0, despite the current economic conditions in the UK. We believe this is because we offer pure bred .NET-based, future-proof technology that easily integrates with existing IT infrastructures, enabling firms to maximise their investment; whilst achieving proven and instantaneous operational efficiencies of anything between 15 – 30 per cent.”

In addition to the existing installation, Devonshires Solicitors is planning to use technology available from nFlow to integrate Version 5.0 with its Interwoven document management system to deliver a holistic system that will manage the complete document production lifecycle.
nFlow DDS Version 5.0 is the only enterprise-class digital dictation solution of its kind on the market today. It has been completely re-designed from the ground up based on the Microsoft .NET framework, to deliver low cost of ownership, exceptional functionality and benefits to users and customers alike.

New training initiative from nFlow aims to help reduce document production costs for firms

nFlow has announced a new workshop training concept for firms wishing to reduce costs by training staff on dictation skills to make sure they are producing text as efficiently as possible. This follows their successful online dictation skills seminar last year and the feedback they have received on their training support website – www.dictationskills.com. nFlow say that focused dictation skills training can provide considerable savings, particularly if a firm outsources typing, by significantly reducing the retyping of documents due to incomprehensible or poor dictation and potentially delivering even higher fee earner to secretary ratios.As a workshop the training sessions can be tailored to meet the needs of any firm and can cater for a number of people at once making it very cost effective. In the current climate nFlow suggest that a small investment in training can ensure that firms are getting the very best use of their digital dictation system irrespective of whether it is nFlow, Winscribe or Bighand further enhancing the productivity gains the technology is well known for.

First new customer installation of nFlow’s next generation digital dictation software version 5.0 an unequivocal success

nFlow, a leading developer of digital dictation software solutions for professional service firms, today announced that an installation of its widely reported next generation DDS 2.0 digital dictation system has been successfully completed for 100 users at leading top 50 accountancy firm Johnston Carmichael. nFlow DDS Version 5.0 has been deployed to users across 3 offices in Elgin, Inverurie and Huntly in just 2 weeks. A second phase will see the solution rolled out to an additional 90 users in December. In addition to rolling out nFlow DDS Version 5.0 Johnston Carmichael have also deployed nFlow Mobile for Blackberry to deliver remote dictation for users. The accountancy firm report that the software’s innovative web service architecture and modern Outlook 2007 .NET design has been a great success and delivered an excellent response from users.

Commenting on the project Johnston Carmichael IT Partner, Douglas Rintoul said, ‘Prior to selecting nFlow’s new Version 5.0 product we were already using a small installation of Winscribe over Citrix with our IFA team however there was interest in widening the use of DD so we decided to review the market. This led to a trial of both nFlow and Bighand in our Citrix environment as a comparison to Winscribe. Following this trial we decided to carry out a second trial of nFlow and Bighand with our executive team. Both suppliers were offering new versions so we started with a trial of Bighand however when we saw the nFlow Version 5.0 product we were completely blown away. We felt the excellent opportunities nFlow’s complete .NET design offered us in reducing administration of the application and the simple yet intuitive functionality combined with the modern Outlook 2007 look and feel meant it offered the best solution for us. It was also apparent during meetings that nFlow’s outstanding reputation for customer focus and technical capability was backed with very real passion and commitment, a reputation we saw reinforced during the installation. I can honestly say that nFlow have done an excellent job and that our choice of nFlow version 5.0 has been a great success.’

nFlow deployed the version 5.0 SQL databases and the .NET web services at Johnston Carmichael’s Aberdeen office. Plus they installed audio file repositories on local servers at each remote site. To complete the first phase of the installation the .NET component and driver management service was automatically deployed to all desktops and laptops with the servers prepared for the second phase of the rollout to a further 90 users in 6 offices, including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Perth. The result of this was a fast and low cost implementation that saw the solution deployed to 100 users in just 2 weeks.

Tony Moxham, nFlow’s Technical Operations Director commented, ‘I believe the administration and maintenance functions in nFlow deliver an unbeatably low support overhead. Johnston Carmichael have a number of offices spread across Scotland so when they saw that the centralised .NET component and driver management service gave them centralised control of application maintenance at either a global and granular level they were very impressed. It means they don’t have the overhead of any 3rd party technologies such as SMS to achieve this. When you add to this the on demand service delivery of user configuration without needing additional technology like roaming profiles it all adds up to a very neat solution that suits mobility and hot desking across offices extremely well.’

nFlow DDS Version 5.0 provides a complete service orientated architecture that delivers everything a user needs to the PC when they log in. This is particularly relevant to user experience as rather than use registry keys to configure the experience as older technologies do, nFlow delivers all settings via the service to whichever PC the user logs on. It also delivers the specific dictation and transcription hardware drivers a user needs but is clever enough to automatically switch a user to an alternative device if it is available delivering complete flexibility in terms of hardware used.

nFlow Sales & Marketing Director, Rob Lancashire commented, ‘This project is significant as it not only represents a highly successful early adoption of our new generation DDS solution but it has been achieved in direct comparison with other leading technologies. This reinforces our belief that Version 5.0 represents a new generation of DDS system and validates the comments we have made in support of the DDS 2.0 concept. The success of this first installation is the result of a thoroughbred .Net solution designed in conjunction with Application Development Consultants from Microsoft and an nFlow team with an award winning commitment to customer focus and a deep understanding of customer requirements. We are very pleased the market reaction as it’s already resulted in competitive customer wins totalling nearly 500 users in just the first 2 months If there is a must have for Christmas then I believe nFlow version 5.0 is the DDS equivalent of the iPod.