Howard Kennedy has historically been a law firm on the leading edge of technology. We believe we were the first law firm in the world to run digital dictation in a VMWare Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) environment. Also, our IT Team was a finalist in the Legal Technology News LTN Awards 2009 for City/National IT Team of the year based upon work undertaken during 2008 on a full infrastructure refresh incorporating both production systems and standby systems utilising VMWare virtualisation technologies and NetApp storage.

We are similarly dedicated to providing flexible remote working solutions to our fee earners. Since 2000, our firm has used the Worldox Document Management System (DMS) from World Software Corporation, and it has performed very well for us throughout the past decade. With nearly 250 Worldox licenses, we are one of their largest sites in Europe. There has been a growing trend for lawyers wanting to work from home or remotely when travelling on business, including the need to access their documents.

Worldox/Web Mobile, which is the DMS’s online interface that operates over any internet connection, helps us meet this demand. We updated Worldox/Web Mobile to the latest available version as part of our infrastructure virtualisation project in 2008. The interface is extremely similar to that of the Worldox desktop product, so the training aspect is very light. Approximately 60% of our fee earning user base currently benefits from the availability of Worldox/Web Mobile system at this time.

Though based in London, Howard Kennedy has clients all over the world. When our lawyers work from home or travel abroad for client visits and meetings, they can easily access documents via Worldox/Web Mobile, regardless of time differences.

Any computer with a web connection can bring up Worldox/Web Mobile. Clearly, this is extremely convenient and helps maintain productivity. Access to documents can sometimes make the difference between a successful meeting and happy client or the opposite, so 24/7 availability of documents is critically important.

From an IT perspective, Worldox/Web Mobile was straightforward to install, and is very easy for us to maintain. With Worldox as part of our environment, we are able to securely deliver documents to people around the clock. Because of the way Worldox/Web Mobile is designed with challenge/response authentication and HTTPS protocols there is a high level of security protecting our documents.

We rarely have any Worldox issues for the DMS or the web product. Having products on the system that “just work” like Worldox and Worldox/Web Mobile is very valuable, because they don’t require much manpower for troubleshooting purposes.

Worldox/Web Mobile is a good solution for Howard Kennedy for a number of reasons. First, its operating cost is very low, which is appreciated by everyone at the firm. Second, it is extremely reliable and rarely goes offline. It is a constant resource that we can count on. Third, there is very low training overhead because the interface is so similar to that of Worldox. We really do not have to train users in any great detail.

Overall, Worldox/Web Mobile is a useful tool which enables access to documents using any major internet browser. We are exceedingly pleased with the solution, as well as the technical support we have received from World Software Corporation’s staff. I recommend Worldox and Worldox/Web Mobile to any firm looking to give its users a great DMS and access to their documents from anywhere in the world.