The Decision
The time came to upgrade iManage 7.5 to 8.0. The question was … would this be the right move for our firm? The 8.0 upgrade would probably not be all that simple. After all, moving from 5.x to 7.5 had not been particularly easy. Application integration with iManage had turned out to be complicated, to say the least. The more we learned, the more difficult the decision became. As discovery continued, we realized that iManage 8.0 required its own SQL server. We had been running a single SQL server for our accounting, timekeeping and iManage databases. That would no longer do, as iManage 8.0 needed its own server to perform at acceptable levels. (And note, we were already running in “two-tier” mode, with documents stored on a dedicated file server.)
Time for a change?
The upgrade would amount to a re-commitment to iManage. This product had served us well, but I always had the feeling we were paying too much, and that the system was way too complex for the amount of documents handled and the number of users we had.
Costs
I added up the pricing for a new server and the necessary upgrade licensing. Then we considered the need for consulting help. I heard estimates starting at 50 hours of consulting time for the upgrade; some went for much, much more. As anticipated costs for the upgrade inched higher, we decided to see what other choices were available.
The Worldox GX Option
The LawNet (now ILTA) conference happened right around that time. At the conference, I met with World Software’s representatives. We discussed pricing and the feasibility of a migration to Worldox GX from iManage
Worldox quickly shaped up as a viable alternative. We got some opinions from other firms already using Worldox GX. The satisfaction with this product was overwhelming.
The cost picture was even more promising. Our estimates for an iManage upgrade vs. migration to Worldox included not only first-year costs, but also costs for the next 3 years of operation. In year 1, upgrade vs. migration costs were almost identical. After that, maintenance was a huge difference. Maintenance costs for GX over the following 3 years would be half what we were paying iManage – for the same number of users.
That convinced me.
I started “selling” the notion of GX migration to the partners. At first there was some skepticism, until they saw Worldox GX in action, in a web demo. It took a little convincing to persuade the user base – the fear of change factor. Nothing unusual. Then it was time to forward with migration.
Outcome
It’s been a little over three years since the migration to Worldox GX. Our users have been very happy. As the sole Administrator here, I can definitely sing GX’s praises as well. Admin time needed is maybe 20% of what I spent on iManage … it just works. Would I do it again?
No. I would have have started with Worldox back in 2000 and skipped iManage altogether.
Challenge:
Reduce maintenance costs; select the best Document Management System for the firm.
Solution:
Replaced iManage with Worldox GX.
Result:
The staff is very happy with Worldox. The cost of administration is about one-fifth of what it was with iManage.