e-know.net hits quality mark
Managed service provider and legal specialist e-know.net has announced that it has been awarded ISO27001 accreditation. The standard is the internationally recognised benchmark for an Information Security Management System (ISMS) where ‘Security’ is defined as anything that affects ‘Confidentiality’, ‘Integrity’ or ‘Availability’ of information within a business
The company began a dedicated compliance project in the New Year, appointing support analyst Stephen Peak to head up the initiative internally. Consultants provided a gap analysis and Stephen then developed and drove through the programme to its successful conclusion. e-know.net was assessed in mid-July, demonstrating conformance with over 100 separate controls relevant to the delivery of hosted managed services; these ranged from the physical protection of the building to network security, from document shredding to the marketing approvals process.
The certification lasts for three years during which time e-know.net will be subject to six monthly surveillance audits to ensure continued compliance.
Commenting on the award of ISO27001, Nigel Redwood, e-know.net’s managing director, said: “We are naturally delighted to have been awarded accreditation for our ISMS – it is the defining quality mark particularly for those companies entrusted with customer data. While stringent procedures as regards data protection and security have long been embedded in the organisation, it provides extra reassurance to clients that these have now been validated by a tough ISO standard.”
e-know.net chosen as preferred hosting partner as LexisNexis head into the Cloud
LexisNexis ® UK (www.lexisnexis.co.uk), a leading provider of content-enabled workflow solutions including legal enterprise software, today announced LexisNexis Managed Services, offering LexisNexis ® Axxia ® dna as a fully-hosted, integrated practice management application to customers.
This new Software-as-a-Service offering allows small and mid-sized law firms to easily adopt a next-generation practice management platform, without the need to incur additional capital expenditure to implement the solution or undertake ongoing administration, maintenance and upgrade costs to use the solution.Law firms adopting LexisNexis Managed Services benefit from secure, flexible and cost-effective access to a modern practice management platform that not only facilitates improved organisational performance, but also delivers business continuity and disaster recovery. The per user, per month subscription model means that customers can easily scale the solution up or down based on changing business requirements. As the management of LexisNexis Axxia dna is outsourced, customers’ IT departments minimise overhead costs and free up valuable time to focus on other strategic technology projects within their firms.
LexisNexis Managed Services is provisioned through a preferred alliance with e-know.net Limited (www.e-know.net), a managed services and hosting solutions provider with an unrivalled track record in the UK legal sector. e-know.net has an enterprise-level, state-of-the-art data centre and employs legally qualified support staff to help address customer issues and needs.
“We worked closely with LexisNexis Axxia dna customers to develop an enterprise-class hosted solution that offers cost-effective, functionally rich and customisable technology. The solution can be tailored to customers’ individual business needs, whether they pertain to the types of applications they require, disaster recovery, data security or other factors,” said Tim Cheadle, General Manager, LexisNexis UK Enterprise Solutions. “The combination of our extensive legal sector expertise and e-know.net’s successful track record of providing hosted solutions to this market makes LexisNexis Managed Services a compelling proposition. Furthermore, we intend to gradually expand this offering to include other LexisNexis products.”
To make it easy for customers to deploy LexisNexis Axxia dna, LexisNexis Managed Services hosts their current practice management system with e-know.net whilst simultaneously migrating to the new solution to minimise business disruption. In addition, with the latest LexisNexis Axxia dna releases and upgrades made immediately available to LexisNexis Managed Services customers, they can always have the most up-to-date integrated practice management system underpinning their business.LexisNexis Managed Services also offers LexisNexis Axxia dna customers the opportunity to host applications such as LexisNexis ® InterAction, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SharePoint, VoIP and document management.
“This alliance is an exciting opportunity for both organisations. This formal arrangement will allow us to offer LexisNexis Axxia dna both as an ‘out of the box’ as well as managed bespoke solution, which will greatly benefit our customers. We have more experience in providing hosted solutions to the legal sector than any other service provider. Similarly, LexisNexis’ market penetration today in the UK legal market is unequalled. This collaboration is a logical step for both parties,” added Nigel Redwood, Managing Director at e-know.net. LexisNexis Axxia dna is a next-generation, fully-integrated practice management software designed to increase firms’ efficiency and profitability with legal accounting, time and billing, workflow, document and contact management in one integrated system.
e-know.net adds CRM to hosted portfolio
Managed service and SaaS specialist e-know.net has announced the launch of a new offering for SME law firms keen to leverage client relationship management and marketing software, but wary of the levels of financial investment and IT expertise required.
CRM Plus is based around Microsoft Dynamics CRM and can be delivered in two ways: as an addition to e-know.net’s managed desktop as part of a fully outsourced solution, or on a Software as a Service basis for those firms looking only to out-task certain applications. Back-end system administration and technical support are included within the monthly subscription, which is priced at £35 per user; the underlying SQL Server platform and licenses are rolled in at no extra cost.
Consultancy days can be bundled into a wraparound package at the initial implementation stage, with e-know.net specialists able to offer hands-on assistance with any particular configuration, migration or training issues.
Nigel Redwood, e-know.net’s managing director, knows that small to medium sized law firms want to take advantage of CRM tools but are concerned about costs and the availability of the requisite IT skills in-house. “Microsoft Dynamics is a big ticket item in most SMEs’ eyes and the necessary SQL know-how is not always accessible or affordable. CRM Plus gives firms a low cost, no-risk way of bringing vital functionality into their businesses, where they can focus on managing the client rather than mastering the technology, on developing the prospect rather than draining the profits.”
e-know.net has real success in virtual world
Managed service provider e-know.net has announced a further addition to its legal client base with the signing of personal injury specialist; Balinda & Co. e-know.net will deliver Microsoft Office 2007, Microsoft Exchange, BlackBerry Enterprise Server and SOS on a fully hosted basis.
The move is the cornerstone of a three-year strategic plan that will see the firm evolve into an enlarged virtual practice focusing on both PI and employment law. Founder Asiimwe Balinda commented:
“We have ambitious growth plans that are based on a virtual practice model and having the right technology in place is absolutely crucial to our success. From an investment, effort and resourcing point of view we have little appetite for running our IT ourselves, preferring to concentrate on our areas of expertise and leave our outsourcing partner to concentrate on theirs. e-know.net comes with the highest personal recommendation from an existing user, and we’re looking to enjoy the benefits of predictable costs, on-tap support and robust application delivery, with a modern, scalable infrastructure underpinning both virtual and mobile working.”
Nigel Redwood, e-know.net’s managing director, said: “Following hard on the heels of Woolley & Co, this latest win demonstrates not just our capabilities in the sector but more importantly, the profession’s increasing awareness and acceptance of managed service as an alternative to in-house IT. Virtual practices in particular see managed service as being closely aligned with the needs and drivers of their business and we anticipate closing a number of similar deals in the near future.
e-know.net celebrates virtual engagement
Managed service provider e-know.net has announced further success in the legal sector with the news that it has signed up family law specialist, Woolley & Co. The firm went live at the beginning of June with e-know.net delivering Office 2007, Exchange, Adobe Acrobat, Laserforms, Sage Accounts, SmartStamp, SOS Business and SOS Family on a fully hosted basis.
Unlike recent wins, this was not about pitching to replace the traditional in-house IT infrastructure but to improve the quality of IT outsourcing, as Woolley & Co’s founder, Andrew Woolley, explains:
“When we set up as one of the UK’s first virtual law firms back in 1996, I was determined that, just as people turn to lawyers for their particular expertise, so would we rely predominantly on a number of third parties to supply us with key business services. We wanted to focus on legal delivery and client care, and having external and suitably qualified teams taking responsibility in areas such as IT, HR and payroll, has allowed us to keep that focus, maintain standards and grow the business. The one challenge with outsourcing is ensuring you have the right partner on board – is it a marriage made in heaven, or hell?”
With the firm already convinced of the merits of the managed service platform, it was the qualities of e-know.net as service provider that came under the closest scrutiny. Andrew Woolley again:
“As an experienced user of outsourced services, we were very impressed and reassured by what e-know.net had to offer. Having effectively outgrown our previous supplier, we were keen to secure a partnership for the long-term – priorities for us were a depth and breadth of high-grade technical and support skill, coupled with an understanding of, and commitment to, a rather atypical practice.
One of the challenges of running a virtual law firm with thirty staff spread throughout the country is that systems need to just ‘be there’, available and working any time of the day or night. Should a problem develop, help needs to be similarly on tap and reliable. Plus you want to give colleagues the best possible tools for the job and to keep investing in line with the needs of the team, the business and its clients. e-know.net have the scope and capability to give us new technologies on demand; for example, mobile working via smartphones is just one way we’ve extended our capabilities since the go-live.”
Commenting on the win Nigel Redwood, e-know.net’s managing director, said: “This was an interesting deal for us in that it was the first in legal which didn’t really revolve around selling the merits of managed service as an IT platform. With their years of exposure to outsourcing Woolley & Co concentrated much more on our credentials as a suitable partner moving forward. As well as their day-to-day requirements they also have ambitious growth plans, and we’re confident that this new relationship can help underpin the firm’s continued success.”
