Legal market finds voice as InTechnology launches first unified communications solution with integrated IP telephony
Data, network and telephony management specialist InTechnology has announced the launch of the legal sector’s first Unified Communications (UC) solution with integrated IP telephony.
Until now, voice has been the missing link in all UC systems but InTechnology has brought together hosted Microsoft Office Communication Server and its enterprise class telephony service at the desktop. It estimates that law firm users will realize a 50% saving in unwanted or superfluous email and voice messages, greatly reducing communication latency, dramatically accelerating the decision-making process and improving employee interaction.
The launch comes at a time when both IT departments and lawyers are struggling to cope efficiently with a growing number of discrete devices and applications and associated messages and calls. A typical user may have a desktop PC or laptop, mobile phone or PDA, office desk phone and instant messaging, all of which are managed separately with multiple contact lists and inboxes.
Add to this the ever increasing quantity of e-mails, phone calls and voicemails to both fixed and mobile devices every day, many of which are generated as a result of email/telephone tag with no decisive outcome, and you risk growing user frustration, technical overload and an unnecessary drain on time and resources.
Available on a pay as you go basis, InTechnology’s Hosted Unified Communications Service provides businesses with a unique set of integrated services including e-mail, instant messaging, presence, shared calendars, shared desktops, video calling, conferencing and IP telephony.
Richard Quine, InTechnology’s director of product management, comments:
“The goal of UC is to reduce the time, cost and frustration associated with unnecessary delays in decision making – to bring together all the tools of communication which we use, thereby allowing users to make decisions on how to interact with one another based on the presence status of their contacts.
What’s significant about the addition of voice to the UC offer is that it has the genuine potential to transform how lawyers communicate and collaborate with one another, with their clients and with counsel. This goes beyond the inherent efficiencies of a unified inbox or utilizing the ‘presence’ concept to accelerate the decision making process.
Firms can now leverage new capabilities such as high definition online video and conferencing – these will enable them to save costs, time and carbon emissions by offering a high quality alternative to face-to-face meetings and conferences. It is estimated that regular business travellers spend eleven days a year on avoidable or unnecessary travel – strip out the associated costs, factor in the extra fee-earning time returned to the practice and you are looking at a very substantial return on your investment. And that’s before you even add in the gains and savings to be had from the newly streamlined communication process afforded by the hosted UC platform.”
InTechnology makes smooth switch tips pitch
Data, network and telephony management specialist InTechnology has published a handy ‘top tips’ style guide for those law firms interested in moving to IP telephony.
Designed to complement the recently published white paper on convergence, the ‘Top 10 Tips for a Smooth Migration to IP Telephony’ offers an easily digestible checklist of considerations: from the initial development of a strategy based on business drivers, through supplier selection and system design, and on to training requirements and project evaluation.
Richard Quine, InTechnology’s director of product management, comments: “Not unreasonably, many IT personnel find they are somewhat out of their comfort zone when it comes to IP telephony. But the idea of resources such as the earlier white paper and this new guide has been all about helping teams approach migration initiatives with a greater degree of knowledge and confidence. The ‘Top 10 tips’ should offer plenty of reassurance that IP telephony can be tackled in much the same way as any other IT-oriented project.”
‘Top 10 Tips for a Smooth Migration to IP Telephony’ can be downloaded from http://www.intechnology.co.uk/MainPage.aspx?ID=365
InTechnology podcast – IP telephony
Part of The Grid series of podcasts, InTechnology explores why IP telephony should be moving up the practice agenda
www.intechnology.co.uk/Documents/Podcasts/01_The_Grid_IP_Telephony.mp3
InTechnology launches new podcast series
Data, network and telephony management specialist InTechnology has launched a new podcast series designed to appeal to law firms of all sizes. The Grid will feature punchy, 5-10 minute episodes on a range of technology and business subjects, with the simple aim of distilling ‘need to know’ information for the audience.
Two launch episodes are now available via iTunes or direct from the InTechnology website. The first explores the subject of IP telephony and why it needs to start moving up the IT agenda; while the second provides the lowdown on BT’s 21st Century Network project and its potential for transforming IT service delivery and business performance.
Future editions will cover the appeal of the cloud services concept; the merits of virtualisation and InTechnology’s new Virtual Server Service; and solutions for tackling the exponential growth in data volumes.
To listen to the podcasts, you can subscribe to The Grid via iTunes – simply search for InTechnology – or alternatively you can download the individual episodes at:
www.intechnology.co.uk/Documents/Podcasts/01_The_Grid_IP_Telephony.mp3
http://www.intechnology.co.uk/Documents/Podcasts/02_The_Grid_21CN.mp3
InTechnology introduces hosted call recording for IP telephony
Data, network and telephony management specialist InTechnology has announced that Live-PA, its recently launched call recording solution for Microsoft’s Office Communications Server 2007, will also support InTechnology’s hosted IP telephony service, Unity IP Voice. The integration of Live-PA and Unity IP Voice will give firms the ability to record any telephone call across their enterprise but without the need for any on-site call recording equipment.
Richard Quine, InTechnology’s director of product management, comments: “ This latest innovation brings a new dimension in risk management – the ability to seamlessly record, store and retrieve every type of electronic file, including voice, for complete traceability and accountability.
Live-PA brings an iPlayer-type model to corporate call recording, allowing customers to playback any call that has occurred in, say, the last 30 or 60 days. We can record all calls from all or selected users and as that’s done centrally over the network, we can also keep all the voice recordings archived on low-cost, easily accessible storage for as long as a client needs.
Because the Live-PA system is based completely within the InTechnology network, it doesn’t require any additional routing hardware on customer premises. As a result, it could prove significantly cheaper than traditional call-recording solutions.”
For more information, visit www.intechnology.com
