Strategy Archives - Page 4 of 5

5 easy ways to streamline your business

Posted on December 12, 2016May 20, 2021 by QuoStar

Running a business can be difficult, particularly when it goes through a rapid growth phase. As a business owner, you may be feeling overwhelmed, overworked or just not as efficient as you know you could be. To remain competitive, businesses must boost operational efficiency, this is especially true in the SME market where organisations may have more limited resources. Efficiencies can be gained in a number of places, but here are five areas to start with.

1. Reduce paper usage

Reviewing your paper consumption and usage is often one of the quickest ways to streamline your business. Paperwork can quickly pile up and increase waiting times – internally and externally. Trace the paper trail and ask key employees:

What information do you add to the paperwork and why is it needed?
What information do you take from the paperwork and why do you need it?
Why is this paperwork important for your job?

You may find that while the information is necessary, individuals do not necessarily need to have paper copies. One way to address this would be to look at document management solutions that would allow you to make the move to start digitising information.

Document management solutions can help your business to operate more efficiently by putting documents at employees’ fingertips instantly and providing an easy way to categorise, store and organise documents. With the right solution, you will be able to scan documents in a matter of seconds, and use workflows to automatically route that document to the right folder or person. When choosing a solution some of the things you will want to look for include: being able to create customised workflows that fit your business operations, easily search scanned documents and assign access levels by employee role.

File cabinets and storages boxes can also take up valuable office space – or even be an additional expense if you require offsite storage. So you should look at using a document management system for the long-term storage and retrieval of documents. Not only will this save floor space, but could prevent staff from having to make trips to and from your offsite storage to retrieve documents – saving you both time and money.

2. Outsource

Businesses of all sizes can benefit from outsourcing, whether that’s choosing to outsource their finance and IT support or HR and marketing. There are a number of ways your company can benefit from outsourcing. When done correctly it can help your business to run more efficiently and reduce costs. For example, outsourcing tasks will allow you to focus on business growth, without sacrificing quality and service in the back office.

For small businesses outsourcing can help ensure certain tasks (such as billing) are performed at a consistent and affordable rate. It can also help reign in the spiralling operational costs of certain departments in larger organisations. If you suspect there is an area of your business that could be more efficient, scope the requirement and desired outcomes, and investigate potential options.

3. Automate repetitive tasks

Does your business have a lot of time-consuming tasks which need to be performed on a regular basis? Do you have to use multiple systems to complete single tasks? Look to see whether these tasks could be consolidated, so they can be performed with a couple of clicks. See whether you can use workflows to automate processes, freeing up your staff to focus on higher-value tasks. One example could be billing emails. If you send regular reminders to customers about direct debits or upcoming payment dates automating this process could save you hours.

4. Develop a long-term technology plan

Replacing outdated or ineffective hardware can majorly impact your employees’ productivity. You can minimise or reduce these disruptions by planning for the long term. You should determine your short and long-term business objectives, and map where technology solutions can help you achieve these.

5. Reduce unnecessary travel time

While face to face meetings are an important part of a business, they are not necessary for every situation. Particularly where you might have customers spread across the country or even the globe. Time spent travelling is typically less productive, and any time saved can be spent on higher-value tasks.

Nowadays it is straightforward to talk face-to-face virtually with video conferencing and collaborate via screen and application sharing using systems such as Skype for Business. Of course, the price points do vary so mapping technologies to their correct applications are crucial. Additionally any out of the office training seminars, conferences or exhibitions should be reviewed on a cost-benefit basis. This is not to say you should stop employees from attending these events – as they can deliver high value. Just ensure you’re choosing ones that will help your employees meet their objectives.

These five areas are just a starting point there are many other things you can go on to consider. You can also review software, recruitment, remote working, mobile access and communications. Remember to evaluate the impact each area will have on your bottom line and how it will impact your employees, suppliers, business partners and your customers. If you commit to taking the time to streamline your business operations, you will see the results take shape.

3 things that will make remote working a great success

Posted on November 14, 2016April 28, 2021 by Beth Price

The clocks have gone back, the mornings are darker and the evenings are drawing in, there’s no doubt about it – winter is making its arrival. With the UK being warned to brace itself for some of the harshest, snowiest winter weather in years it is time to consider how the wintry conditions could affect your business and your employees.

It’s predicted that some areas of the country could see snowfall as early as this month, and that could leave staff stranded away from the office with no ability to go about their day to day tasks. However, you can prepare for winter by introducing flexible working policies which will help your business stay operational even in adverse conditions.

What to consider when introducing remote working?

Utilising solutions such as VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol), Hosted Cloud, Hosted Telephony and Thin Client technologies will mean that if employees are unable to get to work because of poor weather conditions they will still be able to log in and work from home, just as if they are in the office. This will also help in situations where the office itself is hit by the weather, e.g. power failure.

However, there’s no reason your business should limit flexible working policies to bouts of bad weather. With research showing remote working is becoming more common and employees wanting – or in some cases expecting – greater flexibility, then introducing it on a more permanent basis could benefit your business. If you are considering remote working this winter then it is not only technology that you need to consider. When creating a policy for your business there are three key areas that you will want to consider. You will need to set standards for each to ensure that it doesn’t become a drain on the business

1. Communication

This is one of the most important aspects to get right. Without regular communication, a remote team will fall apart. Every member of the team must understand their role, responsibilities and deadline, and check in regularly. Schedule regular video calls with your team (or individuals/departments depending on your particular business) to “catch up”. For example, you might have a Sales call every Monday morning to recap the previous week and layout plans for the week ahead.

Communication tools like Microsoft Teams can be used to keep the conversation going throughout the week, and some businesses may want to look into solutions like project management software. If you’re implementing remote working for the long term you will also want to schedule regular face-to-face meetings to keep the team operating as a team. While email, Teams and video conferencing are great tools if contact is kept virtual all the time you risk people feeling disjointed from the business and moving on.

2. Trust

Remote working isn’t for everyone, or suitable all the time, but you must be able to trust your team. You need workers who will be honest, motivated and self-driven to complete their tasks. No one will be checking in to see if they’re slacking off. It really comes down to personality type. Some work best in a team, others work better alone and some need a mix of both.

Those who work best alone will adapt very to remote working, with the odd day in the office. On the other hand, someone who thrives when working with people is likely to prefer working in an office environment. Putting them at home or in a serviced office alone could reduce productivity or cause them to leave altogether. For someone who works best in a mix, flexible working may be better. For example, the option to work at home when on deadline, but then in the office when delivering a project.

3. Company Culture

Culture is critical to the success of a modern business, but it becomes even more important with remote teams. As workers will be spread across different cities – or countries – you’ll need to go the extra mile to bring your team together. It’s important that you get to know one another’s working style, weaknesses and strengths. Encourage staff to help others solve problems and answer questions.

On a day to day basis, it’s possible to enhance the culture by creating virtual collaboration and social environments. Tools like Yammer can help you fulfil this requirement, it’s essentially a private social network for business. Employees can post in forums, chat, upload photos, just like on Facebook, except it’s focused on the working environment. Most businesses will also bring their people together regularly, to ensure bonds are built and teams are aligned.

Like any new policy, remote working will present its own challenges but think of it as a learning opportunity. With remote working shown to increase productivity, reduce absenteeism and lower overheads it could be quite the boost.

It’s important to plan ahead. Many businesses never entirely recover from a major disaster. Contact us today to receive a comprehensive review of your business continuity plan.

How to create an email retention policy

Posted on November 9, 2016April 28, 2021 by Beth Price

Email retention policies are all about decreasing the risk to your company. But for a truly successful policy, you need to strike the balance between a retention period which is too long and keeps useless mail around and one which is too short and loses mail that was important.

Your policy needs to take into account any applicable legal or industry regulations whilst not going overboard trying to store every email indefinitely. If your company does not yet have an email retention policy then it’s certainly worth drafting one, and here are five best tips to get you started.

How do I create an email retention policy?

1. Start with the regulatory minimums

Every business will be subject to different regulations, so the first thing you should do when creating your policy is to review the regulations your company is subject to and the relevant document retention requirements involved in each one. Some regulatory bodies you may need to consider include:

The Data Retention Regulations 2009
Freedom of Information Act
Financial Services Act
Sarbanes-Oxley Act (for US-related firms)
The Data Protection Act 1998

If the retention period is unknown then six years is often the common safe denominator. This is because it’s possible to bring a “breach of contract” up to six years later. If your business is concerned about particular records then you should seek legal advice.

2. Segment your data by type of use

Once you have the regulatory minimums you will notice that the recommended periods vary widely. With this in mind, you may wish to segment emails by type, use or department to prevent having to store all content for the maximum retention period.

For specific documents like PAYE records, maternity pay or statutory pay it is up to employers to assess retention periods based on business needs. If an employment tribunal may require the document as evidence then a retention period of six years makes sense. If the document could be needed for HMRC reviews, then a minimum retention period of three years after the end of the tax year in which the payments were made would be necessary.

3. Draft a real policy

Creating a policy, and getting it approved by senior management and legal professionals, will give you the ability and authority to implement all the IT, security and process controls you need to enforces your email retention requirements. Your policy should include the following sections

Purpose of the policy
Retention time, including any segments you are using to define the retention periods. Durations are often listed as years or may be permanent
Difference between paper and electronic documents – although ideally there should be none
What constitutes destruction (e.g. shredding, deleting, overwriting, degaussing of media

You do not have to include specific technologies and processes, but it is a good idea to refer to capabilities and requirements (e.g. offsite archival). You should also omit areas you will not or can not support, such as the types of segmentation you are unable to determine or support. If you haven’t seen a full retention policy before there are plenty of examples online for you to reference.

4. Review the preferred solutions

Once you have the main points of your policy established, you can estimate your minimum requirements for a solution based on the number of users, the expected volume of email and the expected rate of growth. With this information, you may be able to loosely price out a solution, but you may also wish to obtain indicative quotes from suppliers. You should also prepare for any changes to the email retention policy which may affect your pricing e.g. the minimum retention period increases from 18 months to three years.

5. Involve legal in the policy process

If it is the IT department’s responsibility to draft the email retention policy, then it is important to involve legal. Whether that’s an internal legal team or an external law firm. The main reason for this is so they can review the viability of the policy and if it will meet your regulatory obligations.

Allowing legal to view the policy at this stage means you can present a unified front to the board. It also allows you to evaluate the options you have laid out, and remove any of the amendments legal have made that will drastically increase the price.

To conclude…

Given the number of different regulatory bodies and how they affect organisations, every business is likely to have an individual email retention policy. Following these best practice tips will help you to create a policy that is effective, sensible and which you can enforce.

How to increase security & better protect your insurance firm

Posted on November 7, 2016April 15, 2020 by Beth Price

In recent years insurance firms have been targeted by numerous cyber attacks, both internal and external, including those by disgruntled former employees and organised cybercriminals. With the UK insurance industry alone managing investments of £1.9 trillion it is no surprise these firms are such an attractive target. Not only do these firms have a lot of capital funds on their systems at any one time, but they also have access to a wealth of customer data – the perfect tool for hackers to use for blackmail or to release to the public with the intent of causing reputational damage.

How do cybercriminal target insurance firms?

Gone are the days when individuals just hacked for “fun” or to prove that they could access a company’s system. Now their motives are far more calculated. This, in turn, has also changed the method of attack. Cyber attacks are rapidly becoming more sophisticated and for the hacker who is willing to be patient and clever the rewards stand to be substantial, whether that’s financial gain or the potential to damage – in some cases irreparably – a firm’s identity and reputation.

While insurance firms can be exploited through software vulnerabilities, social engineering is another popular tactic for many hackers. It essentially involves using tricks or tactics to gain information from legitimate users of a system in order to gain unauthorised access, without having to break in. Examples include calling targeting employees pretending to be from IT or maintenance, and requesting login details in order to “fix a problem”. As this can be a common helpdesk request some users may respond, which highlights the need for continual end-user training. Employees are often a firm’s first line of defence and, as such, must be able to recognise any red flags – such as suspicious emails or calls – and understand the appropriate escalation process.

How can insurance firms protect themselves?

When it comes to determining a security strategy, and overall IT strategy, the insurance sector faces pressure from multiple angles. The sector faces additional regulatory burdens, in comparison to some other sectors. They are also under continual pressure, from a technical aspect, to modernise their systems to ensure customer data is highly secure. Yet this data still remains accessible for review and processing.

These pressures combined can result in increased overheads and reduced margins, which can lead to decreased technical investment. However, when it comes to cybersecurity, technology should actually be the last piece of the puzzle.

Determining a security strategy should really begin with a firm understanding what their assets are, and then assessing them to determine potential risks. A reliable starting point is the ISO 27001 standard. This is a global accreditation which essentially covers best practice in regards to information security. It helps firms manage security by reviewing assets, assigning controls and monitoring processes.

Education will always be a key element of any security strategy. Social engineering is developing at a rapid pace and employees remain vulnerable as these attacks essentially manipulate trust. A comprehensive security policy should cover basic elements such as password strength, disclosing confidential information and physical security. You should then share the policy with the whole company. A security-aware culture will mean that potential threats will flag up with employees, who can then make the correct decisions. Even when the request seems genuine.

Recent high-profile breaches must serve as a warning that they are a prominent target for cybercriminals. This is likely to continue, if not increase. Taking steps to protect customer and financial data will protect your brand reputation and profitability. Therefore it makes sense to implement policies and systems to secure your business and review these regularly. The consequences of failure can be devastating, or even fatal, so cybersecurity must be a priority.

NEXT>> What is malware?

How to create an information classification policy

Posted on October 17, 2016April 15, 2020 by Beth Price

Documents are a business asset. If an asset is lost, stolen or damaged, it becomes a risk. Both for the business and for their client.

This means having control systems in place to understand these risks is critical. And having the controls to counter them is equally as important.

It sounds simple. But after a decade of working with businesses, it’s clear that few of them have suitable controls in place. To address this, we’ve created 10 points to guide you through the process of creating your information classification policy.

1. Keeping it simple

When looking at security in any way, it’s important to keep it as simple as possible. This is particularly true when it’s something so regular as dealing with documents.

To make it simple, businesses need to invest in technology. In this case, there are three main technologies worth investing in:

Document / Content management
Data leak prevention
Rights management solutions

A document getting into the wrong hands is going to cause your business, or a client’s business, damage. That is a fact. So aiming to implement all three is the best way to get a comprehensive solution.

2. Mapping your classifications

Before you get into classifying documents it’s important to ignore technology. Technology comes after you have decided the policies and processes you wish to follow.

What this means is that you need to map documents or types of documents into distinct groups. To do this, you should look at two key areas: the sensitivity of the document and their intended audience. This information will make up the foundation of your Information Classification Policy.

Many businesses already have classifications in place. But they’re often created, implemented and forgotten – quickly becoming unusable without weeks or months of additional work. You need to create an Information Classification Policy and not hide it away. It needs to be clear and easy for everyone to work with and conform to with little effort.

3. Building the Information Classification System

The foundation of any Information Classification Policy is categorising information. Here are a few example document classifications that will fit most business requirements:

Public: Documents that are not sensitive and there is no issue with release to the general public i.e. on a website
Confidential: Documents only to be viewed internally or with third parties that have signed a non-disclosure agreement
Employee Confidential: Documents only to be viewed by employees at the company
Management Restricted: Documents only to be viewed by the senior management at the company
Private: Documents which contain personal information (useful for managing GDPR compliance)

In general, you don’t want to go over 10 classifications because classification should be as simple as possible. If you find that you have too many classifications, consider only looking at sensitivity or only looking at intended audience to begin with then filling in any gaps.

4. Assembling the Information Classification Team

A policy needs board-level support to ensure the business buys into and uses it. Once you have this, you should form a team which includes key departments in the business to enforce the policy.

This team may include people from technical, HR, legal and any other departments that are suitable for your industry. An appropriate team will be able to protect a business from security breaches whilst letting people access the information they need. And whilst it is important, the technical solution should be the last point to consider.

5. Designing the Information Classification Policy

Once you have your team assembled, you need to start going through your documents. In most organisations, it can be hard to know where to start.

To solve this, you should group documents at a high level. Looking at the impact that a data breach of that type could cause. Focus on the most sensitive document types first. And once that’s locked down, you can move through the less sensitive list.

When going through this process there are a few tips you can follow.

For company documents, it’s advisable to put your company name first. This helps them stand out from any other classification, i.e. from a client or a partner business.

It’s also useful to colour code classifications to help distinguish documents by eye. This helps you identify a sensitive document that’s left on a screen, printer or vacant desk. The beauty of colour classification is that it aids you in taking action internally or externally. It’s simple to prove that the defendant knew the information was restricted.

It’s important that you make it easy for staff to label and classify documents. If it takes more than three clicks to label a document, staff will find ways to circumvent the system. People naturally take the path of least resistance. So if your system is obtuse, employees will find ways to bypass it.

6. Enforcing control with automation

Once you’ve designed the Information Classification System, it’s finally time to look at the technology. Automation is very helpful to ensure enforcement. You shouldn’t rely on people alone as things will drop through the cracks.

It’s important that any technology links back into the core authentication system within a business. This will typically be Active Directory – the system you use to log in to your PC at the office.

Doing this simplifies things as you can use existing user groups to give access to certain classifications. There’s likely to already be an Active Directory group called “Board Members” for example, which you can use straight away.

Of course, grouping people doesn’t guarantee a user will know who they can and can’t send specific documents to. Nor will it prevent them from sending a document to a recipient by mistake.

This is why a business should be using a Rights Management system. Rights Management ensures that the systems know who has permission to access the document. So even if someone does send a restricted document, the recipient won’t be able to view it.

7. Educating employees

One of the largest reasons for data leakage is employees. Make sure to train them on how to use systems and refresh them periodically.

Also educate them on any security risks to the business – known, current or potential. They need to understand why following policies is important and how not following them can impact the business and therefore them.

8. Controlling leavers

So many organisations do not manage ex-employees. It’s important to disable their accounts once they leave the company. Even if they left on good terms, it’s best not to take a risk.

Loose accounts complicate the system at best and act as a open hole for attackers at worst. Hackers or insiders can hijack old accounts and make use of the access privileges. So you need to shut down accounts or strip them of all access rights to reduce the risk to your data.

9. Continually improving

It’s best if you adhere to common processes and document them somewhere accessible. To do this, you need robust information classification and risk policies that integrate with a wider standard. A good example to use as a framework is the ISO 27001 standard.

Doing this ensures that you assess and improve how you are controlling your risks within the business. Keeping you protected from an evolving threat landscape.

10. Widening the focus

It would be ridiculous to only focus on document security whilst ignoring the other risks to your business. So understanding all the risks your business faces and assigning suitable controls is something you must do.

Again, the ISO 27001 standard is a good framework to use for managing your information security on a wider basis. But this shouldn’t stop you going ahead and dealing with document security first. Getting this done will make things easier in the long term.

Summary

Businesses must control their risks, as failing to do so has catastrophic consequences. The key is to start simple and then improve. You don’t have to adopt everything at once.

A good starting point is to understand the sort of data you have and then classifying it. A good percentage of your business information could be used to extort or embarrass you. Or even worse, a client.

Once you’ve got your classifications, tie them into document templates. Then automate management and workflow automatically with technology. When done right, businesses can dramatically improve their security since it’s embedded onto the asset. Rights Management can then control who can edit, copy, paste, print, email, transfer or view it at a later date.

Once in place, this can be overlaid with network controls such as Data Leak Prevention. This watches documents flow in and out of the business and can isolate, sandbox or alert relevant people that a breach may occur.

To take it further, systems at the perimeter, such as gateway encryption solutions, can identify sensitive information. Encrypting it to ensure it won’t pass over the open Internet in clear text.

The list can go on but it’s important you start at the beginning by creating an Information Classification System. You need to understand what you have and what the risks and potential controls are first though.

NEXT>> Best practice tips for creating an email retention policy

In the press: Cybersecurity best practice for insurers

Posted on June 2, 2016April 29, 2021 by QuoStar

As the British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA) announce the launch of a cyber committee dedicated to helping the insurance sector as a whole tackle the increasing numbers of security breaches, Robert Rutherford shares his insights on how life and health insurance providers can create a successful cybersecurity strategy that will protect their business and confidential data.

Rutherford, CEO of IT Support and consultancy firm QuoStar, says hackers are capitalising on the dated technology and legacy systems. An issue that has plagued the insurance industry for decades. However, there’s no need for insurers to revamp their entire IT systems to implement a successful cybersecurity strategy. In fact, technology is the last piece of the “cyber puzzle”.

Click here to read the article in full on Life Insurance International

Data centre convergence & changing job roles

Posted on March 31, 2016April 15, 2020 by Beth Price

Why are we seeing rapid growth in converged/hyper-converged data centre infrastructure?

Data centre infrastructures had to converge, predominately due to the demand for cloud/hosted services. The global economic situation, skills shortages with the market and escalating salaries simply led to a mushroom of technologies to help those running those data centres capitalise on the demand – straightforward market dynamics really. Sure, it would’ve happened anyway but the global market and amount of competition in the space certainly sped up the process.

As we are still in the race to zero on costs, led by Amazon, Microsoft and the like, the technologies available will continue to reduce the requirement for the level of skills needed right now. We are pretty much moving back in time where a single vendor provided and often managed the core platform. For example, mainframe and minicomputer systems. It just makes business sense now. A black box delivering computers, storage and networking, rather than lots of different pieces together with string.

What impact is it having on those working within data centres?

Those starting their careers in data centres must understand the value that their knowledge will have in the long term, and how this can be maximised as businesses turn to automated processes. Fewer people are needed to run a data centre than say three years ago, due to automation and orchestration technologies. The level of integration and APIs between vendors is getting sharper, reducing the number of skilled personnel needed to run operations on a daily basis. These changes along with the rise of the public cloud, into the mainstream, means career considerations need to be made.

The worst thing that data centre workers can do is push back against the move to greater automation and integration. Particularly public cloud integration. With Amazon and Microsoft opening data centres in the UK, they will start to hoover more clients in. This creates opportunity with the areas for development focusing on hanging different platforms and providers together. Engineering if you like – moulding and adapting services between data centres, vendors and suppliers. This, in turn, will lead to increased security and compliance requirements, creating a demand for in-depth cloud security and compliance skills and experience. This is really going to be one area that comes to the fore over the next two to three years.

What’s the demand for those with the right skills?

Those with the skills and experience of hooking together (converging) numerous systems, providers and vendors are going to be in demand as data centres rush to protect their margin in a highly competitive market. This fact alone has to lead to real demand for those who understand both the commercial and technical reality along with the skills required to help protect the profit margin of a business. Taking it further, those who can package everything into a hyper-converged platform are also going to be in demand. However, this model still goes against the grain for some technical leads; they want some flexibility, rightly or wrongly. Over the coming years, this could change though as we really do get into utility computing for the masses.

What should the skills focus be?

Datacentre IT professionals have to look into the orchestration, automation and the associated hybrid-cloud platforms. The skills required will revolve around these areas, focusing on making operations leaner, more reliable and giving clients more options. Obviously, the solutions from the likes of Dell and Cisco’s FlexPod are pushing out and down in the various sizes and types of infrastructure.

Can universities help?

I don’t believe that universities are up to speed on the rapid-growth of the cloud and data centre markets. It’s difficult to do as the change is so rapid; the customer and supplier side, the global giants and small startups are driving this on all fronts. By the time a student comes out of university what they learnt at the beginning could be irrelevant. If however universities and apprenticeships teach systems analysis, software engineering, networking and core IT skills this will help those going into the field. Once you understand the concepts then these don’t change. No matter how fast the market runs, IT principles are IT principles.

We find that those coming from IT-related courses which cover computing, analysis and software engineering principles benefit at all levels of their career. As you grow and the market changes you always have a base knowledge to anchor back to. Everything coming into the market is based on the same principles, just with new and innovative approaches.

Robert Rutherford – CEO of QuoStar

NEXT>> Cloud computing workers wanted

How to choose the right document solutions provider

Posted on November 9, 2015April 15, 2020 by Beth Price

Managed print and document solutions can bring a wealth of benefits, including increased employee productivity and efficiency, the ability to maximise billable hours, and greater document and data security. But in order to truly harness these benefits and enhance your operations, you need to choose the right print and document solutions partner.

Many companies will feel under pressure to simply pick the lowest cost option, or are blinded by a dazzling list of benefits which seem impressive on paper, but in reality, don’t quite deliver after installation. This why it’s critical to do your research, to ensure you’re choosing a solution that delivers a return on your investment, beyond simply the cost per print.

How to choose a solution that suits

The Installation Process

If planned and executed correctly, the impact of installation on day-to-day management and activity should be insignificant. If the print and document solution takes days to install and is difficult to integrate with your other applications, then it’s only going to have a negative impact. In the short-term, it’ll be costing your firm on the bottom line and will damage the end user’s perception of the solution. Inefficiencies will swallow up any potential returns in the long-run as users try to find a workaround for the solution.

How Does It Integrate?

If the platform will only integrate with a few pieces of third-party software then it’s going to be a struggle. Or it will become more of an expense in the long run. You want a solution that fits your needs and operations. Not one that you have to work around it, or which restricts future decisions. In order to truly integrate, you should be looking at firms who truly understand systems, and who can analyse your business and operations. You don’t want a provider who only looks at printer location and the cost per print. This is where so many traditional copier businesses fall down.

Flexibility

Your chosen print and document solution may integrate perfectly with your current infrastructure, but you don’t want it to affect software choices you make in the future. Otherwise, you could be left with an ineffective, cumbersome solution. Or have to pay out to start this whole costly process again. The right print and document solution should, as your IT infrastructure does, grow with you, allowing you to capitalise on new opportunities and changing markets.

Management & Long Term Planning

When most law firms receive a proposal from a print provider, the first things they will notice is a lower cost per click, due to standardisation, and a drop in paper consumption and waste. Whilst these are positives, there is only so much you can gain without further optimisation. You can achieve greater productivity and efficiency through scanning solutions, but this takes time, planning and ongoing management. Many print providers simply don’t have the knowledge to deliver this properly.

You need a provider who is in it for the long-haul, who will take the time to learn end-user trends and revisit the solution to see where they can change processes and automate staff functions. These are the areas which will make the solution completely bespoke and will enhance your margins. The provider needs to stage the solution, with every step optimised before progressing to the next. If a print company tries to deliver everything in one big project then something is probably not quite right.

Ask yourself, what do you want to achieve from this process? Do you just want to achieve quick wins? Or do you want to also optimise processes for ongoing operational and margin improvement? The answer to that question should give you an idea of what sort of providers you should be engaging with.

NEXT>> 9 ways law firms can reduce costs with managed document solutions

5 extra benefits of document solutions for law firms

Posted on November 2, 2015April 15, 2020 by Beth Price

For the majority of law firms, documents are a critical part of day-to-day business. Hundreds of pages are scanned, copied, faxed and printed every single day. However, this doesn’t mean that document management has to be time-consuming, frustrating and expensive.

In our original blog post, we shared five benefits of managed document solutions with you, but the positives don’t stop there. With the right provider, print and document solutions can have a positive impact on all members of your firm – from Managing Partners through to administrative support staff and your IT team.

Extra benefits of managed document solutions

1. Complete Vision

With detailed reporting, you view statistics such as; who prints most often; the average size of print jobs; the number of grayscale and colour pages, and the type of print jobs. Reports can break down statistics by individual, department or office. Use this data to set effective workflow rules, such as restricting access based on cost, colour mode or size, or to set optimised print budgets to each department. Determine which devices are over or underutilised, whether cost-saving features are being used and which department should be paying the bills.

2. Make employees more efficient

Printing, scanning and copying can sometimes be a frustrating and time-consuming task – but it really doesn’t have to be. Managed document solutions simplify document handling procedures, so employees can complete once lengthy procedures in a few clicks. Devices can also be configured so employees can print from anywhere, from any device, so they can make the best use of their time.

3. Maximise billable hours

When your time is billable you can’t afford to waste a minute. Improved workflows, increased search capabilities and straightforward device interfaces help you make the most of your time. Ensuring it’s not wasted carrying out lengthy tasks. Managed print also makes cost recovery and billing easier. Solutions allow staff to easily assign costs for each job to a cost centre or matter code.

4. Consolidate hardware

An in-depth, personalised analysis of your current systems, by an experienced print and process analyst, will allow you to establish a practical ratio of device per number of employees, for typical floor action. You can reduce the total amount of hardware by finding more efficient options to meet the needs of groups of employees. For example, multifunction devices (MFD) allow printing, copying, scanning and faxing within one machine, combined with a standardised set-up.

Smart load-balancing will ensure that your devices have as long as life as possible. While traditional printer pooling simply sends the document to the first machine available and prints automatically, an intelligent solution will send the document to the server. The user can then release the document at any printer with their login details. If the user realises they actually need to print in colour, they simply need to sign out and sign back in to the correct device. The document will still be waiting in the queue ready to print.

5. Reduce waste

Think you’re being prepared by bulk-ordering toner, paper and ink? Think again. You will end up with stacks of resources gathering dusted and taking up space in the cupboard. Your toner has a use-by-date so your stock could go out of date before you even need it. Some managed solutions have an “auto-order capability” which will place an order for you when stocks start to run low. Others will also have a “phone home” capabilities which can notify an engineer when a device in need of maintenance.

The benefits of flexible working for law firms

Posted on September 8, 2015August 18, 2021 by QuoStar

Flexible working is slowly becoming more common in the legal sector, with numerous firms announcing plans to implement the practice in the last few months or, at the very least, exploring the idea.

This increase is a response to numerous issues affecting law firms, whether it’s improving work/life balance for employees, the challenge of having global teams in different time zones, or in response to escalating rental costs – a particular concern for London-based firms, many of whom are starting to move out of the city.

We are also seeing a good number of start-up and boutique firms using quite advanced technologies to work from home or hot desk, giving them much better profit margins than their larger competitors. There’s no real reason why firms cannot increase the availability of flexible working.

The Benefits of Flexible Working

Flexible working can take many forms – part-time working, term-time working, home-working, compressed work, flexitime or hot-desking are all possibilities to explore. The practice can bring many benefits to a firm, among them including:

1. The ability to hold on to valuable staff

For example, those who need to work part-time in order to balance work and family life.

2. Reduced levels of sick leave

Employees will feel less run down due to a better work/life balance. Alternatively, they will no longer have to take sick leave in order to meet other personal commitments.

3. Increased employee morale, engagement and commitment to the firm

Staff will feel taken care of and have the flexibility to meet personal obligations and life responsibilities.

4. Improved productivity

Staff can work when they feel they can accomplish most and feel freshest – depending on the flexible work schedule adopted.

5. Greater talent pool to recruit from

It develops an image as an employer of choice, e.g. family-friendly, modern etc. Many workers these days, particularly graduates, have higher expectations and view flexible working as the norm.

6. Faster response time

Business decisions today can be made or lost in a matter of minutes. Having employees who can work from anywhere, at any times, means firms can be more responsive.

7. Reduced overheads

Flexible working initiatives like hot-desking have the potential to save money in terms of office space. For some firms, it’s unnecessary for every member of staff to have a fixed desk, and it’s a waste to pay for an empty desk.

Some firms implementing or exploring flexible working:

Herbert Smith Freehills

The firm has had a flexible working agreement since 2012, but in August announced plans to implement agile working across all its London based practice groups following a successful three-month trial. A number of partners and fee-earners were invited to work from home up to one day per week. The majority of those involved gave positive feedback; 89% reported improved work-life balance; 75% said flexible working improved their productivity and only 3% experienced negative responses.

Foot Anstey

The firm launched a “warm-desking” pilot in August, which is set to run for two months. The move is partly a response to a need to look for new premises in the city within the next three years.

BLM

In February, the firm announced that it was offering a flexible working program for all its London staff as it consolidates its two offices into one. BLM said they have invested heavily in technology to make flexible working simple and achievable.

The key to achieving the benefits of flexible working is implementation. Technology, of course, is important but also easy. Any IT department should be able to enable employees to work in the same manner, whether they’re in the office or not, without effort. A vast array of technologies and readily available Internet connectivity make it easy to collaborate in and out of the firm.

There are however also other softer elements to consider. Personality types, organisation and culture can all determine whether flexible working is a possibility for your firm. Overall you should focus on the business requirements first and foremost.