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Morningstar Systems for installation of Interwoven’s WorkSite 8 solution
I.R.I.S., a company listed on EURONEXT Brussels and specialising in Intelligent Document Recognition, Electronic Document, Content & Process Management and Optimised IT Infrastructure, announces the installation by I.R.I.S. - Morningstar Systems of Interwoven’s WorkSite 8 solution for Eubelius.
Boasting 22 partners, over 100 attorneys and three offices in Brussels, Kortrijk and Antwerp, Eubelius is the country's largest independent law firm. Eubelius has been offering high-quality legal advice and representation for business transactions and disputes, both national and international, since 1994.
The volume of documents circulating in the organisation has seen parallel growth, as has the flow of emails. "Documents were stored on the file server and emails on the mail server, whereas emails often concern a given file. In other words, related information was not always stored in the same place. Furthermore, emails were often sent to several people, who then saved all these messages in their own message box. All this data occupied an enormous amount of server space, causing an additional problem," said IT manager Jan Vanherpe.
Eubelius decided to call on I.R.I.S., and more specifically its Dutch subsidiary Morningstar Systems, for installation of Interwoven’s Worksite 8 document management system. Enjoying great popularity in the legal profession, this solution was specially designed for the provision of legal services and reflects the working environment of lawyers, which stresses the file and the client. "But Eubelius’s choice did not automatically fall on WorkSite," said Mr Vanherpe. "We carefully studied and evaluated other solutions available on the market. From the outset, our preference was for WorkSite since this solution was fully suited to a law firm’s day-to-day management activities and met all our expectations from a technical standpoint. In our view, this system offers unrivalled stability. Choosing this solution was also determined by the solution developer, namely I.R.I.S. - Morningstar Systems. This company is entirely dedicated to document management and has a full understanding of the needs of law firms."
WorkSite ensures that documents are saved in the right place, which means in the appropriate context. By way of clear work plans, the user quickly obtains an excellent view of all the documents. WorkSite makes it possible to search using free text or metadata. It is therefore possible to search for documents as well as information contained in these documents. Moreover, the system permits more than one person to work simultaneously on the same document.
The document management system was initially deployed in Eubelius’s Brussels and Antwerp offices, followed a few days later by deployment in the Kortrijk office. A number of I.R.I.S. - Morningstar Systems employees were present throughout the deployment to oversee the operation and solve any problems on the spot. "In our offices we use a Belgian client management software suite. I.R.I.S. - Morningstar Systems developed an interface between this suite and WorkSite so that files created in the client management system are also automatically created in WorkSite," said Mr Vanherpe.
It took only four days to train all Eubelius’s employees, namely some 90 lawyers and 35 administrative staff. The support staff received more advanced training than the lawyers since, in practice, they will most often need to search and save documents. "Despite a relatively short training period, all staff could subsequently use the system without any problem," said Mr Vanherpe. "In addition, it was important for the system to be operational on the last day of training. Staff were thus able to put the knowledge acquired directly into practice."
Users’ first impressions are very positive. "The project’s success is also due to careful preparation of the system’s implementation. We set up a project group that brought together a range of functions within the firm, ensuring active participation on the part of the entire business. The system was operational overnight. The reception was positive and the benefits undeniable, particularly in terms of saving and accessing emails." With full knowledge of the facts, Eubelius decided to devote all the time needed to constructing the system. The working methods and requirements in terms of managing the firm’s files were also taken into account.
"The system saves time and money. Employees spend less time searching documents since they are saved very logically in the document management system," said Mr Vanherpe. "This system has enabled some departments to review their working methods and adopt a far more efficient approach, inspired by the document management system’s procedures and for which I.R.I.S. - Morningstar Systems has advanced expertise. The most positive aspect of adopting WorkSite is an undisputable improvement in efficiency. Lawyers can collaborate more easily on files and instantaneously see the changes made, their authors and the latest document versions. Plus, we benefit from increased mail server space. Each email is now saved only once, associated with the relevant context. And emails relating to a given file are stored in the same place."
The IT section has received positive reactions from all Eubelius’s departments concerning the document management solution. "We also want to encourage users to exploit all the system’s possibilities," said Mr Vanherpe. "To this end, each week we intend to propose a new feature relating to use of the system. It is likewise interesting to note that employees also share their experience and exchange advice, a sure sign that the system has been well and truly accepted."
04.02.2009, I.R.I.S.
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