With Microsoft Sharepoint and Apple iPhones and iPads now an established feature within more and more law firms, vendors have no option but to embrace these technologies in their own product development strategies, either as alternative delivery platforms or to address some of the issues they create. Here are some of the latest vendor new product launches…
On the Sharepoint front, StoredIQ has extended its ediscovery and information management support for Sharepoint beyond document libraries to include wikis, blogs (as well as their associated metadata) and now Sharepoint user profiles and versioning. Another vendor active in this area is Workshare, which has now launched Workshare Point to provide closer integration between Sharepoint and the Microsoft Outlook andOffice applications. The key benefit of the new Workshare product is to make it easier for users to retrieve and file content to Sharepoint without leaving their office applications, so that Sharepoint can serve as a central document and email management system.
And then we have the iPhone and iPad. In conjunction with the Bellefield Partnership, Thomson Reuters ProLaw now has its first iPad app. Called iDocExplorer (and available from iTunes) itgives users mobile access to their documents via a 3G or wireless connection. World Software has launched a free iPad app that provides remote desktop connectivity to its Worldox DMS. Philip Speech Processing has announced a new wireless digital dictation recorder app for iPhones and iPads.
To tackle the downside of “iPad/iPhone frenzy” Guidance Software has announced that the latest version of its EnCase Neutrino digital forensics and ediscovery software supports the acquisition of data from iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices. The move follows survey findings that the corporate use of tablet devices is set to double over the next three months. (EnCase also supports Android devices.) Finally, Lit Software has launched its TrialPad app (one time cost $89.99 from iTunes) which allows litigators and expert witnesses to present electronic evidence in court at a fraction of the cost of using professional trial presentation consultants. TrialPad imports both files and the folder structure intact from Dropbox so attorneys can organize exhibits on any PC before exporting them to an iPad.
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This story first appeared in the American Legal Technology Insider newsletter.