Social Document Management Systems: A Thing of the Present

Wait a minute ' KM interfaces already exist within our consumer culture focused software? Of course! And consumer culture already drives the social DMS concept as its way of life when using any of these social/online vendors? Yes, and they're all 100% Web based. For years “cloud” was debated, but it isn't about cloud. It's always been about Web. Cloud is simply a redundant backdrop to the Web interfaces necessary to best organize the world's information. So, if these Web interfaces organize countless terabytes of consumer data through consumer information management, how hard is it for other industries, including legal, to integrate?

Vendor Integration Is Paramount

It's all about integrating vendors. At Bradford & Barthel, LLP (B&B), we chose Google as our primary vendor vehicle for hosted innovation and knowledge interface. Again, it doesn't matter to the firm what labels are applied ' intranets, extranets, portals, DMS ' they're all the same thing through 100% Web. Look at it as a better way to deliver knowledge with a keen focus on timing of the various knowledge “interactions.” Consider such decisions knowledge strategy decisions within any organization and law firm.

Case in point, at B&B, we're deploying a combination of Google Drive, Google+, and the rest of the Google platform as our social DMS solution. In any industry, the big players named already need help integrating. Microsoft works extremely well through integrating vendors, and in our case, we needed the same. We're currently in talks with both Handshake and Nikec solutions as both integrating and forward-facing vendors for our social DMS. Why? Because both work well with Microsoft SharePoint in pushing forward their solutions, and we aim to achieve the same thing some firms using Microsoft SharePoint are doing, just with a different flavor. While we can ultimately use our integrated solution as a standalone DMS, it's important for us to maintain the social qualities.

Social Differentiators

What are these social qualities? This is the social media for intranet integration, in our case Google+, for others it would be Yammer to SharePoint, etc. The point being that by reorganizing firm workflow through shared circles, shared concepts, shared document analysis collaboration and project related workflow, we are able to introduce not only a central and decentralized form of intranet, but equally apply those same principles to our DMS approach. This follows the same pattern written about in previous issues of Legal Tech. Through the shared circle process, we not only change workflow and processes but staffing and project models as well, ultimately creating new business models that are spherical (as opposed to linear) and client focused.

For B&B, one of the ramifications of this evolutionary process was to embrace new alternative staffing management models, to follow a “manage by client” approach as opposed to “by region.” In our case, this meant establishing client-facing account managers, including front-line attorneys, managing attorneys and partners, working together and managing client relations in alternative project formats. And our best method of delivery both internally and with clients? Social DMS.

Let's further describe this scenario. While Google serves as the firm's main interactive social platform, legal-centric vendors like Handshake will bridge existing financial data and billables, business intelligence and workflow. Vendors like Nikec will integrate on the “front end” by creating attorney file interaction through Apple iPad interactive software that flips just as a book, allows note taking into the interface, and essentially gives B&B's attorneys the keys to an interactive, client-facing, firm-facing, social DMS solution.

Google+ shared circles are established to share with specific clients, specific practice areas, specific account managers and their clients, creating a tool instrumental in driving alternative staffing and information management reorganization. This allows firm attorneys to be positioned in the best way possible to evolve as our business evolves forward with our clients and in tandem with the evolving social DMS driving consumer culture.

Social DMS is the natural evolution forward as consumer culture continues to integrate through corporate culture. It's only a matter of time before social media, intranet, Internet, DMS and search all blend into different variations of one and the same. We're already there in consumer culture ' it's just a matter of time, and a matter of 100% Web, before we allow the permeation in corporate and legal culture to take place.

What is a social document management system? Social DMS is based off the 100% Web concept. This concept envisions that all firm processes, workflows and interactions are accessed and deployed through a 100% Web-based approach. Why? It is the future and reflects how the Web is organized and how consumer culture is organized. Google Search and Google+, Facebook, Amazon Book & Video Libraries, Microsoft Bing are all examples of how knowledge can be organized and filtered, first, when we're not at work, and now as social interactions that are increasingly being assimilated into our daily work lives. Once corporate and law firm culture catch up, this social and interconnected way of life will redefine how we approach work with our colleagues, and especially with our clients.

Anatomy of a Social DMS

What does it look like? It's firm intranets, extranets and client portals all combined and blended together. It's both decentralized (think Facebook) and centralized (think “standard” Internet websites). While some might argue that mobile apps are the way of the future for intranets, I disagree in part. Mobile apps are part of an ongoing integration process with our various consumer culture-driven knowledge interfaces, including the aforementioned Google Search, Google+, Facebook and Microsoft Bing.

Wait a minute ' KM interfaces already exist within our consumer culture focused software? Of course! And consumer culture already drives the social DMS concept as its way of life when using any of these social/online vendors? Yes, and they're all 100% Web based. For years “cloud” was debated, but it isn't about cloud. It's always been about Web. Cloud is simply a redundant backdrop to the Web interfaces necessary to best organize the world's information. So, if these Web interfaces organize countless terabytes of consumer data through consumer information management, how hard is it for other industries, including legal, to integrate?

Vendor Integration Is Paramount

It's all about integrating vendors. At Bradford & Barthel, LLP (B&B), we chose Google as our primary vendor vehicle for hosted innovation and knowledge interface. Again, it doesn't matter to the firm what labels are applied ' intranets, extranets, portals, DMS ' they're all the same thing through 100% Web. Look at it as a better way to deliver knowledge with a keen focus on timing of the various knowledge “interactions.” Consider such decisions knowledge strategy decisions within any organization and law firm.

Case in point, at B&B, we're deploying a combination of Google Drive, Google+, and the rest of the Google platform as our social DMS solution. In any industry, the big players named already need help integrating. Microsoft works extremely well through integrating vendors, and in our case, we needed the same. We're currently in talks with both Handshake and Nikec solutions as both integrating and forward-facing vendors for our social DMS. Why? Because both work well with Microsoft SharePoint in pushing forward their solutions, and we aim to achieve the same thing some firms using Microsoft SharePoint are doing, just with a different flavor. While we can ultimately use our integrated solution as a standalone DMS, it's important for us to maintain the social qualities.

Social Differentiators

What are these social qualities? This is the social media for intranet integration, in our case Google+, for others it would be Yammer to SharePoint, etc. The point being that by reorganizing firm workflow through shared circles, shared concepts, shared document analysis collaboration and project related workflow, we are able to introduce not only a central and decentralized form of intranet, but equally apply those same principles to our DMS approach. This follows the same pattern written about in previous issues of Legal Tech. Through the shared circle process, we not only change workflow and processes but staffing and project models as well, ultimately creating new business models that are spherical (as opposed to linear) and client focused.

For B&B, one of the ramifications of this evolutionary process was to embrace new alternative staffing management models, to follow a “manage by client” approach as opposed to “by region.” In our case, this meant establishing client-facing account managers, including front-line attorneys, managing attorneys and partners, working together and managing client relations in alternative project formats. And our best method of delivery both internally and with clients? Social DMS.

Let's further describe this scenario. While Google serves as the firm's main interactive social platform, legal-centric vendors like Handshake will bridge existing financial data and billables, business intelligence and workflow. Vendors like Nikec will integrate on the “front end” by creating attorney file interaction through Apple iPad interactive software that flips just as a book, allows note taking into the interface, and essentially gives B&B's attorneys the keys to an interactive, client-facing, firm-facing, social DMS solution.

Google+ shared circles are established to share with specific clients, specific practice areas, specific account managers and their clients, creating a tool instrumental in driving alternative staffing and information management reorganization. This allows firm attorneys to be positioned in the best way possible to evolve as our business evolves forward with our clients and in tandem with the evolving social DMS driving consumer culture.

Social DMS is the natural evolution forward as consumer culture continues to integrate through corporate culture. It's only a matter of time before social media, intranet, Internet, DMS and search all blend into different variations of one and the same. We're already there in consumer culture ' it's just a matter of time, and a matter of 100% Web, before we allow the permeation in corporate and legal culture to take place.