The business need
- Address incumbent document comparison technology performance issues
- Deliver more stable integration with iManage FileSite
- Help users find changes between documents in fewer steps
- Switch to document comparison software that handles both simple and complex documents
- Move to a solution that is iManage Work 10 ready for when the firm migrates
About Simpson Grierson
Simpson Grierson is one of New Zealand’s leading full-service commercial law firms. It has over 330 staff members located across three offices in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch. The firm is the country’s only member of Lex Mundi, the world’s leading association of independent law firms. Simpson Grierson champions inclusivity and became the first New Zealand organization to be awarded the Rainbow Tick in 2014. It was awarded the Supreme Award at the White Camellia Awards in 2017, a program recognizing businesses promoting gender equality through the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles.
Knowing when it’s time for a change
Accurate and reliable document comparison is needed at Simpson Grierson to ensure small but important changes in legal files aren’t missed. Legal secretaries and members of the Word processing department use document comparison technology to find changes in a mixture of both simple and more complex documents – such as those with tables, footnotes, and numbering – from all four practice areas at the firm.
Simpson Grierson sought an alternative to its incumbent document comparison tool after problems with iManage FileSite integration caused stability and performance issues. Information Services Director at Simpson Grierson, Valerie Fogg, explained that “users were finding comparison workflows weren’t streamlined and involved too many steps to get from a to b.” For example, comparing anything other than Word or PDF files required an additional step for file type conversion.
The firm’s list of requirements for a replacement solution included, according to Valerie, “more stable integration now, plus capacity to integrate with iManage Work 10 in the future when the firm migrates, and comparison workflows that were more efficient (i.e., involved fewer steps).”
Finding an alternative document comparison solution
Simpson Grierson found an alternative document comparison solution in compareDocs. The firm chose compareDocs because of a) its iManage integration with FileSite and the new iManage Work 10 platform, b) straightforward comparison workflows (including right-click workflows in Outlook and iManage), and c) because it would fit in seamlessly with the firm’s other DocsCorp productivity tools: pdfDocs Binder for automated document bundling and cleanDocs for metadata management and email recipient checking.
Valerie described how running a Windows 10 upgrade at the same time they looked for comparison alternatives gave Simpson Grierson the opportunity to consolidate products and vendors. “It made sense to go with a suite. We wanted to rationalize the number of suppliers we were working with.”
“Simpson Grierson now has stable and streamlined integration with iManage so launching a comparison doesn’t cause issues for the end-user,” continued Valerie. “Users can drag-and-drop documents and compare more file types than before, including Excel and PowerPoint.” Valerie explained that compareDocs has also made it easier to manage the rendering sets. Administrators can customize how changes are marked up in a redline or Track Changes report – and deploy these settings to every user at the firm.
Valerie was glad to find that training and user onboarding for compareDocs was simple and happened quickly. “The firm’s trainer put product videos together and shared them via the intranet. Training sessions were also made available to power users so they could start enjoying the benefits.”
Summary
In switching to compareDocs, Simpson Grierson has made major improvements to how users work with a critical tool: document comparison software. Valerie summed up the firm’s experience and the justification for the product switch by saying that, “the feedback from users now is compareDocs is easier to use than the old solution because of improved integration and workflows that involve fewer steps to complete. Finding changes between documents is easier and more accurate, and compareDocs as an alternative has been a huge success.”