ONE-STOP SHOPPING FOR VOICEMAIL, ELECTRONIC MAIL AND BEYOND

Randy Kalik
Shutts & Bowen

For quite some time, networking and telecommunications equipment companies have preached the concept of "Unified Messaging," or having all network data and voice services run through a single application to the desktop PC. In today’s crazy world of IPO’s and Internet start-up companies, the concept of offering voice mail, fax, email and outbound calling from the personal computer is a safe course of action to make it in today’s technical "mega-scape." As we approach the concept of joining data within the business environment, IT professionals can focus on areas not influenced by the Y2K "scare", but driven by real technical need. After Y2K, the next wave of digital technical strategies is taking shape. Applying those strategies within the law firm is a slightly different challenge. Convergence, or the ability to join all elements of electronic communication in one central repository, is the next great challenge organizations should explore.

Digital Technology Impacts the law firm - the "challenge".

Digital telecommunications, and its impact within the arm of IT, allows for major improvements over standard analog technology established in the late 80's. In fact, moving to digital platforms is somewhat analogous to the same type of upgrade for personal cellular telephones. In the last five years, many individuals were presented with the option of switching to a digital cellular package, that included incentives such as improved and clearer signals, email and wireless capable telephones, and cost incentives. READ: Cheaper monthly service fees. Within a business, many if not all of these perks would apply to an organization looking to upgrade its analog PBX telephone switch to a digital PRI solution. Incentives such as external Caller ID - added to the voice message and displayed on the telephone display - is one of numerous options digital technology offers today’s companies. For example, establishing a simple network design for local dial-tone and long distance service is achieved with two-way, separate defined channels, also referred to as increased calling capacity. Implementing this technology, allows a company to channel its outbound calls during one segment of the day, over the same lines that would be used for inbound traffic at a different time of day. Thus, the need to purchase additional band-width can be circumvented - with the same goal achieved.

Also, for many large law firms, joining multiple offices onto one large PBX platform can be achieved under a digital scope. How often do you have a voice message you would like to share with a partner in the firm? It would ease the communication process if the other party could play the message himself. Assuming each office had its own PBX or telephone switch with voice mail, combining the systems so one attorney could forward a message to another attorney in a separate office, can be achieved under a voice messaging networked solution. Again, this is usually only an option under a digital platform. Here are some other benefits:

• Physical Space requirements, much less space required after removing analog technology

• Replace older, outmoded telephone sets with state-of-the-art equipment

• Improvements in speed when placing a call to an office within your network

• Speed between sites, upgrade those old MUX’es!!!!

• Improved after hours auto-attendant systems

• Video Conferencing

Another incentive toward a move to a digital platform would be Unified Messaging. How many times have you simply wanted to call a person you have listed in an electronic address book system, but you could not because you didn’t have the number handy? Dialing from your desktop is an option, once the digital PBX and a contact manager server application are joined to share data sources. In fact, let’s add inbound faxes to your desktop. With one mouse double-click, utilize incoming fax technology to easily view, print and delete faxes from your email in-box, while moving onto the next critical item quickly. Let’s not stop here, how about adding voice messages? Yes, by bridging the telephone switch to a mail server, we can drop messages into any SMTP mail server, and route the message as a *.WAV attachment to a person’s voice mail account. And, this service will not require a multi-media PC to play the message. Once the systems are joined, all messages can be played through the regular desktop telephone set, making the new platform a bit easier on the technology budget!

Now, let’s take the digital platform to one last level. Multi-point, Video Conferencing. For large law firms, joining a downstream office to the hub site for monthly partner gatherings or staff meetings is always a bit of a hassle. Invariably, someone either misses a critical point during a discussion, or gets bored because he cannot be part of the discourse. Bringing offices together via this system will make office meetings come together seamlessly. Also, multi-point video conferencing can also assist in the practice of law, by utilizing this technology for remote location depositions. While the attorney and staff reside in one location, a deponent and counsel can be conferenced from a second site, thus cutting down on time, cost and travel.

The challenge of bringing these varied technical areas together, will focus IT managers from a strategic planning need. Certainly, achieving some part or all of these components will require the support of management, and the belief from attorneys that technically, this will assist in making their practice of law a burgeoning business. Converging these sources of information - inbound fax, voice mail, email and video conferencing - is an important step as we look to the next wave of technology within a law firm.