Timeframe and TranslatorHQ

According to BuiltWith a site measuring the top web sites and the technology used behind it the results for August show Shopify building to a 19% share of "Australian" eCommerce sites. There are a few holes here though as this uses geographical data and .au  domains. It is cheaper to use a .com domain though and many sites are hosted on remote servers. BigCommerce also saw some local growth with some better pricing and more attention to new sites. This came at the expense of old systems like osCommerce and ZenCart. The "Other" space has grown which includes Neto . Statistics for websites using Ecommerce technologies in Australia https://trends.builtwith.com/shop/country/Australia When looking globally at the top Million sites Shopify is dwarfed by WooCommerce. As we have pointed out WooCommerce is used by a very large number of sites, it may not be as successful but it gives a shopfront at little cost. The global strength of WooCommerce was throu...

I recently presented at this conference held in Sydney. The day before I had been at a briefing by MobileIron on their security technologies for Mobile devices. It was interesting to hear both sides of the mobile security argument. I am here today as both an observer and a participant in global legal services. I am the CEO of Timeframe a consulting firm based in both the USA and Australia. My story used to be an exception in law, someone trying to bridge two very different cultures, this is no longer the case. So the US, UK and Australia. Who is leading? All of them! It depends on the question. I was in Perth earlier. One of the cities that we are told missed the GFC, and yet it is the most expensive city in the world outside Scandinavia to live in. Moody's recently reported Perth has the postcode with the nation's highest mortgage delinquency rate. And so we have a tale of two economies. A similar story is unfolding for legal services practitioners. M ajor clients ar...

Translator for MailChimp Currently the sources used for email marketing include Shopify, Retail Express MailChimp, other mail applications such as Outlook groups and CRM systems like Insightly. Would it be nice to have ONE list? ·          Seamless and Simple without end user intervention The Translator for MailChimp means one centralised mailing list, providing centralized reporting and results. We can run tight campaigns and then report and measure the success of the campaign. Both with clicks and reads AND sales. This is all done using the categories that you understand and value. For more information please contact us at info@translatorhq.com .au 

The importance of Trust Data breaches, corporate re-structuring and collapses have alerted business to the value of an intangible ... trust. We are big advocates for the use of email as a communication medium rather than the paper documents of the past. Working in law firms and accounting firms though has always been at odds with "Paperless" and environmentally responsible communication. I believe that as a profession it is no longer possible to ignore paperless processing. The time has come to embrace the challenges and implement features like electronic payments WITH the requisite controls. Unfortunately we see a focus on the problem and not the solution. Electronic control systems can close fraud options that are available now. A recent article in New Zealand is a case in point. OpenEFT  would have prevented this fraud. The conclusion that Lawyers and clients should be careful with emailed instructions could have been ensure you have systems and policies in pla...

Billing quick wins How you bill your clients makes a big difference to cash flow. The way you bill has everything to do with how payment will be made. Are you giving your clients an easy excuse to not pay you?   1. State the payment terms Firms traditionally offer credit easily. Whilst new clients are accepted through a risk analysis process the voice of the Credit Controller is not heard enough. These processes should identify potential risks through references to available searches and past history including the firm’s own records. Before you offer credit make sure you agree and negotiate the terms of payment. You do not have to accept the 30 days from the end of the month the invoice was received. You are allowed to ask for a shorter term. What is important is that the client understands the terms and agrees to these terms before you start the matter. As a reminder, always ensure that the payment terms are listed on every bill. State the actual due date wh...

I am heartened by the many Collections projects we were involved with last year. These projects will have made a major difference to these firms final collection numbers and more importantly the effort required to collect these amounts. Law Firms Press to Get Bills Paid by Year-End http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304773104579270470475326780 The critical number in here was the drop in total recovery rates have dipped from 90% in 2007 down to 83.5% in 2013.   There are some simple measures to improve your Collections which firms can implement :- 1) Review payment terms. Consider 7 and 14 day accounts. 2) Look at your payment options do you make electronic payment easy? 3) Do you deliver bills electronically as PDF? They are faster and match the expectation of clients for quality and authorization. 4) Have you reviewed your client payment requirements? Some bill consolidation services are too expensive in the long run. Negotiate accordingly or leave...

Are you ready for  Much More Easier European Business? February 1st, 2014 is a day of great significance for banks and other organizations in the euro zone– it’s the deadline for single euro payments area (SEPA)-compliance, and it’s approaching fast. SEPA aims to create a single domestic market for euro payments through standardization and the development of common financial instruments and procedures. This will create a simplified, harmonized bank transfer system for the 32 SEPA countries, helping to reduce costs for all and improve the efficiency and speed of payments. Hopefully, your organization is already well underway with compliance preparations – such as replacing current account numbers with the common format of International Bank Account Numbers (IBAN), identifying areas and processes that will be affected by SEPA, and implementing message format changes for payment instructions and reconciliations. Timeframe’s Electronic Payment Solution OpenEFT, anticipated the...

Well with the demise of Microsoft's CEO I am being praised for seeing something as if I was the only one who could guess that the disease that had set in to one of the worlds largest sofware companies was somehting unusual. REDMOND, Wash. — Aug. 23, 2013 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer has decided to retire as CEO within the next 12 months, upon the completion of a process to choose his successor. In the meantime, Ballmer will continue as CEO and will lead Microsoft through the next steps of its transformation to a devices and services company that empowers people for the activities they value most.  “There is never a perfect time for this type of transition, but now is the right time,” Ballmer said. “We have embarked on a new strategy with a new organization and we have an amazing Senior Leadership Team. My original thoughts on timing would have had my retirement happen in the middle of our company’s transfor...

Well I can guess this is not everyones light reading but in Microsoft's Earnings statement the Surface RT seems to have been as much a problem for others. So how many tablets does $900 Million buy? Cost of revenue grew $1.4 billion, or 35%, primarily reflecting product costs associated with Surface and Windows 8, including a charge for Surface RT inventory adjustments of approximately $900 million , higher headcount-related expenses and increased online infrastructure expenses, offset in part by decreased traffic acquisition costs. http://www.microsoft.com/investor/EarningsAndFinancials/Earnings/PressReleaseAndWebcast/FY13/Q4/default.aspx

Culture: An obstacle to success for law firms? Reda Bennani : Consultan t The global financial crisis that truly impacted every economy, made a lot of radical changes in the way businesses operate and generate revenue. Those that anticipated ever-demanding customer needs thrived despite competing in very tough industries. Others however lagged far behind in terms of structuring a business model that understands the realities of the global economy and corporate clients’ behaviour. There is a consensus that many big corporate law firms aren’t built to run like modern businesses. The tough reality is that modern corporations are allocating fewer resources to legal work, and establishing more strict measures to verify the efficiency and productivity of the law firm engaged. This changing environment has penalized law firms, which are already punished by their culture and structure. The Partnership structure aims to look after the partners as the ultimate financial goal. They ...

Derek Giles: Timeframe Principal Last week A colleague & I attended Legaltech 2013 that was held in an old-looking , soon-to- be restored Hilton in the heart of the big apple. It was quite different from the predicted assumptions that we have elaborated throughout the years. It is easy to get frustrated at times by the gigantic number of vendors that dived into the ever-rewarding e-discovery market, and this unjustified commercialization of the concept. On the bright spot, several practice management systems were introduced to the consultants and techies ….. just to keep things interesting. Some Exhibitors showed great energy and marketed their products in a very attractive way, e.g. Thomson Reuters stand presented a unified picture of the various applications, unlike past years they seemed to be comfortable in their own skin. I firmly believe that after several years of acquisitions, the company is now linking together all the pieces to present  ...

Legal Procurement… Tired of the Status Quo? By Reda Bennani: Consultant There has been much debate, in the legal sphere, about the emerging technologies and the panoply of innovations embracing the practice. Law firms are looking for pathways and routes that can sustain net income and manage legal and corporate spend. Yet Procurement and Purchasing solutions are trailing far behind in mindshare. So first, let’s better understand the concept. In a traditional business context, the biggest source of cost in organizations is procurement of capital items that are needed to run the everyday operations. Purchasing solutions roles are hence well- defined as cost saving drivers. They deploy analytical tools that keep track of firm’s spending and overall management of vendor relationships and contracts. There is unanimity that when managed effectively, procurement can deliver substantial benefits. As we know, the law firm business model is different. While other industrie...

Well I finally got a deep dive on a Windows RT Surface device (with a Red keyboard!) and at first it had quite a bit going for it. I understand there is a lot more RAM than an iPad (2 Gig vs 512 Meg) and the "Metro" interface was a lot happier than on the Windows Phone 7. I agree that Metro seems a solution for a problem no one was having but with touch it makes some sense. Opening a legal Word document and seeing it properly rendered was fantastic, and this alone could be a killer feature. But after the first flush of working with a very Windows like experience and an IE like Web I struck my first major issue. Using a common security authentication I could not log on as I got IE errors. You cant run the ActiveX controls etc as this is not Windows per-se. Most tellingly (I feel vindicated for my pronouncement of its death!)  a really cool Micsosoft BI Site we worked on with Silverlight did not work. Thats right no Silverlight support! O...

This month Microsoft released a rare patch for SQL Server. A Security Update to fix venerability within Reporting Services. We'd urge you to check the bulletin list of susceptible candidate versions of SQL Server. Rather, since there are so many versions susceptible, scroll to the list of non-affected versions. If your install is listed here, breath easy. If not, this update's for you. I installed and function tested the update on SQL 2008. It's straightforward and SQL Server needs a re-start to kick it in, which means an outage if you're applying this to a core business server. This patch covers a venerability in Reporting Services. Through this loop-hole malicious code could elevate access privileges and gain control and cause some damage. The malicious code could be planted on a web site or in an advertisement. Looking innocent enough, it's the sort of thing anybody could trigger. The link between an external web site or advertisement and your ...

- Reda Bennani Consultant A futuristic approach, to learning in law firms? I attended the International Legal Technology Association annual conference in Washington DC, (ILTA) last week. It was quite an experience, the number of vendors, new technology and buzz words debated during the event made it so SPECIAL. There is no question that the law firm business model is in a state of rapid change.   Technology drives innovation, and the rise of new technical competencies. There was a quasi-consensus, during the conference, that law firms need to re-configure their training methods to fit the new business needs and technology environment. I had the opportunity to attend many sessions focusing on the ability of law firms to use fully social media, intranets and soon-to-be-developed work flow automation tools. The multitude of emerging technologies such as mobile usage, social media and touch and gesture technologies, represent a real challenge for law firms in managi...

- Reda Bennani - Consultant Innovative legal service Practices have been threatening the status quo of the traditional legal profession. An overabundance of legal information and document management systems have been taking advantage of the anticipated genesis of new-adopted business models, that would change the practice and influence business leaders. Trending IT practices and systems, have deployed their expertise to serve the legal industry which is lacking far behind in adopting pure Resource Planning solutions. Law Firms have jumped on the collaboration bandwagon using tools such as Microsoft SharePoint to collaborate both on a firm and client-facing basis, but the recent study from ILTA 2012 shows that only 24 % of law firms adopt these systems, which is a weak number compared to the potential upside this tool can bring to the firm bottom line. We all know that there are traditional and trending unorthodox reasons for the lack of Knowledge sharing, here is my take on that...

Embracing AFAs? - By Reda Bennani, Consultant We all agree that most major change initiatives—whether intended to boost quality, improve culture, or reverse a corporate death spiral—generate half-hearted results. While the use of Alternative Fee Arrangements (AFA's) is rapidly growing, with variations likely to become as common as hourly rate billing, there are ongoing debates about their implementation based on law firms’ needs, their changing business model and their willing to track budgets and deliver a world-class service.   Clients have been “pushing” law firms into joining them in adopting better business practices and reduction of their historically high profit margins.   These same clients have been embracing the innovative realm of AFA’s that have been bringing value “SAVING MONEY” and delivering results with “NO FUSS”. While there are numerous AFAs types, processes have not been established on how to implement these new billing models by the vendors. Law fir...

Remember when Microsoft ruled our destinies and understanding the future of legal technology meant understanding what plans Microsoft had? Well the only certainty is change and things have changed. Instead of being in the lead pack of the consumer led charge by apple and others they have been part of the pack. They get it, they just have not been able to perform to their or our expectations. Tjese chanes have seen flash die, and microsofts instantiation being silverlight is likely to be next. Being an "industry figure" has its perks. Friends have suggested that our efforts should not be directed towards silverlight. This is not a popular view. Indeed many of you sat with me at a recent managing partners meeting where the presenter used silverlight in every sentence. Hang on we are busy playing with the new data visualization tools in SQL 2012. These are built in silverlight! Well let's consider NetMeeting, it was used before Skype, Microsoft had a lead! What...

Well it is official HP now owns Autonomy http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2011/111003xb.html Thre is lots of commentry about this and I know I was pessimistic at ILTA on the future for iManage under the new regime. I suppose part of this comes from IT companies taking the legal sector for granted. I feel a little happier but I am comparing iManage as it was pre-Autonomy (Interwoven) to the new arrangement. The next off the ranks is FWBS and Matter Centre joining FloSuite at Thomson UK. This does not appear to be a strategic Elite but rather the local UK play. Will be interesting on the plans for the remote outposts like Cayman and Australia. Both organisations were always open to acquisition but it has taken a long time to find a deal in the current market. FWBS must have been dissapointed in the ADERANT agreement which saw ADERANT market the software with limited success in the US.

I have decided to do a training course specifically on these items for end users. If you are interested in attending please complete the registration form on our web site. It is a low cost training course concentrating on the needs that Law firms have.