Digital dictation software provider nFlow has received an overwhelming vote of confidence from customers, prospective customers and outsourced typing providers following its public commitment to a non proprietary, Microsoft Windows native format for dictation recording. nFlow say that there is a noticeable rise in outsourced typing and law firms are placing a system provider's will to work with any outsourcing partner high on the list of considerations. nFlow is still the only company to have made a public commitment to this, giving law firms using nFlow digital dictation software a clear advantage in terms of their commercial flexibility when choosing an outsourcing provider.
Outsourcing organisations also see the open nature of a digital dictation system as key to ensuring cost effective services to all law firms. 'All the signs are there to indicate that we will see an explosion in law firms outsourcing transcription in 2005', comments David Holmes of outsourcing company Exigent Group. 'We welcome nFlow's commitment as timely and clear in terms of helping firms, who are looking for a DD system, to make an informed decision so that they can move on quickly to outsourcing. This is definitely good for law firms and good for the transcription service providers.'
Richard Bate of Voicepath adds, 'Law firms should definitely consider the openness of a digital dictation system before they purchase it. If they don't they may find that their future choice of outsourcing partner is limited by the developer's technology. We believe that flexibility and choice is important to law firms and can confidently say that if a firm is considering nFlow, they can be sure they are buying an open system that is Voicepath compatible.'
In addition to open recording formats, the flexibility of a system, in particular the licencing model, can avoid a law firm having to pay extra licence fees or sign up to additional licence agreements to have an outsourcing partner reuse their digital dictation software.
"We need to be not only competitive but efficient and highly accurate', remarks Lorna Edwards of Scottish outsourcing company Lawcript. 'We have found the nFlow system gives flexibility to both the law firm and the remote service provider. Being cost driven, nFlow's dictation recording format and open system licencing meets Lawscript's high service standards, is seamless, secure and cost effective.'
David Wartski of Global Secretarial adds, 'We know that when we talk to an nFlow customer we can work with their system. The openness of their licensing model also makes things flexible - we simply reuse the customer's nFlow licence with no extra charge. nFlow's public commitment to openness means that its current and future customers can be sure that if they want to outsource typing, they will have unrestricted flexibility in choosing who they use for that purpose.'
With growing interest in outsourcing nFlow's commitment appears to have clearly thrown down the gauntlet to other digital dictation system providers to state their position on exactly how open their system is.