professional services and technology

The use of technology in professional services firms is at an inflection point: historically, IT has been used to support what the professional does; now it is increasingly impacting the structure of how professional services businesses operate. In addition to the normal challenges any business faces in implementing and utilising IT, most professional services firms also need to operate within an environment regulated by an overarching professional body with explicit additional rules/guidelines which impace their use of technology.

Email, personal productivity tools, practice management and networks will continue to be important, but over the next decade technology and innovation will increasingly fuel competition and the commoditisation and computerisation of professional services.

We advise leading financial services, accounting, actuarial, consultancy and law firms on the strategic use of technology in their businesses. We work on IP, contractual and regulatory projects supporting the procurement and roll out of new processes and systems, from business-critical back-office systems to flagship customer-facing functions.

Key areas of our expertise include:

Outsourcing arrangements for IT platforms and processes
Telecommunications contracts for professional service firms
Business process outsourcing
Document management systems and processes
Time recording software implementations
Electronic recource planning implementations
Software licensing for professional service firms' internal and service-offering use

Our recent experience includes:

Advising a global IT consultancy on their provision of application development services
Working with a major UK insurance company on the second generation outsourcing of its document management functions in the UK
Advising a 'big 4' accountancy firm on the outsourcing of its internal printing functions in the UK and Ireland
Working with a group of Magic Circle law firms on developing an internal portal for their banking clients
Working with a 'big 4' accounting practice on licensing and supply arrangements for a computerised tax computation service
Working with a leading multinational actuarial firm on its outsourcing arrangements
Working with a range of law firms and other professional services businesses on procuring network infrastructure and practice management and other systems.

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