AmVia, T-Systems provide RightFAX solution in legal environment to Webber Wentzel Bowens

AmVia`s business partner T-Systems South Africa has implemented a RightFAX solution at law firm Webber Wentzel Bowens, reducing operating costs and enhancing customer service.

Murray Thompson, general manager of Webber Wentzel Bowens, says the company required an automated fax solution to curb expenses and delays in printing and posting, or manually faxing, legal documentation.

"Webber Wentzel Bowens wanted to enable employees to send and receive faxes from their desktops, as well as use production fax capabilities to deliver the firm`s large number of monthly account statements to clients electronically."

Thompson says the firm already had a strong business relationship with AmVia for the last six years, since it uses AmVia`s CallXpress voicemail retrieval system.

"Because of AmVia`s excellent product and support, Webber Wentzel Bowens was eager to continue the relationship with the RightFAX product."

Moreover, Thompson adds, T-Systems previously implemented and continues to support the firm`s Lotus Domino e-mail application.

"T-Systems` excellent skills base and integration capabilities and the fact that AmVia`s automated fax solution integrates deeply into the Lotus Domino environment made the RightFAX product ideal for Webber Wentzel Bowen."

Thompson says T-Systems` RightFAX/Lotus interface has enabled about 200 professional staff and 150 administrative employees to effortlessly send and receive faxes via their Inboxes.

"Removing the necessity to print and manually fax legal documents from a standalone fax machine, the RightFAX electronic desktop faxing solution has definitely increased our users` productivity."

T-Systems, with assistance from AmVia service partner Galdon Data, is also developing an interface between RightFAX and the firm`s enterprise accounting application, Elite, to enable electronic fax document delivery and receipt directly from Elite, says Thompson.

"With RightFAX, the accounting application data will automatically be directed to the production fax server, where the correct client fax numbers are retrieved, standardised cover sheets prepared and the statements dispatched by fax during off-peak times - without any manual intervention."

Thompson says eliminating the labour-intensive activities and time delays of printing and posting 1 000 statements a month will introduce significant cost and time savings for the law firm.

"A T-Systems study indicated a return of investment within 12 months after implementation of RightFAX."

Thompson says the ability to get statements to clients` account departments overnight will enhance customer service, while electronic delivery receipts for all faxes ensure increased operational efficiency.

Collin Govender, deployment consulting manager: collaboration, integration and media division at T-Systems, says no other company in the local legal environment has adopted the RightFAX technology to such a degree, giving Webber Wentzel Bowens a definite competitive advantage.

"As part of our offering, T-Systems is also providing the law firm with a migration path to unified messaging, which will see all voice messages, currently received via telephone, delivered directly to the user`s electronic inbox, together with his e-mails and faxes."

Belita Brasil, channel ambassador at AmVia, says both the RightFAX and unified messaging solutions provide users at Webber Wentzel Bowens with flexible access to, and control of, client communications.

"AmVia and T-Systems have truly positioned the firm to meet today`s information delivery demands, with enhanced levels of business efficiency increasing customer satisfaction and service excellence," she concludes.