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Kingston Smith: The road to integrated systems

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25th Dec 2005
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Steven Neal, Partner at Kingston Smith discusses the review and selection process undertaken by his firm before implementing a new suite of hardware and software, and provides tips for companies about to begin the same process.

At Kingston Smith our ethos is about helping clients to succeed. As a large and growing practice, we rely more and more on our IT systems to help us respond to our clients in a rapid and cost effective manner. At a firm conference in January 2001, the partners concluded that a complete review of all of our IT systems and software was needed to ensure our clients always receive a first-class service. To undertake this mammoth task, we created a specific task force, the Innovations Development Group, to formulate the firm's future IT strategy.

Our first step was to look at the existing platform to see if it could be made more efficient. A detailed survey was carried out amongst our 450 employees, to review the current systems and ask for suggestions on how the firm could make improvements to directly reduce bottlenecks and overcome any barriers to each individual user's effectiveness.

It was clear from the survey that:

  • Not all the current software programs were effectively integrated
  • The network infrastructure we were using was cumbersome
  • Six offices, each with their own application and data servers, were proving costly and time consuming to support.

    Based on the results of the survey, the decision was made to replace our existing hardware with a thin client solution across all of our offices and install a new, integrated software suite. We reviewed several software and IT infrastructure providers based on a number of criteria. Importantly, we wanted to see rich functionality from the software and be assured that any system could easily scale up to meet our needs as we grow. We decided that moving to a complete software suite from one vendor would guarantee the fully integrated solution that we required.

    We had already been using Solution 6's personal taxation software for a number of years and our experience with this product was very positive. Eventually we chose Solution 6 as both software supplier and hardware integrator through its Network and Integration Services division.

    The project represented a sea change in our systems, replacing both our hardware and software concurrently. Every member of the firm was migrated to the new systems; a major task, which took a long time and included a big learning curve.

    Now completed, the new systems are working well. Most users have seamlessly adapted to the new system. All of our information and data is now instantly available without the need to search through filing systems or through multiple archives. Our billing, time and fees system is now automated and significantly more efficient, reducing the time it takes to get bills out of the door. Already productivity is up and removing some of the manual tasks from the day-to-day work of staff has improved levels of motivation. Overall our client services have definitely improved.

    When asked for advice by companies and partners about to take on the challenge of updating their systems and bringing in new hardware or software, I tend to offer a few simple tips:

  • Once you have chosen your supplier, sit down and put all of your expectations on paper. Agree with your supplier exactly what will be delivered in practical terms.
  • If the project is a large one, break it down into discrete chunks so that you have some milestones for what has been achieved.
  • Payback depends on your starting position, especially with respect to infrastructure. And the resource you are prepared to commit to the project.

    A final word of warning: don't underestimate the length of time the project will take and the overall size of the task you are undertaking. Take your initial estimate and double it. People take time to get used to new processes and that's something you can't easily factor into your planning. Solving problems often requires more training and it is hard to predict how far that can extend the time horizon.

    On the other hand, some benefits from new systems can be delivered very quickly, particularly where the new system improves access to data. We saw the first efficiencies appearing within the first few weeks after initial training had taken place, with staff gaining faster access to key client documents. This of course depends on the amount of data already stored on the system. In our case, half of the data was already online.

    This type of time saving reaches its peak where the data is integrated with our telephone system. Using the computer-telephony integration (CTI) module in Solution 6's Viztopia Practice Management, staff receive a window of all financial and non-financial data relating to the caller as soon as the call comes in. This not only saves time searching for the latest information, but also improves the service we can provide to our clients.

    The project has been very rewarding for the firm and we anticipate further benefits as time passes, with users becoming more familiar with the technology and new developments coming in. We expect to be able to expand our client base as a result.

    Would I do it again? Absolutely.

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