To successfully complete their many complex projects, consulting firms require collaborative technology that offers document control for consultants — without compromising security. But finding a platform that meets your firm’s and your clients’ requirements can be challenging, especially as requirements and trends continually, quickly change and evolve.
As consulting firms consider current and emerging trends within the industry, it’s important that they choose collaborative technology that can meet and keep up with those changes. Here are the three biggest trends firms should keep in mind when selecting a document management solution.
1. Replacing disjointed technologies with a single platform
One of the biggest trends we’ve seen in the consulting industry is firms abandoning their multiple disjointed technologies, which they previously used to store data, manage and share documents, and create engagement-centric workspaces. Consultants would have to switch back and forth between these disconnected tools, making it difficult to find and keep track of information.
Working without a unified “single pane of glass” greatly slows and disrupts workflow. Research shows that context switching lowers productivity by 20% per every additional task. Conversely, one consulting firm shared with us that they saved partners between 35 and 70 hours annually by having a more unified, efficient way of collaborating, sharing information, and finding similar past projects.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many professional services firms adopted Microsoft Teams to help connect their remote and dispersed teams. At first, most firms didn’t use Teams to its full potential, and instead solely used it for its chat and video-conferencing capabilities. However, after witnessing the platform’s many capabilities, firms realized that they can leverage the Microsoft 365 platform to serve as an effective document management solution.
Microsoft 365’s co-authoring capabilities let users collaborate simultaneously on the same document in real time rather than sending edits back and forth via email — preventing lost files and document version confusion. Microsoft 365 also offers document management control for consultants, allowing teams to easily identify who last worked on a document and view any edits that were made. Users with appropriate permissions can also restore a previous version of that document if necessary.
Consulting firms can achieve a more unified way of working by investing in Intapp Collaboration & Content and leveraging their Microsoft 365 investments to their full potential. Firms can use Microsoft SharePoint to store and collaborate on documents, create templated workspaces within Microsoft Teams, and use Microsoft Outlook and OneDrive to promote cross-department collaboration. They can then integrate the platform with Intapp Workspaces — part of Intapp Collaboration & Content — to pull information from those applications so users no longer have to waste time switching between apps.
2. Navigating security and compliance regulations
Security may not be a new trend, but it’s certainly a constant concern for firms since regulations are continually evolving. To properly maintain governance and protect their data, firms need technology that offers data and document control for consultants. Without this capability, consultants risk sharing the wrong information with the wrong people and breaking security or client compliance mandates.
Firms that have adopted Microsoft 365 as their document management system can rest at ease: Intapp Collaboration & Content lets your firm preserve control over your data by filing it inside your existing Microsoft 365 tenant, helping your professionals adhere to your firm’s corporate, security, and retention policies. Intapp Collaboration & Content also helps contain sprawl and protect sensitive data by automatically archiving or deleting Microsoft Teams workspaces and SharePoint document repositories at appropriate times. With these automated capabilities, consultants will be less likely to access outdated or inappropriate content and violate compliance regulations.
3. Investing in AI to increase efficiency and remain competitive
AI is the way of the future and a revolutionary trend that consulting firms should keep top of mind. To remain competitive, consulting firms must embrace the many AI-powered capabilities that collaborative technologies have already introduced and will continue to introduce.
Intapp technology, for example, uses its own industry-specific AI and machine learning to help consulting firms like yours surface key insights, streamline workflows, increase efficiency, and mitigate risks. Intapp Applied AI passively collects metadata from document repositories, emails, and other systems to provide relationship intelligence, categorize client guidelines and past engagements, capture time automatically, and more.
Driven by our focus on customer success, Intapp continually evolves and improves its technology to keep your firm at the forefront of addressing industry trends and adopting the latest innovations.
Schedule a demo to learn more about how Intapp can help your firm remain competitive now and in the years to come.