AI Responsibly with ndMAX
In our new reality where remote work is the norm, instant messaging tools have quickly become the top technology pick for legal professionals. Microsoft Teams in particular has seen explosive growth over the last year, becoming a true portal to productivity.
At NetDocuments, we’ve been innovating alongside Microsoft for over 20 years, building integrations with their tools to support the detailed security and compliance needs of legal work while protecting the efficiencies Microsoft products offer. We recognized the impact that instant-messaging software like Teams could have on legal work early on, and the potential risk of document spread it would introduce if managed improperly.
Unfortunately, due to the rapid technology implementations in response to remote work requirements, organizations around the world are now experiencing the fallout of broken information governance processes — and searching for ways to pick up the pieces.
Microsoft Teams already enables legal professionals to stay connected and collaborate seamlessly. With the addition of integrated applications, like NetDocuments, Teams can become an all-in-one solution for document creation in a secure and compliant environment.
Without ever having to leave the main portal, Teams users can access non-Microsoft related applications like NetDocuments, eliminating distractions and streamlining daily work. In fact, NetDocuments customers using ChatLink can operate in Teams while sharing document links, edit files, provide feedback, update task lists, and more — all while keeping files organized and protected inside the NetDocuments platform.
Just take a look at this excerpt from a recent ILTA and Microsoft webinar, which explored how NetDocuments and Teams work together to support productivity and document security:
Consolidating your work experience can be relatively straightforward, but there are still important questions to be asked about how Teams and a document management system (DMS) like NetDocuments interact.
Below are the top questions asked during our live Q&A portions of the webinars we recently held with Microsoft. Have more? Watch our on-demand webinar or send us a message here.
How do the Files and Posts tabs in Teams interact with NetDocuments?
The Files tab connects directly to SharePoint or OneDrive, which means a third party must be utilized to bring files back into the DMS. Vendors like us are beholden to Microsoft for this functionality, but they are working with us to make the Teams and NetDocuments connection more graceful.
Does NetDocuments have to be in the cloud to take advantage of the Teams integration?
As a cloud-based DMS, NetDocuments content already exists in the cloud so you can use this functionality in Teams immediately via our ChatLink integration.
What product needs to be licensed from ND for this integration?
Current customers need only activate the PLAN Solution. To learn more about PLAN download this brochure.
What kind of controls can I put in place to ensure only matters I want displayed are visible in Teams channels?
Matter visibility is completely configurable. Admins can program matters to automatically appear, create approval workflows, control the available list of matters, restrict the matters users can access in a channel, and so on.
Can NetDocuments be connected to both public or private channels?
Yes. Regardless of who can see a channel, our ChatLink integration will connect you to the NetDocuments interface.
Do these links only appear in "posts", or will they appear in "Files"?
Document links are never stored in the Files tab of Teams in order to keep your documents safe in the NetDocuments repository.
When will users be able to save chat messages in NetDocuments?
An ndThread tab can be added to a channel in Teams that links to a workspace in NetDocuments so that everything is saved to the DMS.
Can NetDocuments’ matter workspaces be linked to teams in Microsoft Teams rather than channels?
No. Due to the Microsoft Team’s infrastructure, only channels can be linked to NetDocuments workspaces.
Does a secured link email sent through Teams have to be to an external user set up in NetDocuments with a CollabSpaces or can it go to anyone?
A secure link can go to anyone with an email address.
If a Teams channel already exists and ChatLink is added, will users be able to access documents already stored in NetDocuments?
Yes! That is exactly what the NetDocuments application is used for. Adding and removing channels has no impact on the information stored within the NetDocuments platform. It simply provides a different point of access (Teams) into the NetDocuments workspaces, analytics, and productivity tools.
To meet the growing demands of clients, lawyers must rely on applications that speed processes more than ever before. But switching between various platforms and software can become burdensome and distracting. To perform at their greatest potential, legal professionals require solutions that allow them to stay focused on the task at hand.
That’s why ChatLink is so revolutionary in that it enables legal professionals to accomplish nearly everything associated with document creation such as edits, feedback, review calls, distribution, and more in a single interface. NetDocuments customers around the world have already shifted to operating completely within the Teams environment and are ultimately delivering work faster to their clients without sacrificing an ounce of quality or security.
If your legal teams are ready to operate in software that works for them and not against them, it’s time to give us a call at (866) 638-3627 or schedule a demo.
