Digital dictation systems can bring substantial productivity and efficiency gains to law firms.

Charles Christian offers a guide to everything you need to know about DDS

For the past couple of years, digital dictation systems (DDS) have been one of the UK's fastest-selling areas of legal technology, but what are the benefits, who are the suppliers and what other factors should prospective buyers be taking into consideration?

At its most basic, digital dictation - and it should be stressed that this does not mean speech recognition - is a replacement for the traditional analogue tape machine, because DDS technology can be integrated with broader office software.

A growing number of firms have been able to enjoy substantial productivity and efficiency gains by implementing DDS.

Usually this means that instead of each secretary working for individual fee-earners on an almost exclusive basis, they become part of a firm-wide 'virtual typing pool', with work allocated to them via a computer screen, rather than handed to them on a cassette.

Apart from that, there is little alteration to the way they work.

The same applies to fee-earners, as this is one of the few areas of legal IT that lawyers can use almost immediately without the need for extensive training.

Firms say this allows individual secretaries to organise their time more effectively, while the broader impact on the firm is an improvement in secretary/fee-earner staff ratios, typically by: natural wastage - not having to replace secretaries who leave; no longer having to employ so many temporary staff and 'floats'; being able to take on new fee-earners without requiring a corresponding increase in secretaries; and redeploying secretaries, so that instead of spending all their time transcribing dictation, they now perform paralegal fee-earning duties.

For larger firms, there is the further option of reallocating transcription work so that, for example, it is undertaken at a regional venue rather than by staff in an expensive London office.

And, for the really adventurous, there is the option of outsourcing the transcription abroad.

Given that the average true cost of employing a legal secretary (taking into account salary, benefits, office space and IT systems) is around 40,000 each year in London and 25,000 outside, it can be seen that even a modest improvement in staff ratios means digital dictation can soon pay for itself.

The market

The current leaders in terms of numbers of users are BigHand, WinScribe and DictaFlow.

However, several new players have entered this field in recent times with either dedicated products or digital dictation software integrated within their case and practice management systems.

Suppliers already falling into the latter category include DPS Software, EMIS IT and Pericom, although many more will be offering similar facilities before the year is out.

Inevitably, most suppliers claim to offer broadly comparable features.

However, factors to watch for include:

- File size: check the size of dictation soundfiles - in a large firm with high volumes of dictation being sent backwards and forwards, lots of large soundfiles are going to slow down the performance of your network.

- Resilience: be wary of any claims made regarding resilience in case of system crashes.

Computers do crash for no apparent reason and there are also external factors - such as power cuts - to contend with, so you need a system that will not lose files when the lights go out.

It is reckoned that ten minutes of dictation require at least 30 minutes of fee-earning time to create and 40 minutes to recreate if lost.

- Hardware: does the system fit in with the way your firm operates? While all DDS systems can cope with dictation taking place within the office, do check whether your intended supplier can support different ways of working, including remote working for fee-earners wanting to submit dictation from home.

Also check whether hardware can be used independently, for those who need portable dictation units.

Similarly, although there is no shortage of hardware available (from all the traditional suppliers of tape machines, including Grundig, Olympus, Philips, Sanyo and Sony), experience shows that some fee-earners prefer systems retaining the familiar four-way control buttons of analogue recorders, whereas others are happy with the Philips Speech Mike Pro, a device that incorporates a trackerball so it can also be used to operate a PC.

Another development to watch for this year is the introduction of systems that allow smartphones to double as dictation units, so dictation can be given on the move and then e-mailed to the office for transcription.

- Pricing: it is difficult to compare like with like because some suppliers quote a price based on the individual fee-earner's dictation hardware and software, but gloss over the broader network costs, such as any database or workflow implementation costs.

Others quote a price for a complete system, while others give a price 'per seat', which may appear reasonable when spread across a large number of users but might prove disproportionately expensive in a smaller firm.

However, it is worth noting that this is currently a buyer's market and all prices are negotiable - so do haggle.

Finally, digital dictation workflow systems come into their own in firms with multiple fee-earners and secretaries, where there are benefits to be had in allocating work across a network.

However, even sole practitioners and small firms - which rely on external typing agencies - can benefit from installing digital dictation systems, as the hardware is more reliable than tape and allows files to be exchanged by e-mail, rather than than through the physical exchange of tapes and typed transcriptions.

Charles Christian is editor of the Legal Technology Insider newsletter

The suppliers

This list includes the main suppliers of digital dictation systems in the UK, as well as some of the specialist bureaux that can offer outsourcing services.

Two points to note: the German-based DictaNet organisation is currently setting up its UK distribution network, which is likely to include one well-known legal software supplier.

And WinScribe retails its system through a distribution network that includes companies such as Berrys and SRC.

Product: BigHand TotalSpeech Supplier: BigHandTelephone: 020 7793 8200Web site: www.bighand.com

Product: DictaFlow Supplier: nFlow SoftwareTelephone: 01245 463377Web site: www.nflow.com

Product: DictaNet Supplier: DictaNet Software AGTelephone: 0049 302 804 2886Web site: www.dictanet.com

Product: DigiScribe XL Supplier: Crescendo SystemsTelephone: 0870 770 1717Web site: www.crescendo.com

Supplier: e-Dict Transcription ServicesProduct: Outsourcing BureauTelephone: 0870 744 6206Web site: www.e-dict.co.uk

Product: LegalSpeech Supplier: G2 SpeechTelephone: 020 8989 7330Web site: www.g2speech.com

Product: Lexacom Talk & Type Supplier: AprobriumTelephone: 0870 777 3336Web site: www.lexacom.co.uk

Product:OfficeDictate Supplier: Peapod SolutionsTelephone: 0870 380 1122Web site: www.psl-legal.co.uk

Product: SPS Dictation Supplier: Stat Plus Speech Processing SolutionsTelephone: 020 8254 5113Web site: www.speechprocessingsolutions.co.uk

Product: VoiceFLO Supplier: iDOiNK TechnologiesTelephone: 01473 405000Web site: www.voiceflo.com

Supplier: VoicepathProduct: Outsourcing BureauTelephone: 01926 821904Web site: www.voicepath.net

Product: WinScribe Digital Dictation & Workflow System Supplier:Winscribe EuropeTelephone: 0118 984 2133Web site: www.winscribeeurope.com