Salisbury chartered accounting firm Fawcetts selects Repstor as the basis for transforming its working practices

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UK200 Group peer Armstrong Watson gave Repstor for Accounting a rave review, inspiring Fawcetts to look beyond its immediate priority to improve email and document management using Outlook and SharePoint, to a roadmap for broader improvements harnessing Microsoft 365

Belfast, March 24th , 2021 – Repstor, the Microsoft 365-based information management specialist, has announced that Fawcetts, one of Salisbury’s most established chartered firms, has chosen Repstor for Accounting™ to transform its email and document management, and in due course its wider working practices.

Fawcetts is a mid-size accounting firm employing five partners, four client directors and a team of 40 highly-qualified and experienced staff, who provide a range of accountancy services to small businesses from a single office location in central Salisbury.

Although the pandemic increased the urgency around Fawcetts’ digital transformation plans, the firm had been looking for a suitable email and document management solution for several years, but had struggled to find anything “fit for purpose for the 21st century, or for accounting specifically.”

“Despite there being lots of document management solutions out there, we couldn’t find anything that would allow us to retain our existing filing structures and retain control of our own data,” says Fawcetts partner James Hayes.

That was until a peer firm recommended Repstor, which provides comprehensive content management capabilities -optimised for accounting firms – on top of Microsoft 365. James is chair of the Technology & Innovation forum at the UK200 Group of practicing chartered accountants, an active peer network that Fawcetts belongs to. When he sought advice from the network about a suitable and modern DMS, Toby Woodhead, Head of Technology at another accounting firm, Armstrong Watson, suggested Repstor based on his own recent experience.

Armstrong Watson deployed the Repstor for Accounting suite during the pandemic, and its reported benefits are already legendary in accounting circles. “Everyone has heard what they’ve done,” James says. “We had a lengthy and fascinating chat and I was left in no doubt that this was the way we needed to go. We already knew what we wanted but having this ringing endorsement from a firm that we know and trust, confirmed our choice of Repstor.”

Fawcetts had rolled out Microsoft 365 across the firm in 2020, so it made sense to build on this investment. James also wanted to minimise any potential disruption to the team, who, like most of us “groan when new software is introduced.” In both of these contexts, Repstor was the ideal solution.

“The fact that it works with Outlook is the icing on the cake,” James says. “The team won’t have to change the interface they use, or the way they file documents, but seamlessly everything will be stored in and accessed via SharePoint.

“This is a massive opportunity to improve efficiency with very little change to the way people work,” he continues. “Deploying Repstor will have an impact on profitability, improving the speed with which we can deliver, as we’ll be more organised with filing and accessing data. Clients will feel the benefits of that too.”

Fawcetts has been inspired by the broader deployment of the Repstor for Accounting suite at Armstrong Watson and aspires to many of the same applications and benefits.

“Armstrong Watson have a complete solution now – and one that gives them freedom in what they do, which is absolutely key,” James says. “They’re not tied to a particular document management supplier, haven’t had to bend what they do to suit the software, and they can access their data from anywhere: they haven’t surrendered control of their data.

“We can see ourselves doing a lot of the same things that Armstrong Watson have done or plan to do – using Repstor for fuller client engagement management and to manage Teams, for instance. Repstor gives us that roadmap, that power to revolutionise the way we work.”

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Repstor Brings Microsoft Teams under Information Compliance Control with Repstor custodian

  • The new functionality is the answer IT managers have been looking for.
  • As one put it: “We were daunted about having to configure Teams for each different use case, and how we’d stop content from becoming unmanageable–especially from a security and data protection standpoint. Then we heard about Repstor custodian.”

SharePoint Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA – May 21st, 2019 – Repstor, the provider of embedded Microsoft Office 365/Outlook information solutions, has announced the availability of new information compliance controls for Microsoft Teams, in direct response to market demand.

The soaring popularity of Microsoft Teams confirms the intuitive way people want to be able to collaborate today – on projects, ideas, problem-solving and decision-making. But without governance and control, Teams use can create new chaos for information and IT managers.

Repstor custodian tackles this issue, bringing new control, templating and lifecycle management capabilities to Microsoft Teams workspaces, just as it does to regular SharePoint collaboration. It ensures collaboration can happen fluidly in the forums users prefer, but without undermining compliance with information management policy.

If users are creating or adding to Microsoft Teams, or sharing Office 365 files with other members, custodian controls what’s possible, so IT managers and information officers don’t need to worry about the types of teams being created, their lifespan or how information is being shared externally.

“Rather than hamper the way people want to work, custodian manages the entire lifecycle of collaboration workspaces and their contents so teams can focus fully on what they need to achieve,” Fergus Wilson, Repstor’s CTO, explains.

Highlights:

  • Full exploitation of Microsoft Teams without later information management issues
  • Create new Team workspaces out of the box with defined layouts and content controls
  • Manage the full evolution and lifecycle of Teams – from initial creation, to project end
  • Control who can set up a Team and what’s permitted based on roles and functions
  • Apply controls to group chat, file upload areas, wikis and notes
  • Users can easily add email into Teams directly from Outlook
  • Prevent sensitive content from getting into the wrong hands, or being kept too long
  • No more silos as Team activity becomes easy to track at a glance

In response to news of the addition of Microsoft Teams governance and information compliance capabilities within Repstor custodian, IT managers’ comments have included:

“Teams proliferation has been a worry for us but with the control added by Repstor we have a clear way forward to allow self-service with the right level of control.”

“We were daunted about having to configure Teams for each different use case, and how we’d stop content from becoming unmanageable–especially from a security and data protection standpoint. Then we heard about Repstor custodian.”

More on Repstor custodian can be found here.

Attending SharePoint Las Vegas? Why not swing by booth #609 and see Repstor custodian at work.

Want to know what Repstor could do for you? Fill in the form below NOW:


Introducing affinity 4.0™: full document lifecycle management from within Outlook

In May, we’ll be launching affinity 4.0™, the culmination of a range of important enhancements to our native Outlook email filing and management solution.

The new release adds rich document management capabilities, combining the ease and immediacy of Outlook with full use of existing document management systems. The result? A big boost to productivity, via swift content access and improved collaboration, and more consistent use of document repositories.

Repstor affinity 4.0 supports the full document lifecycle, in addition to emails. Document version comparison, and filing against non-core or older projects, is easy and intuitive. Content searching is much faster too, even across old archives.

As Repstor users have come to expect, the new functionality matches the immediacy and easy user experience of Outlook. With affinity 4.0, we provide instant access to recent information, plus the ability to search and bring content directly into Outlook, irrespective of whether it is online.

With the ability to promptly locate and access millions of emails and documents, teams can progress tasks more efficiently.

Key features at a glance:
• Improved synchronisation
• Enhanced document version control
• Better online access to content
• Sophisticated server search, with results presented natively within Outlook
• Improved caching: more flexible cache expiry

About Repstor affinity
Repstor affinity is the only truly native SharePoint Outlook integration delivering both online and offline access to content. In addition to SharePoint, it fully supports content stores and file shares including M-Files, Microfocus Content Manager (previously HP Content Manager / TRIM), Opentext eDocs, Dropbox, Box, iManage Work®, Meridio, HiqhQ, Dynamics CRM and more.

To find out more about affinity 4.0 contact sales@repstor.com

Repstor affinity reduces Outlook PST storage & enhances SharePoint collaboration at global automotive supplier Brose

Brose is a large global automotive supplier. Its mechatronic systems for doors, seats or electric motors and drives can be found in every second new vehicle around the world today. The company, which is over a century old and is still family owned today, employs more than 26,000 people across 62 locations in 23 countries.

Brose depends on IT to enable dispersed global teams to collaborate on customer projects. It means it can field the right knowledge experts without any concerns about location. The company has 15,000 Microsoft Office users internationally, Exchange mailbox servers sited in Europe, Asia and North America, and a central SharePoint farm located in Germany.

Despite having central file shares and SharePoint collaboration portals, Brose’s project teams were defaulting to email to hold and retrieve project-related information and documents, in the form of Outlook personal folders (PST data files). A lot of time could be spent locating the latest version of content, and the over-reliance on PST files located on the local network was consuming a lot of expensive storage. Also, if users were unavailable or left the company, there was no easy way to get at the information held in their email folders.

Read The Full Case Study Here

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Coverage in Credit Control Journal and Asset and Risk Review

Credit Control Journal and Asset and Risk Review is one of the world’s leading research journals dedicated to the advancement of asset risk management, credit analysis and corporate risk.

Now in its 38th year of publication, Credit Control Journal is truly interdisciplinary and international in its approach.

Each issue of the Journal provides subscribers with practical illustrations as well as theoretical analysis and empirical studies on the development of credit risk, asset management, legal issues, accountancy and finance, and IT solutions, all of which they can quote with confidence to their Board of Directors.

Credit Control Journal and Asset & Risk Review has reported on Repstor’s new partnership with M-FilesYou can read more about M-Files Outlook integration here.

Repstor to Return to the British Legal Technology Forum

Following the launch of ES/Unity™ at last year’s event, Repstor expects keen interest from both law firms and in-house teams looking to exploit their Office 365 investments for matter lifecycle management

January 29th, 2018 –Repstor, the company that helps businesses exploit their SharePoint and Office 365 investments for matter lifecycle management, has confirmed that it will participate in this year’s British Legal Technology Forum (BLTF) in London. The event will take place on March 13th.

Last year, Repstor made a big splash at BLTF with its launch of ES /Unity™ in partnership with international law firm Eversheds Sutherland. The powerful legal matter management solution, which works with companies’ existing Office 365/SharePoint systems, has attracted a strong client base among corporate legal teams since its launch. National Grid, Wellcome Trust, Queen’s University Belfast, and Miral, an asset management company in the UAE, signed up within the first few weeks, and business continued to be brisk throughout 2017.

This year, the company will showcase its Office 365-native products including Matter Management; Repstor affinity™ the only truly native SharePoint Outlook integration delivering both online and offline access to SharePoint content plus other repositories including M-Files, High-Q, Microfocus Content Manager, OpenText etc; and Repstor assist™, categorisation technology that provides fast and accurate SharePoint email filing as well as other content stores and offers suggested locations based on existing filed content.

Repstor’s products have attracted worldwide interest because they increase return on Office365 and SharePoint investments. In particular by adding case and matter management to Office365, the company has experienced enthusiastic take-up among law firms and corporate legal departments.

Commenting on Repstor’s involvement at BLTF 2018, Alan McMillen, Repstor’s CEO, said, “We can’t wait to return to the British Legal Technology Forum this summer. Last year’s was a pivotal event for Repstor and our strategic partner Eversheds Sutherland. ES/Unity has been fantastically well received by the corporate legal sector. Having added mobile capabilities and exploiting more of the Office365 platform, plus the opportunities that Azure cognitive services (AI) present, we have an exciting portfolio to talk to firms about this year.”

The 2018 British Legal Technology Forum, Europe’s largest legal technology conference and exhibition, will take place on Tuesday, 13th March at London’s Old Billingsgate. Some 1,200 visitors from the world of law, legal technology and IT security are expected to attend, to debate and discover the systems, strategies, processes and platforms that will drive law firms and legal businesses into the next decade and beyond.

Register to attend here.

Meridio Outlook Integration

Managing your MeridioTM ECM content from within Outlook. The Meridio Outlook integration

The affinityTM Meridio Outlook integration provides users with easy access to their Meridio ECM repository through the Microsoft Outlook interface.

Using the Meridio ECM connector organizations can enable users to have access to multiple document repositories in parallel. This means users can easily transition from their Meridio ECM system to a new system, such as SharePoint/Microsoft 365 or HP TRIM, minimizing the need for change management. Users are still provided with email and document management tools throughout the transition period resulting in zero downtime.

The Meridio Outlook integration provides a rich Outlook interface that is fast, familiar and intuitive for both legacy and new systems. Users can have access to multiple systems in parallel avoiding the need to execute a big bang migration.

Benefits of Meridio Outlook integration:

  • Simple to use client providing easy and efficient access to Meridio ECM repository content for users from Outlook
  • Provides a rich Outlook interface for both legacy and new systems in parallel giving users access to multiple systems at the same time
  • Provides on-going client support for existing Meridio repositories e.g. Windows 10/Outlook 2016
  • Access Meridio ECM content within a folder hierarchy in Outlook – available on and offline. Repstor affinity Meridio ECM connector is a full offline client, providing access, addition and editing while offline. This allows users to have browsing capability of content in the Meridio repository both online and offline
  • Add Files or Emails to Meridio ECM from Outlook: Users can file content from Windows Explorer, Outlook folders and similar applications to Meridio locations through Repstor affinity’s Quick File functionality or drag and drop.
  • Use Repstor affinity to copy or transfer documents between the Meridio repository and other existing repositories such as SharePoint and HP TRIM®.
  • Notification of added or updated content: Users can keep track of content within multiple repository sites. affinity will use standard unread notifications to flag new or updated content.

Repstor affinity leads the ECM market with its extensive integration to multiple repositories.

Request a demo of our multiple repository support to learn more…

iManage Outlook Integration

Managing ALL your content from within Outlook. The iManage Outlook integration – Repstor affinity

Repstor affinityTM provides all your users easy access to content stored in iManage Work® (previously HP/Autonomy WorkSite) through a fast, efficient interface with Microsoft Outlook.

Users benefit from a simple, consistent view of information that allows them to add, edit and retrieve this content when on or offline, within Outlook and also within Windows Explorer using the Repstor drive module.  Repstor affinity provides access to iManage Work® without slowing or impacting normal Outlook and supports applications where network latency negatively impacts the use of other clients, or where offline access is required.

The Repstor affinity connector is ideally suited to scenarios where there is a requirement to work offline or across latent networks, or when users want to access content from the iManage Work® systems in combination with other content repositories.

Benefits of the affinity iManage Outlook integration:

  • Fully integrated in the Outlook client to provide familiar and easy access to email, and document content stored in iManage Work®
  • Full offline working
  • Full email management, and forwarding of/reply to filed emails, and inclusion of other document content as attachments
  • Add, view, and edit documents and properties through the Outlook client (on or offline)
  • Filing of documents/other office file types direct from Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint
  • Directed filing (suggested locations) of email, attachments or documents to iManage Work® folders with Repstor assist
  • Use Repstor affinity to copy documents between the iManage Work® repository and other repositories such as Microsoft SharePoint, File Shares and HighQ Collaborate
  • Access content through Windows Explorer using the Repstor drive product

Request a demo of our multiple repository support to learn more…

File Share Outlook Integration

Managing your File Share content from within Outlook

Repstor affinityTM enables easy access to content held on File Shares, exploiting standard Outlook features to enhance user productivity and efficiency while encouraging collaboration.

Users benefit from Outlook previewers to ensure that they can quickly locate the correct content, including email, attachments, office documents, PDF’s or other content held on File Shares.

Benefits of affinity File Share Outlook integration:

  • File Emails to shared locations directly from Outlook: Utilize Outlook rules, quicksteps, and other standard Outlook features for single or multiple messages, or drag complete conversations from Outlook to file shares in a single step and maintaining full integrity of the mail items.
  • File email attachments in File Shares directly from Outlook: Allows users to drag and drop or copy email attachments directly to file share locations using standard Outlook functions and without opening windows file explorer and having to navigate to the location.
  • Add Files to File Share From Outlook: Users can drag and drop content from their windows desktop, windows explorer, Outlook folders, and similar applications to file share locations, or may choose to add documents via the affinity add document function.
  • View and Update File Share Content from Outlook: Users can preview (preview pane in Outlook), view (in native application), or edit (in native application) content that is stored in file shares from the Outlook User Interface.
  • Notification of added or updated content: Users can keep track of content within multiple file shares, or within deep file share hierarchies. affinity will use standard unread notifications to flag new or updated content.
  • Full offline access to file shares: Users can continue to add, update and access content from within Outlook even when they are disconnected from the file share network.
  • Quickly locate/file content held in deep or wide folder structures: Users can quickly find folders by utilizing Jump to Folder and Quick File functions to rapidly search and filter the folder structures.

Download the Repstor affinity datasheet to learn more….

SharePoint Outlook Integration

affinity has full support for SharePoint content types, metadata, defaults, mandatory metadata and taxonomies meaning that information management best practice and automation can be applied to enhance user productivity and efficiency.

It is easy to file into the correct location with the SharePoint Outlook integration. The SharePoint document libraries and folders are presented in Outlook as a folder hierarchy. Standard Outlook filing functionality can be used (drag and drop, quick steps, rules), or Repstor’s assist lite can be used to file into deep SharePoint hierarchies easily.

Benefits of the affinity SharePoint Outlook integration:

  • Access SharePoint content within a folder hierarchy in Outlook – available on and offline. affinity is a full offline client, providing full access, addition and editing while offline. This allows users to work while disconnected from the SharePoint system, and additionally improves the user experience.
  • File Emails in SharePoint directly from Outlook: Use standard Outlook features such as drag and drop/copy and paste/move emails to Outlook folders that are synchronized with SharePoint. Use Repstor assist lite to file emails easily in complex SharePoint hierarchies.
  • File email attachments in SharePoint directly from Outlook: Users can drag and drop or copy email attachments directly to SharePoint locations using standard Outlook functions. Use affinity Quick File to file attachments easily in complex SharePoint hierarchies.
  • Add Files to SharePoint From Outlook: Users can drag and drop content from their windows desktop, windows explorer, Outlook folders, and similar applications to SharePoint locations, or may choose to add documents via the affinity add document function.
  • Update SharePoint Content from Outlook: Users can preview (preview pane in Outlook), view (in native application), or edit (in native application) content that is stored in SharePoint from the Outlook User Interface.
  • Notification of added or updated content: Users can keep track of content within multiple sites, or within complex SharePoint hierarchies. affinity will use standard unread notifications to flag new or updated content.
  • Full offline access to SharePoint: Users can continue to add, update and access content from within Outlook even when they are disconnected from the SharePoint system.

Download the Repstor affinity datasheet to learn more…