Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking Speech Recognition Technology Transforms Productivity at London Patent Attorney Firm
Leading Speech Recognition Solution Plays Pivotal Role in Helping Beresford & Co
to Ensure Document Accuracy, Deliver Faster Turnaround, and Increase Customer Satisfaction
LONDON, United Kingdom, 17 November 2005 Nuance Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT), formerly known as ScanSoft and a global leader in speech and imaging solutions, has today announced that its desktop-based speech recognition software, Dragon NaturallySpeaking® 8, has transformed working practises and is driving vast improvements in productivity at Beresford & Co, a patent attorney firm in London. Currently, twenty of the company’s fee earners are using the technology to deliver faster turnaround of legal documentation and e-mail correspondence. The training and set up of the software was completed by Sonant Software Ltd, a UK-based integration partner.
Already used by thousands of legal professionals worldwide, Dragon NaturallySpeaking converts speech into text at up to 160 words per minute, automating many documentation processes and eliminating the high cost and long turnaround time associated with the manual transcription of notes and reports. Beresford uses Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8 to ensure document accuracy, increase productivity and deliver higher standards of customer service via a faster response time.
Founded in 1986, Beresford’s clients range from large corporations and universities to individual inventors. The company manages patent work in all fields of technology but has an especially strong practice in electronics and software patents. The nature of patent work requires painstaking attention to detail to define the patent specification document, which can range from six to 200 + pages in extent. Every word has to be correct or serious ramifications may result.
Commenting on the accuracy of the software, Keith Beresford, Senior Partner, Beresford & Co said, “I experience 100% accuracy at speeds of up to 150 words per minute when consciously dictating in a measured tone. We are producing more documents for the time we spend on administration with fewer corrections and less time editing overall.” Based on this success, Keith took the decision to deploy Dragon NaturallySpeaking Version 8 across the enterprise, equipping 20 fee earners and one of his administrative staff with the software.
In the past, the company used traditional tape-based dictation, which often meant a delay while secretarial staff transcribed the tapes. Often by the time the document or e-mail was passed back for approval, circumstances had changed, so a lot of editing was necessary. Or, by the time the draft came back, the fee earner was too busy on another matter to check it, causing a delay in getting the document finalised. In addition, to ensure accuracy the proofing process was lengthy and as a result, it sometimes took several days to produce a final document. These time-consuming issues, along with the increasing burden of e-mail, made Beresford & Co realise the need to harness a technology that could maintain service levels, improve productivity and provide clients with instant responses to their e-mailed inquiries.
In 2004, the expanding firm moved into new offices, and assessed the option of rolling out speech recognition across the firm. It decided to install the latest version of Nuance’s Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional Version 8.
A few fee earners had a short initial training session with Dragon NaturallySpeaking experts Sonant Software to set them up correctly and run over dictation technique. They were amazed that they were able to create documents with the software after only a few minutes spent training it to recognise their voices. The fee earners have since integrated Dragon NaturallySpeaking into their everyday routines, using it where it makes most sense.
The most notable benefit has been seen when handling e-mail. The Patent Attorneys no longer dictate e-mail replies for secretarial staff to type up. Slow typists now respond faster by voice, improving responsiveness and client service levels into the bargain. This ultimately helps the practice compete.
The second benefit is a huge reduction in the time taken to produce documents. The new working process allows fee earners to instantly dictate and finalise, without waiting for a draft from the secretary, the key body of the document in an internal e-mail to a support team to complete and format. This leaves the fee earners free to undertake higher value tasks making the practice much more productive.
The use of Nuance® Dragon Dictation solutions has also delivered many humanistic benefits to the workplace. Staff are no longer “chained to the keyboard” – reducing the potential risk of repetitive strain injury and other associated complaints. Beresford says, “Using Dragon is a far more enjoyable way to work; especially when you get to the end of the day and the in-tray is empty!”
Simon Howard, Nuance’s Professional & Healthcare Solutions Manager, EMEA, for Dragon NaturallySpeaking, said, “With sensitive client data to manage, accuracy in the legal profession is absolutely critical. That makes it the ideal proving ground for speech recognition technology. The deployment of DNS 8 at Beresford shows that it is being used successfully in such a demanding environment, and its performance there is a reflection on how far the technology has progressed, and how accurate it now is.”
About Beresford & Co
Beresford & Co was founded in 1986 by the present Senior Partner, Keith Beresford. Since its foundation, the firm has grown to around 50 people and has acquired a reputation for high quality work in all aspects of patent law including filing and prosecution, litigation and advisory work.
The firm acts for a number of the largest companies in the world in addition to universities, research organisations, small to medium sized businesses and individuals.
About Sonant Software Ltd
Sonant Software has deep experience in speech recognition, speech synthesis, assistive software and document imaging products. This is through our background in working with Nuance, a leader in the speech and imaging technology field and Sensory Software, an innovator in assistive technology.
Sonant concentrates on competitive solutions for multiple user licensing. We were the first company in the UK to make the Nuance Diamond Licensing scheme available via a simple online ordering process. We work with training partners throughout the UK to provide a tailored solution to user requirements.
Nuance Communications, Inc. (formerly known as ScanSoft)
Nuance (Nasdaq: SSFT) is the leading provider of speech and imaging solutions for businesses and consumers around the world. Its technologies, applications and services make the user experience more compelling by transforming the way people interact with information and how they create, share and use documents. Every day, millions of users and thousands of businesses experience Nuance's proven applications. For more information, please visit www.nuance.com.
Trademark reference: Nuance, the Nuance logo Dragon, and NaturallySpeaking are registered trademarks or trademarks of Nuance Communications, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and other countries. All other company or product names may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
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