Although familiar with Nuance as an innovator and supplier of speech recognition software, leading Victorian regional law firm, Harwood Andrews, was unaware that the company offered a PDF solution. It was not until the law firm accidentally came across Nuance Power PDF at a legal conference that they realised the software existed and could possibly prove to be the PDF solution they needed.

 ‘We had already gone some way down the track of assessing the various PDF solutions in the marketplace when we accidentally came across Nuance’s Power PDF. Up until that point we did not know that Nuance offered PDF solutions. We had always just thought of the company as a specialist in speech recognition software. However, as luck would have it, it’s fortunate that we did come across Power PDF because it ended up being the right PDF solution for our needs,’ explained Shane Doak, Knowledge Resources Manager, Harwood Andrews.

The firm was reviewing its existing mishmash of PDF software with a view to replacing it with one, streamlined solution across its four offices in Victoria. The firm also wanted to implement a cost-effective solution that offered real capability.

‘Much of the PDF software that we were using could only do so much. This was becoming increasingly frustrating for staff. For example, people would scan a document and it often came through in a large file size. When people then tried to resize it to a smaller file for emailing, this was roving painful. We also needed a solution that would let us easily mark up documents, make changes, and add and delete pages. However, with much of the software we were using, this sort of functionality was slow and limiting. We really needed something that could easily handle electronic documents.

“The other requirement we needed to meet was cost. After reviewing much of the software in the marketplace we found that it usually fell into one of two categories: it was either affordable but offered little capability, or it offered considerable capability but was expensive. When you need to roll the software out across numerous computers you can’t ignore cost. Ideally what we needed was a solution that was cost-effective and feature rich,’ said Shane.

After coming across Nuance’s Power PDF at the legal conference, Shane decided to trial both Power PDF as well as two other PDF solutions. ‘We found that Power PDF had as a minimum, all the features we needed. It was also very user-friendly when compared to the other two solutions that we looked at and this was important for us. Many of our staff are not tech savvy but they picked it up quickly because the software is so easy to use. Overall I would have to say that Power PDF appeared well geared towards the day-to-day professional user and at a price we could afford, so we decided to run with Nuance,’ said Shane.

Nuance Power PDF lets users create, assemble, convert, edit, search, secure, print and validate PDF documents and forms easily and quickly. Power PDF helps users boost productivity and eliminate format-dependency bottlenecks that hinder workflow and slow down business.

 ‘Thanks to Power PDF everyone in the office is now on the same page when it comes to PDF capability. This makes it far easier for us to administer and maintain documents. Also, Power PDF’s considerable functionality means people can do things far easier and quicker. Resizing large electronic documents to smaller files is absolutely no problem. People can also join PDFs together, rotate pages, and add and delete pages with ease. Highlighting, marking up and editing files can also be done swiftly,’ said Shane.

An added bonus according to Shane has been Power PDF’s Bates numbering feature, which automatically provides consecutive numbering of scanned or processed pages and documents. The firm also found the software’s ability to compare documents very handy. This feature lets users examine two versions of a document side by side so that any differences are apparent. The original can be compared with any amended version.

Increasingly, staff at Harwood Andrews are also using Power PDF’s conversion feature.

‘While this capability was not part of the original must have set of features, it is something that staff are using more and more. They are converting PDF files into fully formatted Microsoft and Office documents at the click of a button. Some of these files are word-only documents but many also contain diagrams and tables, and Power PDF converts them accurately. This is a big time saver for us,’ explained Shane.

Another feature that is being used more so is turning static PDFs or Word files into fillable forms.

‘In the past we would have to either courier documents across to clients to have them signed, or email them, and have them printed before being signed and returned. Now we just email the forms and clients complete them digitally. This is faster, more efficient and helps us save time,’ added Shane.

Apart from improved capability and increased productivity, the firm has experienced considerable cost savings as a result of implementing Nuance Power PDF.

‘We have saved about $70,000 thanks to Power PDF. This is a substantial saving for us. When you combine this with the extensive PDF capability we have gained, I can honestly say that Power PDF was the right solution for our firm. If you are searching for PDF capability, then Power PDF is definitely worth considering,’ concluded Shane.

For more information and to download a free trial visit powerpdf.com.au