Data upgrade
supplements|November 2022What new methods are firms applying to surfacing and analysing their data?
ISSUE IN BRIEF
As the December nights creep in and organisations of all stripes attempt to put their 2022 projects to bed and wrap up the year, new goals and priorities for 2023 are undoubtedly also rearing their heads. Among those emergent tasks may be how law firms manage and leverage their data – as we found at Briefing’s recent Frontiers event on 6 December, developing new data strategies is high on the agenda for many a firm.
But building a platform that integrates and generates a standardised approach to surfacing data is a long journey, as we heard from Chris Pannell of Allen & Overy on the day – though a cohesive data strategy is certainly achievable. Indeed, firms appear to be making inroads towards surfacing and visualising meaningful data through reporting tools and dashboards across multiple business services teams – and you can find out more about that topic in this special edition’s cover story by Joanna Goodman.
That’s not all we have to offer this festive season of course – we also have insight and advice from industry experts, including an interview with Paul Suffield at OneStream Software on the importance of aligning operational and financial data, Fawad Mohamed at Catalyst BI discusses agile, automated data warehouses, and we have a look into how CMS has used Thomson Reuters’ 3E platform to generate meaningful business insights.
Plus, you can look over a plethora of industry analysis insight pieces, including comment on the importance of interconnected data for meaningful insights from Pinnacle, and RedView outlines the specific benefits of data dashboards for law firms.
You can also read Katchr’s take on the evolution of BI and data analytics in law firms and how to progress up the ladder, and BigHand looks at ways improved financial reporting can help firms increase profitability without putting pressure on billable hours.
So, enjoy the festive season, feast on sweet treats and data insights, and we’ll see you on the other side of 2023.
ONWARDS ANALYSIS
As legal businesses begin to onboard more mainstream data analysis tools, systems and skillsets, the number of ways law firms are utilising data is evolving. Joanna Goodman explores the cross-functional data innovation and visualisation efforts of large law firms.
TIME FOR RECORDING IMPROVEMENT
At CMS, head of finance systems and innovation Nick Pond explains how Thomson Reuter’s 3E enterprise resource planning platform has helped the firm develop meaningful data insights around time-recording and billing processes.
MAKING A WAREHOUSE A DATA HOME
In order to get an accurate visualisation of their data sources, businesses need to have their warehouses in order, says Fawad Mohammed, head of data management at Catalyst BI. He explains the common pitfalls of data warehouse development and how automating the process of coding them can keep them on target.
