From Paper to Cloud: 100% Confidence and Cost Savings with Workiro

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Established almost 50 years ago, Medical Assurance Bureau started life as an independent financial advisory firm specifically for those in the medical profession. Over the years, the company has grown to offer advice on Investments, pensions and portfolio management to a wide range of clients. When Andy Holland took on the role of Managing Director in 2012, one of his key priorities was to maintain the personal touch with his clients, while also ensuring that the firm evolved from largely paper-based systems, into the digital age.

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Digitising half a century of legacy paper systems

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"We've got clients that have been with us right from the start," Andy explains, “and that meant a lot of paper records. It was important that we address the legacy and streamline our processes in order to continue to meet customer demand.”

Starting over a decade ago, the first step was to conduct what Andy refers to as a “beauty parade” of different systems. After establishing which of the systems best fitted the company’s list of requirements, Andy and team opted for Virtual Cabinet - a server-based document management system that offered a range of features specifically for IFAs, including full version control and audit trail.

“We are very highly regulated, so the decision was a huge one.“ Andy explains. “We hold a lot of highly sensitive information, all of which had to be scanned in house to maintain our commitment to client confidentiality. IFAs don’t have a roll-off period like our accountant colleagues - so we had to go back to the start of the business. It took us a long time to get all of our legacy paperwork digitised, but it was worth the effort. The system was amazing. We could find documents really quickly. It worked extremely well. It was a huge moment for us when we instructed a firm to confidently destroy the originals!”

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Moving to the cloud - a huge cost saving

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Medical Assurance Bureau used Virtual Cabinet for over ten years and were extremely happy with the functionality offered by the system. As the company’s server approached the end of its life, Andy wanted to avoid the cost implications of replacing it. As a server based system, Virtual Cabinet took up a lot of space - and the decision was taken to look for a cloud-based alternative.  

"It was almost as big a decision as going with Virtual Cabinet to start with," Andy said. "I had put my trust in the system a decade prior, and it exceeded my expectations. So, when the team told me about Workiro, it seemed a logical next step"

Initially launched as a cloud-based add-on to Virtual Cabinet, Workiro has evolved to become a full re-imagining of Virtual Cabinet in the Cloud. For Medical Assurance Bureau, this meant no need for expensive server updates, while still offering a suite of user-friendly features like unlimited storage, e-signatures, and a document portal, which further streamline processes and document management.

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Migrating to the cloud - a slick and simple process

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"The transition was very smooth. We started on a Friday. The Workiro team kept in contact with me over the weekend, and it was done by Sunday morning. This flexibility meant no downtime for us." Andy recalled. “The transition was as slick as promised, and the biggest compliment is that I haven't had to contact you that much in the twelve months we’ve been using Workiro.”

The company is primarily using Workiro as a document management system, similar to Virtual Cabinet. However, with additional functionality available in the Workiro system, and a development pipeline in place, Andy is looking forward to undertaking additional training on how the team can make use of Workiro to optimise processes and improve efficiency - including the use of e-signatures.

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100% confidence, and significant savings

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“I’m struggling to think of any negatives”, Andy muses. “When I need a document, I often need it immediately. It is fundamental to our business, and Workiro hasn’t let me down. We were supported through the implementation without any hiccups. In terms of satisfaction, I’d rate it 10 out of 10. If somebody's using Virtual Cabinet now, they have no reason not to make the move to Workiro.”

Asked about savings, Andy explains that the cost was much the same as Virtual Cabinet. However, getting rid of hardware - and the grind of manual daily backups and ongoing maintenance - was a huge advantage in terms of both initial outlay for a new server, and ongoing IT-management costs. What’s more, moving to the cloud meant no risk of downtime versus the previous server-based solution.

“In our business, I have got to have 100% confidence in our systems”, Andy concludes, “and Workiro gives me that confidence.”