IT Company Uses Flexible API to Build Solution That Automates Tracking and Billing

Microsoft Office System Communications-Enabled Business Process Case Study

IT Company Uses Flexible API to Build Solution That

Overview “This solution Country or Region: United States automatically tracks Industry: Professional services— Software engineering incoming and outgoing

Partner Profile calls, emails, IMs, and Based in Glen Arm, Maryland, etc video communications in DevCorp. is a development firm and subsidiary of IT solutions provider Enabling Technologies. The company Maryland-based etc has 10 employees. DevCorp. builds software Business Challenge solutions based on One of its customers, a large law firm, needed to automate client billing Microsoft Unified processes. The law firm sought a Communications solution that would also help improve billing accuracy. technologies. In early 2009, the company was engaged CEBP Solution Developers at etc DevCorp. created by a law firm that sought etcTimeTracker for Office automated client Communications Server. The application is based on Microsoft communication and billing Office Communications Server 2007 processes. Using the R2. Microsoft Unified ROI Communications Managed Eases time-tracking process for attorneys API 2.0, etc DevCorp. Improves efficiency, billing accuracy created etcTimeTracker for Offers flexibility for developers Office Communications Server. The application, which is based on

Business Challenge and outbound phone calls. “It also wanted to assign client numbers and billing codes A development firm based in Glen Arm, to all forms of communication,” says Trucks. Maryland, etc DevCorp. builds add-on applications for Microsoft Unified In mid-2009, etc DevCorp. began building a Communications products. It is a subsidiary solution that would help the California law of Enabling Technologies, a Microsoft Gold firm and other similar firms optimize Certified Partner that offers IT solutions and business processes and reduce costs. The consulting services to companies around solution would automate time tracking and the world. simplify the process of assigning client numbers to communications. The organization’s customers are always looking for ways to streamline critical business processes and cut costs. For CEBP Solution example, in early 2009, etc DevCorp. was Before it even began the development approached by a prominent California law process, etc DevCorp. knew it would use firm that needed a software solution to Microsoft technologies to create the new help automate its client billing processes. application for the law firm. “Our solutions “For law firms, time is money. Whether have always been 100 percent based on they’re doing research about a case or Microsoft products, and Microsoft has the talking to clients on the phone, every best solutions for enterprise telephony and second they can bill their clients means voice,” says Trucks. more money for the firm,” says Vaylor Trucks, Systems Engineer, etc DevCorp. The company used the Microsoft Unified “That’s why this particular firm wanted to Communications Managed API (UCMA) 2.0 speed up its billing processes. Lawyers have to create etcTimeTracker for Office a tendency to spend too much time Communications Server. The solution is gathering billing information to submit to based on Microsoft Office Communications clients for invoicing.” Server 2007 R2. The application interoperates with the Microsoft Office Increasing the efficiency and accuracy of Communicator 2007 R2 client to key processes such as billing is also critical automatically track the time someone for law firms. This is especially true in spends on it using any form of incoming or today’s challenging economic times, when outgoing communication. Using clients are asking for proof of each minute etcTimeTracker, attorneys can track phone they are being billed for. “Law firms today calls, emails, instant messages (IMs), voice need to have accurate and accountable over IP (VoIP) calls, or video calls. ways of billing everything from phone calls to instant messaging sessions with clients,” The solution integrates all forms of says Trucks. communication with a law firm’s billing software to make the billing process To improve its billing accuracy, the law firm simpler and more accurate. It automatically that had contacted etc DevCorp. wanted tracks call data and client information, the ability to automatically track inbound using the presence capabilities in Office

36 Communications Server 2007 R2. When a For law firms, etcTimeTracker simplifies the client calls the law firm, for example, the tracking of time spent communicating with application captures the time spent on the clients. “This solution automatically tracks call and all other relevant information for incoming and outgoing calls, emails, IMs, billing purposes. and video communications in Office Communicator 2007 R2,” says Trucks. The application also embeds a notification “Attorneys no longer have to worry about drop-down menu into the Office entering billing codes or client numbers Communicator 2007 R2 toolbar, for easy when they talk with clients.” The process is access to new emails, IMs, or voice-mail simple because users can communicate messages. With one click, attorneys and with clients and assign client numbers other legal professionals can access a within Office Communicator 2007 R2. “For contact card that includes client contact attorneys who are busy working on cases, information and data related to that client, this is very easy. They don’t have to such as documents and recent navigate between multiple applications,” conversations. Additionally, users can says Trucks. quickly and easily assign client or case numbers to each email, IM, or VoIP call. The solution has another key benefit. By automating tracking and billing processes, “Any time an attorney places an outbound attorneys can reduce the amount of time call or uses another form of they spend preparing invoices. “Using communication, whether through Office etcTimeTracker, law firms can improve Communicator 2007 R2 or a phone, the efficiencies and collect on their receivables communication is tracked and stored in a faster, thereby improving their cash flow,” database,” says Trucks. “The menu in Office Trucks says. Communicator 2007 R2 displays the calls made, and the user can easily assign a Improves Efficiency, Billing Accuracy client number to the call. It’s very simple.” By automatically tracking all client communications, law firms can improve ROI billing efficiency by providing precise By using Microsoft software, etc DevCorp. billing information to their clients. “Billing created an application for law firms that accuracy is greatly improved with this greatly improves the user experience by solution, because law firms can definitively automating the tracking of client show how much time was spent on a client communications. The solution also makes call or an IM session,” says Trucks. “Instead client billing much more efficient and of estimating that an Office Communicator accurate. To build in the customized 2007 R2 call took 40 minutes, an attorney tracking capabilities, the development team can say the call was exactly 47 minutes and relied on the flexibility of the Microsoft 21 seconds long. That’s important, because UCMA 2.0. for law firms every second counts when it comes to client billing.” Eases Time-Tracking Process for Attorneys Offers Flexibility for Developers

46 Developers at etc Dev Corp. took advantage of the extensibility in the UCMA 2.0 to build a flexible solution that expands time-tracking functionality beyond just outbound phone calls. “The Microsoft Unified Communications Managed API 2.0 is much easier to work with than the previous version and provides more extensibility,” says Trucks. “With very minor tweaks, we were able to build in the tracking of IM conversations, video conference participation, and any other communication activity that’s trackable in Office Communications Server 2007 R2. We could easily roll out these client features without customers having to install new client software.”

With these capabilities, etc DevCorp. saved time on the development process. “In developing etcTimeTracker, I simply needed to create a generic web interface and then create the customized tabs for Office Communicator 2007 R2, using many of the same components,” says Trucks. “This really saved me a lot of time in building the application.”

Microsoft CEBP Communications-enabled business processes (CEBP) based on the Microsoft Unified Communications platform offer

56 businesses three ways to increase productivity: Contextual collaboration. Helps users communicate efficiently by providing context about their communications. Business Process Communications. Reduces human delay in business processes, so people can contact decision makers when they’re needed. Anywhere-access capabilities. Users can interact with computers via natural speech, using the telephone or IM in a fully automated way.

For more information about the Microsoft Office system, go to: www.microsoft.com/communicationsserver