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TAMPA, Fla. September 9, 2020 – In August, Tampa Bay Tech’s Software CEO Council (TBSC) met to tackle what so many CEOs and founders are experiencing right now as the country continues to reopen. The outlook was optimistic amongst the group as all attendees reported that their businesses were maintaining financial stability and growing headcount.

During this quarterly meeting, TBSC usually gathers to discuss business ideas, philanthropic efforts, and community involvement. This meeting was a little different considering the effects that COVID-19 has had on the market.

“It’s important for TBSC to keep our meetings going, especially during a pandemic,” states Seng Sun, CEO of SunView Software. “We can rely on each other to share feedback and ideas regarding the management of new COVID-19 protocols.”

Prior to the meeting, the members participated in a brief survey about the impact that the pandemic had on their businesses.

“Across the board our CEOs reported challenges in the past several months, but I was encouraged by the optimism for not only ending the year in a positive place, but heading into 2021 with solid strategies to grow,” reported Jill St Thomas, Tampa Bay Tech’s Executive Director. “The commitment of these leaders to support one another absolutely embodies our mission of building a radically connected tech community in Tampa Bay.”

“We need to understand the way the pandemic has influenced not only our own business plans and strategies, but how it will affect the technology landscape in Tampa Bay,” states Jack Berlin, CEO of Accusoft. “We have light-hearted meetings, but we do discuss serious subjects. I took over a page of notes on ideas my peers shared, and I’m interested in implementing them across my teams.”

Members of the group in attendance included: Jack Berlin, CEO of Accusoft, Kevin Coppins, CEO of Spirion, Seng Sun, CEO of SunView Software, Ed Holmes, CEO of FairWarning, Gregory Ross-Munro, CEO of Sourcetoad, Paul Toomey, CEO of Geographic Solutions, Chris Karlo, CEO of Mercury New Media, Jody Haneke, CEO of Haneke Designs, and moderator, Jill St. Thomas, Executive Director of Tampa Bay Tech.

For more information about TBSC, visit the group’s website at https://www.tampasoftwareceos.com/.

About Tampa Bay Tech

Tampa Bay Tech is a 501(c)6 non-profit technology council that has been engaging and uniting the local technology community for 20 years. With over 100 companies representing thousands of tech employees – as well as thousands of students within the area’s colleges and universities – Tampa Bay Tech provides programming and initiatives to support all those in the technology space. Through their membership and partnerships, their mission is to build a radically connected, flourishing tech hub where opportunity is abundant for all. Join the TBTech community at tampabay.tech and follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram and Twitter.

About Accusoft

Founded in 1991, Accusoft is a software development company specializing in content processing, conversion, and automation solutions. From out-of-the-box and configurable applications to APIs built for developers, Accusoft software enables users to solve their most complex workflow challenges and gain insights from content in any format, on any device. Backed by 40 patents, the company’s flagship products, including OnTask, PrizmDoc™ Viewer, and ImageGear, are designed to improve productivity, provide actionable data, and deliver results that matter. The Accusoft team is dedicated to continuous innovation through customer-centric product development, new version release, and a passion for understanding industry trends that drive consumer demand. Visit us at www.accusoft.com.

Of the many eDiscovery trends we’re seeing in the Legal Tech world, one stands out as particularly crucial. The eDiscovery services market is exploding. The market is estimated to grow 8.7% annually, reaching more than $17B by 2027. 

The rapid growth of eDiscovery presents exciting opportunities for the Legal Tech world. However, for independent software vendors (ISVs) to capitalize on those opportunities, they must also stay vigilant about associated concerns such as the use of AI, data privacy, and effective document management.

Amidst the remarkable expansion of eDiscovery services, a host of trends have emerged that hold significant relevance for ISVs. Below, we outline key eDiscovery trends and offer tangible ways to navigate the landscape successfully.

Three eDiscovery Trends You Need to Know

#1: A Cautious Embrace of AI is Critical

One of the most prevalent eDiscovery trends is the need for cautious use of AI. It’s no secret that AI, or Legal AI, generative AI tools trained on legal processes, is revolutionizing eDiscovery. Law firms are already reaping the benefits, as 70% of large firms agree that generative AI adds value.

Legal AI makes teams more productive by automating rote tasks such as document review, memo drafting, and initial contract creation. For example, a recent study found that AI-powered due diligence document review can cut review time by up to 70% compared to traditional methods. 

What does this data tell us? That lawyers will be turning to Legal Tech ISV professionals to help them better use, scale, and mitigate the risks of AI.

As the eDiscovery market grows, more sophisticated use cases for Legal AI will be developed. For instance, a Legal AI tool could generate textual content, such as policies or communications, based on input examples. Additionally, a tool could assign a tag to a given input and help professionals create a searchable database of documents to streamline due diligence.

In other words, the possibilities of Legal AI are endless. However, generative AI tools, especially when used in highly regulated fields, must be implemented with caution. That’s where ISVs can bring unique value.

Risks of Legal AI that ISVs can Help Mitigate

• Tools that are available publicly have been trained on vast amounts of historical data, which could result in outputs that are outdated, biased, or irrelevant to your clients’ needs.
• The misuse of AI is common within and outside of organizations, which could result in “deep fake” images and videos, along with generated data that are hard to verify.
• Inputs that include personally identifiable information (PII) can be accidentally exposed to other users of the tool. That’s where Accusoft’s PII detection and redaction feature in PrizmDoc can be helpful.

These are just a few risks that accompany all of the benefits Legal AI tools offer. It’s critical to spend plenty of time experimenting with various tools to see which ones pose the least amount of risk and work best for your application. Part of a cautious embrace of AI also includes forming a team to research, test, and launch tools safely. That’s why 38% of American Law 200 firms are expected to hire more technologists to support generative AI initiatives.

Action Items: How to embrace eDiscovery AI tools cautiously in your application

• Offer AI readiness assessments or audits to help law firm clients evaluate their current readiness, infrastructure, and data readiness for AI implementation.
• Facilitate knowledge-sharing among your clients by organizing learning sessions. Given that 90% of law firms reported that they expect their investment in generative AI to rise in the next five years, it’s clear that legal teams are using AI successfully. Consider arranging sessions where firms that have successfully implemented AI can share best practices with less experienced organizations. 
• Explore partnering with a trusted eDiscovery document processing vendor such as Accusoft to integrate carefully vetted AI tools into your application. 

#2 Data Privacy Restrictions Must be Top of Mind

Any list of 2024 eDiscovery trends must include a concern about data privacy. This year and beyond, restrictions on data privacy and protecting PII will become more rigid. Awareness of protecting client data has grown globally. Additionally, excitement about AI can inadvertently overshadow the data privacy concerns that come with using tools that are publicly available.

Increased data privacy restrictions within firms will look like stricter data retention policies and increased use of software designed to help teams identify and redact PII. Firms will need to conduct thorough research on the data privacy policies of their partners, as well as the data privacy laws of the geographic areas in which they conduct business.

Action items: How to keep data privacy top of mind in your application:

• Strengthen your software’s data security by implementing robust encryption protocols and security measures. Provide options for end-to-end encryption, secure file sharing, and secure document storage to safeguard PII and maintain client confidentiality.
• Provide tools for compliance auditing, monitoring, and reporting to assist legal teams in demonstrating regulatory compliance to clients and regulatory authorities. Features such as access logs, audit trails, and user activity monitoring ensure accountability and transparency in data handling practices.
• Ensure continuous improvement and responsiveness within your applications to evolving client needs and how PII could be exposed or inadvertently changed. Establish regular feedback loops with clients to gather insights, identify pain points, and prioritize feature enhancements. 
• Review your organization’s data privacy policy. How does your software protect client data, PII, and more? Keep your clients updated on your policy so that they know data privacy is a top priority for you. 

#3 Better Management of Collaborative Platforms is Needed

Another one of the most important eDiscovery trends of 2024 is the need for better management of collaborative platforms. The adoption of collaborative platforms, such as Slack, WhatsApp, MS Teams, and others, has surged due to the shift to remote work.

The use of collaborative applications offers advantages and poses challenges. For example, they enable legal teams to capture valuable information from communications across many platforms that strengthen court cases. However, they also create extremely large volumes of legal documents and the potential of large amounts of duplicate content that teams then have to review.

Why is the concern about collaborative platforms so great? Because the number and use of these platforms is only growing. From now until 2032, the collaboration software market is projected to grow 12% annually. 

This has had profound effects on legal firms performing eDiscovery, most of whom still depend on tools and review processes designed for standard digital documents (such as .doc, .xlxs, .ppt, etc), paper documents, and email. The process of collecting, viewing, searching, redacting, and collaborating across traditional documents and emails has pivoted, and firms are responsible for including the digitized content from these collaborative working social platforms in their eDiscovery.

Action items: How to help law firms better access to files created in document collaboration tools

• Embed advanced search and filtering capabilities into your Legal Tech software that are specifically tailored to collaborative platform communications. This includes the ability to search for keywords, filter by date range or user, and apply metadata tags to organize and categorize communications effectively. These features enable lawyers to quickly locate relevant information during eDiscovery proceedings.
• Create tools in your application that supports the collecting, viewing, searching, redacting, and collaborating across traditional documents and emails, and also the digitized content from these collaborative working social platforms.
• Consider integrating PrizmDoc into your solution to seamlessly search, identify, and redact information directly within your application, ensuring top-notch document security.

Solutions Built to Help You Capitalize on eDiscovery Trends

We’ve only begun to see how the explosion of the eDiscovery services market poses opportunities and potential downfalls to the Legal Tech world. With the right safeguards in place, ISVs can capitalize on these opportunities to enhance their services, maintain competitiveness, and above all, foster client trust.

Wondering how can Accusoft support your team in keeping up with the eDiscovery trends of 2024? Read our Legal Tech Fact Sheet.

Video playback has become a fundamental feature in today’s applications, mirroring the shift in user tastes and the widespread presence of multimedia in our digital era. As the appetite for video content rises—spanning tutorials, entertainment, online lessons, marketing assets, and content created by users—applications that provide seamless and adaptive video playback resonate with these needs, boosting user engagement and loyalty.

Additionally, video conveys intricate concepts effectively, resonates with those who are visual learners, and often elevates the user journey with a deeper, more engaging medium. Embedding powerful video playback capabilities can help applications stand out from the crowd, ensuring that they align with modern user demands and stay relevant in a video-driven digital environment.

Introducing PrizmDoc Video Playback

Recognizing the significance of video, the Accusoft engineering team has enhanced PrizmDoc with video playback capabilities. While PrizmDoc already smoothly integrates document viewing features into web applications, this latest addition empowers developers to seamlessly incorporate video features into their software. With PrizmDoc’s video playback, the days of hosting videos on external platforms or depending on poorly secured software plugins to embed videos are gone.

The new video playback feature augments PrizmDoc’s reputation for efficiency and top-tier performance, ensuring the delivery of premium video content with barely any processing delays and supporting a variety of file formats. Developers can effortlessly embed video playback using a straightforward API call, bypassing the need to construct intricate video functionality from the ground up.

Video Playback Benefits for Government Applications

Government agencies stand to gain substantially by integrating video playback capabilities into their applications’ document viewing systems. Here’s an in-depth look at the advantages this integration can bring:

Improved Communication and Collaboration

Incorporating video playback allows government agencies to revolutionize their documentation techniques, creating content that is not only captivating but also densely packed with essential information. This multimedia integration is advantageous in many ways: from presentations that need to capture the audience’s attention, to training modules that benefit from visual aids to ensure clearer understanding, to public service announcements where visuals can often communicate more effectively than words alone.

But the utility of videos extends beyond just the content. They serve as a dynamic conduit for enhanced communication, promoting more profound interactions. When government staff use videos, they open doors to a more direct and interactive dialogue with citizens and various stakeholders. This interactive platform, fostered by video content, encourages shared understanding and insights, catalyzing cooperative ventures. Moreover, it ensures that the core message of the agency is transmitted with clarity, reducing ambiguities and fostering trust between the government and its constituents. Videos are not just tools for information delivery but also instruments for building bridges and fostering collaborations.

Better Transparency and Oversight 

Government agencies can greatly enhance transparency and accountability in their operations by leveraging video playback in their applications. Recording committee sessions and admissible meetings ensures that even nuanced details of discussions are captured for future reference. For independent software vendors (ISVs) supporting the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), integrating video playback into their applications provides an invaluable tool for their government customers. Agencies can monitor access to videos, ensuring that the integrity of video files is maintained while still making them available in accordance with FOIA requirements. 

More importantly, constituents who may not have the opportunity to attend meetings in person can still remain informed by viewing these video recordings. This fosters an environment of inclusivity and ensures that all citizens can be privy to government proceedings. Additionally, video integrations provide government agencies with detailed logs, allowing them to track file accesses, view detailed histories, and maintain a comprehensive understanding of the data’s interactions. This systematic organization not only aids in efficient operations but also upholds the tenets of transparency and accountability.

Enhanced Control

Providing access to recorded video content, though seemingly straightforward, brings with it a set of challenges, especially for government agencies. Unauthorized downloading or sharing of these recordings can jeopardize the integrity and security of the content. By embedding video playback functionalities directly within their applications, agencies gain a robust mechanism to regulate access, ensuring that only authorized users can view the content. The option to download files can be removed entirely, making it much easier to control how videos are viewed and shared.

More importantly, these integrations allow agencies to generate comprehensive audit trails, documenting every instance of access, and guaranteeing that the sanctity and confidentiality of the content are preserved. Many of these video files could hold sensitive or classified information, the distribution of which, without proper authorization, could have legal repercussions. Through strict controls on how these video files are accessed, viewed, and shared, government applications are better positioned to adhere to legal and regulatory stipulations, reinforcing data security and public trust.

Boosting Efficiency and Productivity

Video content can provide government personnel with a streamlined means to access crucial information. By offering data in an easily digestible visual and auditory format, videos facilitate quicker comprehension and thereby expedite decision-making processes. This ensures that government functions remain nimble and responsive in an ever-evolving landscape.

Beyond information dissemination, video playback can revolutionize operational tasks. Specifically, when it comes to onboarding new employees, standardized video training modules offer a consistent and efficient approach. These modules allow newcomers to familiarize themselves with institutional practices at their own pace, ensuring uniformity in training. Additionally, updates to reflect new policies or insights can be seamlessly integrated, making the training process both adaptable and up-to-date.

Augmented Transparency and Accountability

Videos provide a concrete and unambiguous record of governmental actions and decisions. This visual documentation brings greater clarity to operations, reducing misunderstandings and ensuring that agencies are held accountable for their actions. Providing video evidence helps to build trust, reinforcing that government agencies are operating transparently and in good faith.

Furthermore, modern video platforms offer more than just passive viewing experiences; they are interactive hubs that enable direct communication between the government and its citizens. Through these platforms, agencies can actively seek feedback, opinions, and suggestions from the public, ensuring that their policies and initiatives resonate with and address the genuine concerns of citizens. Video-enabled GovTech applications can also serve as continuous channels of information, allowing agencies to keep constituents regularly informed about new programs, updates, and changes, further solidifying the commitment to transparency and open governance.

Enhance GovTech Applications with PrizmDoc Video Playback

PrizmDoc’s new video playback feature offers numerous advantages for government applications. With this new capability, GovTech developers can help government agencies seamlessly integrate and access video content directly within their applications, removing the reliance on third-party platforms or external tools. Users ultimately benefit from a streamlined and integrated workflow, especially when drawing connections between official documents and relevant videos. By centralizing these functions and reducing associated expenses, GovTech software developers can focus their efforts and resources on other features, ensuring that their applications stay ahead in a continuously modernizing administrative environment.

To learn more about how PrizmDoc’s video playback feature can benefit your GovTech application, talk to one of Accusoft’s PrizmDoc specialists today.

Spreadsheets are to finance what cranes are to construction. As a result, financial services organizations including traditional banks, tax companies, insurance agencies, and fintech firms opt for software-driven spreadsheet solutions as standard operating procedures. The problem? Ubiquitous spreadsheet software introduces a host of cybersecurity, compliance, and collaboration challenges, especially as regulatory and operational requirements evolve around the use, storage, and sharing of clients’ financial data.  Enter PrizmDoc Cells for finance. 

Accusoft’s newest addition to the PrizmDoc Suite — PrizmDoc Cells — offers both form(ula) and functional advantages for financial data entry and integrity.

Managing Market Forces

As noted by Forbes, the finance market is changing. Recent survey data found that 69 percent pointed to fintech firms as a “lifeline” during the current crisis. And these shifts are ongoing. Even once pandemic pressures begin to ease, there’s no going back from the speed and convenience offered to users when brick-and-mortar locations were locked down. 

Financial firms across multiple markets that made the move online application processing, claims evaluation, and loan approvals must now support these initiatives at scale — but many are now finding themselves frustrated by the limitations of current spreadsheet solutions.

Addressing Operational Challenges

Familiar spreadsheet software offers straightforward function: Staff can enter relevant data and derive actionable output through formulas. But these tools also pose problems for finance firms, including:

• • Operational errors — As noted by CFO, 88 percent of spreadsheets contain some type of error. These include errors in formulas, human data entry issues that create impossible data ranges, and even hidden fonts that can impact the outcome of calculations. This is no small issue — for one financial firm, a missing negative sign caused a 2.6 billion dollar mistake in reporting net capital losses, forcing the company to cancel year-end dividend distributions.

• • Version consistency — The more people handle and modify a spreadsheet, the harder it is to identify the “right” version. This becomes especially problematic as spreadsheets are saved to desktops or mobile devices, then modified and sent back into corporate email environments.

• • Data security — While email presents a significant spreadsheet security risk, the same is true of any solution — cloud-based, on-premises or a mix of both — that allows users to download, copy, and share spreadsheets. Consider the case of a well-meaning user who downloads a financial spreadsheet from a cloud app and then sends it to his personal email so he can work on them remotely. If this email account is compromised, so too are any supposedly secure spreadsheets, putting financial firms at risk of regulatory compromise.

• • Ongoing Time and effort — From the time needed to track down and verify the most recent and accurate version of key spreadsheets to the effort required if data is entered incorrectly and requires remediation, current software tools often see staff focused on putting out formula and framework fires instead of moving financial firms forward.

Gaining Control with PrizmDoc Cells for Finance

PrizmDoc Cells changes the spreadsheet paradigm by shifting data out of proprietary software and into the application of your choice. As a web-based spreadsheet viewer and editor designed to natively support XLSX files, PrizmDoc Cells provides the ability to securely embed spreadsheet data into any website, intranet, portal or CMS application without compromising security. This makes it possible for independent software vendors (ISVs) and other fintech providers to deliver the best of both worlds: Familiar functions in a user-friendly, online form that’s separated from the critical formulas and proprietary business logic behind-the-scenes.

Key benefits of PrizmDoc Cells for finance include:

• Solve for proprietary dependencies — Excel remains the de facto spreadsheet standard for many organizations but also locks financial firms into a cycle of software dependency — and if legacy applications or in-house tools don’t work well with Excel, firms face extra operational steps to ensure reliable data access. PrizmDoc Cells solves this proprietary problem by allowing any application to import, edit, and export XLSX files without Excel dependencies.

• Safeguard source data — In many cases, end-users need to view spreadsheets and make minor edits but can’t be granted access to original files. With PrizmDoc Cells, fintech providers can secure intellectual property by removing end-user access to proprietary source files, encrypting the data, and hosting it securely in their own environments.

• Separate underlying logic and UI — While proprietary business logic, formulas, and calculations form the basis of spreadsheet value and actionable insight, users don’t need the ability to see — or modify — these functions. PrizmDoc Cells lets administrators control what’s visible, what’s accessible, and what’s changeable to ensure spreadsheet consistency.

• Streamline version control — By removing the need for client-side software installs and downloads, PrizmDoc Cells sets the stage for enhanced version control. While users can view and edit spreadsheets with the right permissions, these spreadsheets are continually updated with the most recent changes to ensure version consistency. 

• Start ASAP — PrizmDoc Cells makes it easy for companies to get started and get building their best-fit spreadsheet solution by using the simplicity and speed of Docker containers. Instead of worrying about potential conflicts with other software or issues with specific operating system requirements, companies can start up a PrizmDoc Cells container in a matter of seconds.

Securely Embed Your Data Now

Even as the value proposition evolves, the volume of spreadsheets processed by financial firms continues to grow. For industry operators, this presents a challenge: How do they align evolving client expectations with current spreadsheet limitations? 

For ISVs, this offers an opportunity. Empowered by PrizmDoc Cells, vendors can offer a new take on spreadsheet form and function that delivers ease of integration and on-demand customization without breaking the bank — or increasing regulatory risk.

Unlock the PrizmDoc Cells potential — try the online demo today and experience the future of formula and function.

TAMPA, Fla. –  Accusoft is proud to announce its new VP of Sales, Greg Barker. This leadership shift in the sales team will empower Accusoft to focus on new growth strategies. 

As Vice President of Sales, Greg will lead Accusoft’s sales, support, and customer success teams, while driving strong top and bottom line impacts across the organization. 

“As a growing company in Tampa Bay, we need a sales leader that can set a growth strategy to propel us forward,” says Jack Berlin, CEO of Accusoft. “We are excited to announce that Greg Barker will now be leading the sales team with a new forward-thinking strategy that strengthens our approach and empowers our sales professionals to excel.”

Greg Barker has held executive roles at Greenway Health, Kelly Services, and most notably, Oracle. As Vice President of Oracle’s Industry Business Unit, Greg was responsible for Oracle’s go-to-market strategy and mergers-and-acquisitions across their entire product portfolio. Prior to joining Oracle, Greg served in the United States Air Force for 10 years, where he ended his military career working in the intelligence community at the Pentagon. Greg holds a BS in Computer and Information Sciences from the University of Maryland.

To learn more about Accusoft’s management team, please visit our website at accusoft.com/management-team.

About Accusoft: 

Founded in 1991, Accusoft is a software development company specializing in content processing, conversion, and automation solutions. From out-of-the-box and configurable applications to APIs built for developers, Accusoft software enables users to solve their most complex workflow challenges and gain insights from content in any format, on any device. Backed by 40 patents, the company’s flagship products, including OnTask, PrizmDoc™ Viewer, and ImageGear, are designed to improve productivity, provide actionable data, and deliver results that matter. The Accusoft team is dedicated to continuous innovation through customer-centric product development, new version release, and a passion for understanding industry trends that drive consumer demand. Visit us at www.accusoft.com.

TAMPA, Fla. –  TEAM Informatics is developing a new product called M-Connect, which leverages Accusoft’s PrizmDoc Viewer. M-Connect extends and enhances the capabilities of the M-Files Intelligent Information Management platform.

As part of M-Connect’s functionality, TEAM Informatics needed to provide the ability for users to access, view, collaborate, and search information within different document formats. They needed to control access to the documents, audit changes, and support a wide range of file formats in a web interface.

“Accusoft has been a true partner through several TEAM product development initiatives,” said Volker Schaberg, Chief Operating Officer at TEAM Informatics. “PrizmDoc Viewer does a great job of delivering this vital viewer functionality.”

TEAM Informatics has been a partner of M-Files for a number of years and has developed several add-ons and includes these in many successful customer deployments globally.

“Accusoft is proud to partner with TEAM Informatics. We’re happy to integrate our HTML5 document viewer into M-Connect to help M-Files users around the world,” comments Megan Brooks, VP of Marketing at Accusoft.

Together, the partners plan to launch M-Connect July 8, 2020.

About TEAM Informatics: 

TEAM is a global System Integrator, specializing in Intelligent Information Management (IIM) systems. Established more than 20 years ago and operating in the USA, UK, Australia and New Zealand, TEAM has deep and broad expertise in IIM, offering Advisory, Implementation and Managed Support Services. TEAM has also built a suite of content services that extend these platforms to produce unique solutions such as automatic redaction, auto-classification, eSignature, and records management. Partnerships with M-Files, Oracle, Syl Search, Elasticsearch, HelloSign and many more bring TEAM to the forefront of an all-in-one enterprise content solution provider. Find out more at www.teamim.com.

About Accusoft: 

Founded in 1991, Accusoft is a software development company specializing in content processing, conversion, and automation solutions. From out-of-the-box and configurable applications to APIs built for developers, Accusoft software enables users to solve their most complex workflow challenges and gain insights from content in any format, on any device. Backed by 40 patents, the company’s flagship products, including OnTask, PrizmDoc™ Viewer, and ImageGear, are designed to improve productivity, provide actionable data, and deliver results that matter. The Accusoft team is dedicated to continuous innovation through customer-centric product development, new version release, and a passion for understanding industry trends that drive consumer demand. Visit us at www.accusoft.com.

TAMPA, FLA. (Dec. 1, 2021) Last night, the Tampa Bay Software CEOs (TBSC) met for their quarterly social meeting at the Current Hotel in the Rox Rooftop Bar. Hosted by Accusoft, this networking event provided a great venue for discussion about attracting top talent to the area’s innovative businesses, driving growth opportunities for the high tech industry in Tampa, and sharing mutual problems and uncovering solutions.

“Our tech community and the opportunity for further innovation in Tampa Bay is growing”,  said Jack Berlin, CEO at Accusoft. “With this great collaboration of software CEOs, we can bring the local tech community together, to attract top talent, effectively communicate to our leaders what our tech community needs, and learn from each other to drive further growth.”

The Software CEO Council comprises the area’s premier businesses, executives, and entrepreneurs of Tampa Bay’s technology community. Its mission is to create the largest communal ecosystem for tech startups in the state of Florida and put Tampa Bay on the map as a beacon for innovation and success, to foster talent and fuel growth. Council companies include A-LIGN, Accusoft, Applied Data Corporation, ComplianceQuest, CrossBorder Solutions, Digital Hands, Geographic Solutions, Haneke Design, MercuryWorks, Sourcetoad, Spirion, Transcendent and Vendita.

Pictured above left to right: Greg Ross-Munro, Prashanth Rajendran, Kevin Coppins, Dan Gaertner, Chris Karlo, Shamus Hines, Charlotte Baker, Jack Berlin, Jody Haneke.

For more information about TBSC, visit the group’s website at https://www.tampasoftwareceos.com/.

About Tampa Bay Tech

Tampa Bay Tech is a 501(c)6 non-profit technology council that has been engaging and uniting the local technology community for 20 years. With over 100 companies representing thousands of tech employees – as well as thousands of students within the area’s colleges and universities – Tampa Bay Tech provides programming and initiatives to support all those in the technology space. Through their membership and partnerships, their mission is to build a radically connected, flourishing tech hub where opportunity is abundant for all. Join the TBTech community at tampabay.tech and follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram, and Twitter.

About Accusoft

Founded in 1991, Accusoft is a software development company specializing in content processing, conversion, and automation solutions. From out-of-the-box and configurable applications to APIs built for developers, Accusoft software enables users to solve their most complex workflow challenges and gain insights from content in any format, on any device. Backed by 40 patents, the company’s flagship products, including OnTask, PrizmDoc™ Viewer, and ImageGear, are designed to improve productivity, provide actionable data, and deliver results that matter. The Accusoft team is dedicated to continuous innovation through customer-centric product development, new version release, and a passion for understanding industry trends that drive consumer demand. Visit us at www.accusoft.com.

While digital transformation initiatives have been climbing the FinTech priority list for years, Eli Rosner of Finastra notes that thanks to COVID-19, “It feels like the fast forward button has been pressed.” Firms must now embrace the realities of remote work and rising consumer expectations even as investor patience wears thin on reliable ROI.

The result is a FinTech landscape that’s more than meets the eye. To deliver on transformative deployments, companies must look past familiar fintech trends to uncover key challenges, assess acceleration issues, and recognize the realities of digital revolution.

The Challenges of Change for FinTech Companies

FinTech solutions emerged as harbingers of change. Frustrated by restrictive policies and cumbersome processes, financial technology companies embraced the market reality of application-driven enterprises capable of meeting consumers on their own terms. But even these tech-first solutions couldn’t predict current challenges. As noted by recent Deloitte research, FinTech firms now face both external and internal barriers to effective change.

Externally, investors remain an ongoing challenge as their patience for digital revenue delivery wears thin. While they recognize the need for transformative spend, they’re not willing to wait years on steady returns. Internally, lacking enterprise agility now hampers the ability of finance technology firms to deploy new partnerships and coordinate digital innovation at scale. Changing market forces are creating unprecedented challenges for FinTech firms.

The Acceleration of Adoption

Even as enterprises grapple with evolving change frameworks, the global pandemic continues to push companies out of their comfort zone, forcing firms to quickly implement multichannel solutions capable of connecting with customers anywhere, anytime. Consider that 35 percent of banking customers have embraced more online options, while contactless credit card payments have jumped by 40 percent over the past few months.  

In effect, the COVID-19 crisis has revealed a need for speed that’s far beyond the comfort zone of many FinTech firms. The result of this adoption acceleration is equal parts potential and problem. Companies can’t afford to slow down, but need a better view of what lies ahead.

The Realities of Revolution

To overcome emerging challenges and embrace agile application adoption at speed, FinTech firms must leverage a two-step process that first recognizes the real-life impact of digital revolutions and then deploys specific solutions to improve operational outcomes.

In practice, this means addressing four new realities:  

1. Customer-First Frameworks

As noted by Deloitte, the shift to customer centricity is often viewed as an enabler. If companies are able to deliver seamless, client-first experiences through common digital channels, they can significantly raise their reputational stock with consumers. But it’s one thing to recognize the reality of customer-first frameworks and another to implement them at scale. Here, fintech firms are best-served with workflow automation tools capable of streamlining key processes — such as loan applications and credit checks — to help reduce the time between customer inquiry and response.

2. Complex Document Functions

With clients and staff now working and interacting remotely, FinTech firms are facing a substantive uptick in the volume and variety of digital documents they receive — and they need to process ASAP. Here, complexity itself doesn’t represent the full spectrum of change, since regulatory and compliance controls are familiar challenges for FinTech companies. Instead, it’s the velocity of complex document processing that can quickly overwhelm even experienced FinTech software as they look to process applications and approvals at speed without sacrificing security or consistency. Comprehensive, industry-compliant document management tools can help FinTech firms bridge the complexity gap.

3. Comprehensive Data Foundations 

Spreadsheets remain essential for traditional firms and FinTech solutions alike. As data volumes grow, organizations face issues related to information-entry errors, version consistency, and data security. To ensure foundational finance data is accurately collected, consistently applied, and always protected, FinTech solutions need to deploy next-generation spreadsheet solutions capable of giving end-users the control and security they need.

Collaborative FinTech Forces

To deliver on client expectations around speed and security, FinTech solutions require SDKs that natively support document collaboration and control without introducing security risks such as unauthorized editing, downloading, or sharing. This means equipping their applications with the operational infrastructure that facilitates everything from editing and commenting to robust redaction, annotation, and file conversion.

FinTech in 2020: The Only Constant Is Change

The global business landscape in 2020 has been anything but predictable. Defined by pandemic pressures and driven by increasingly sophisticated digital initiatives, FinTech companies have managed what seemed impossible only a few years ago. They made a speedy shift to remote work that now delivers rapid customer responses while reducing overall risk.

However, it’s important to note that the market movement isn’t over. As COVID conditions continue to evolve and consumers recognize the value of advanced FinTech solutions, the only constant in FinTech industry this year is change.

Video playback has become an indispensable feature for today’s applications, reflecting the evolution of user preferences and the ubiquity of multimedia content in our digital age. As the consumption of video content surges, from tutorials, entertainment, and online courses to marketing materials and user-generated content, applications that offer smooth and versatile video playback capabilities cater directly to this user demand, enhancing engagement and retention rates.

Moreover, video communicates complex ideas efficiently, appeals to visual learners, and often enhances user experience with a richer, more immersive medium. In today’s highly competitive digital marketplace, integrating robust video playback functionality can be the deciding factor for an application’s success, ensuring that it meets contemporary user expectations and remains relevant in a video-centric digital ecosystem.

Introducing PrizmDoc Video Playback

Given the growing importance of video, the Accusoft engineering team has incorporated video playback into PrizmDoc’s growing feature set. PrizmDoc has long made it easy to integrate seamless document viewing into web-based applications, but the new video playback feature now allows developers to natively embed video functionality into their software. Thanks to PrizmDoc video playback, there’s no longer any need to host videos on external sites or rely upon vulnerable software plugins to incorporate videos into their application workflows.

The new video playback feature carries on PrizmDoc’s longstanding tradition of efficiency and outstanding performance by delivering high quality video content with minimal processing lags and accommodating multiple file formats. As with other PrizmDoc features, developers can quickly incorporate video playback through a simple API call. This makes it easy to roll out video features without having to build complex functionality from scratch.

Video Playback Benefits for Legal Applications

The legal industry stands to benefit immensely from the use of video playback. Incorporating video features into LegalTech applications allows legal teams to work more effectively and deliver better services to their clients. Here are just a few of the benefits of video playback for the legal industry:

Better Case Preparation

Incorporating video playback functionality into legal software revolutionizes the way lawyers work and offers them unprecedented advantages in case preparation and courtroom representation. With video playback, lawyers can revisit crucial deposition testimonies, witness interviews, or surveillance footage at the touch of a button, eliminating the need for extensive manual sifting through transcripts or notes. This visual evidence can be used to enhance comprehension, validate statements, and build more persuasive arguments. 

With the growing use of virtual court proceedings, having integrated video playback capabilities ensures that legal professionals can present key evidence seamlessly, without toggling between multiple platforms. In essence, video playback in legal software streamlines processes, promotes meticulous case analysis, and provides lawyers with a compelling tool to bolster their arguments and client representation.

Improved Communication & Collaboration

Video playback in legal applications offers a transformative advantage by enhancing communication and collaboration among stakeholders. Unlike traditional methods, video captures the nuances of testimonies, allowing viewers to discern tone, emotion, and non-verbal cues often lost in written transcripts. This depth can be particularly evident when observing video depositions, where the demeanor and specific phrasing of witnesses are critical. Additionally, complex scenarios or events can be better understood when demonstrated through video, making it an indispensable tool for lawyers when explaining intricate case details to clients or colleagues.

This sensory-rich medium allows lawyers to brief their teams more effectively, reducing reliance on memory or textual notes, ensuring everyone remains aligned, and facilitating strategic discussions. Clients, too, benefit immensely. Video content can demystify the often-complex legal processes, empowering them with a clearer understanding of proceedings and making them active participants in their cases. Furthermore, when videos are shared with opposing counsel, it can improve transparency and potentially lead to faster resolutions by pinpointing areas of agreement or contention, thereby laying the groundwork for more informed negotiations.

Increased Efficiency

The integration of video playback within legal applications presents a notable advantage in increasing efficiency for legal professionals. In the past, the absence of built-in playback capabilities meant that lawyers often had to download and launch videos in separate external applications, causing interruptions in their workflow. Now, with the advent of direct video playback in the document viewing interface, there’s a seamless transition between reading textual documents and viewing related video content. This streamlined process ensures that lawyers and their teams no longer grapple with the cumbersome process of managing external video files, thereby saving valuable time.

By consolidating tasks within a singular interface, legal professionals can maintain their focus, review case materials more swiftly, and ultimately make more informed decisions without the constant shift between applications. The simplicity and efficiency offered by this integration not only optimize legal workflows but also enhance the user experience, leading to more agile and effective case management.

Enhance LegalTech Applications with PrizmDoc Video Playback

PrizmDoc’s new video playback feature delivers tremendous benefits for legal applications. This enhancement empowers legal professionals to integrate and access video content directly within their LegalTech software, eliminating the need for third-party platforms or external tools. As a result, users experience a swifter and more cohesive workflow, particularly when cross-referencing between legal documents and relevant videos. By consolidating these capabilities and minimizing associated costs, LegalTech software developers can channel their efforts and resources into innovating further, ensuring that their applications remain at the forefront of a rapidly evolving industry landscape.

To learn more about how PrizmDoc’s video playback feature can benefit your LegalTech application, talk to one of Accusoft’s PrizmDoc specialists today.