INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Software for Business

For four years running , it has been recognized as one of the ‘ Most Innovative Professional Services Firms ’ by the Australian Financial Review .

In 2020 , Allens started working with OutSystems and delivery partner DB Results to modernize 10 crucial legal practice applications . Results include the retirement of a legacy platform , improved user experience and a 70 % saving in support effort in the case of one application , allowing its roll-out to numerous clients .

Lisa Kozaris , Chief Innovation and Legal Solutions Officer , Allens , said : “‘ Innovation in the context of legal services means looking for and developing , ways to improve how we deliver legal services and outcomes to clients . It also plays a part in positioning us to capitalize on future opportunities . This new capability opens more possibilities for the firm to explore future solutions we can create for our lawyers and clients .” The firm ’ s development team was keen to evaluate the OutSystems platform by building out three existing applications during an initial trial supported by delivery partner DB Results .

Allen ’ s developers rapidly upskilled with OutSystems

Working together with DB Results helped the small team of developers rapidly master the OutSystems visual programming approach , as DB Results assisted with the design and build of more complex requirements .

Allens conducted user testing with representatives from the firm ’ s legal and

corporate services divisions . The overwhelming majority ( 91 %) preferred the user experience of the new OutSystems applications .

The results from the trial made it an easy decision for Allens to adopt OutSystems as its low-code application development platform . The firm set a target to migrate 10 legacy applications in three months to decommission a legacy platform .

Working alongside DB Results provided Allens ’ development team on-demand access to additional technical resources to ensure the project ran smoothly .

Allens crushes its innovation backlog with faster development

Allens migrated all the production applications and several smaller MVPs and prototypes to OutSystems .

Improved scalability and reliability have enabled Allens to extend the benefits of some of its applications to additional clients . Previously , one of its legacy applications was only used by two clients because it required almost a full-time resource to maintain it . Even though the application significantly saved lawyer time , the firm could not justify scaling its use for other clients because of the high support cost .

Since migrating that application to OutSystems , support requirements have dropped to less than half a day per week – a 70 % saving – with most of that time focused on product enhancements . Allens can now roll out the solution to more clients , saving more lawyer time and delivering efficiency savings to clients .

For a dedicated innovation team servicing a large law firm , freeing up resources has been a game-changer . Before adopting OutSystems , the team had a portfolio of 40- plus initiatives at various lifecycle stages , with 15 applications waiting for developer capacity .

Since adopting faster low-code development , the team has completed 21 of those initiatives . Allens now has the development capacity needed to support its pipeline of high-value initiatives and respond quickly to the continuous stream of new ideas coming from the business .

Outlook

The significantly improved user experience provided by the new OutSystems applications has been a boon with endusers . Moreover , as developers can now deliver prototypes in days and MVPs in weeks instead of months , the Innovation and Digital Solutions team has improved engagement from all stakeholders across the law firm . p

www . intelligentcio . com INTELLIGENTCIO APAC 71