NetDocuments Acquires Worldox – How This Will Impact Users

October 31, 2022In Legal Document ManagementBy Dennis Dimka
NetDocuments Acquires Worldox

How All Users Will be Affected by NetDocument’s Acquisition of Worldox

On October 18th of 2022, Private Equity-backed NetDocuments announced its acquisition of the long-standing document management software publisher Worldox.  This announcement came not long after Worldox’s CEO was indicted on criminal charges, which both parties claim is unrelated.

In the weeks since the initial announcement, we’ve had a chance to both interpret public statements made by the companies, as well as hear real-world anecdotes directly from our own customers, law firms that currently use Worldox.

Here’s what we know.

Mixed Messaging

Worldox has been around since the 1980’s, and is used by thousands of law firms across North America.  Naturally, the questions for all of its user base is:  What will happen to the Worldox product?

In multiple similar legal tech acquisitions, we’ve seen customers of the acquired software product pushed into moving to the acquirer’s own in-house product.  Will the same playbook be used in NetDocuments’s Acquisition of Worldox?

In public statements prepared by NetDocuments and Worldox, the companies state that they will continue to support the Worldox product “for the foreseeable future.”

However, in the same communication they indicate that “Going forward, our focus will be integrating Worldox customers onto our cutting-edge platform,” (referring to their own NetDocuments product).

We’ve had the opportunity to talk to some of our shared Uptime Legal / Worldox clients, many of which have been contacted directly by NetDocuments/Worldox sales personnel already.  Several Worldox customers have shared with us the NetDocuments/Worldox sales rep told them that “Worldox is going away soon,” and tried to convince them to move to their NetDocuments product.

We’ve seen this sort of thing play out before, and believe the writing is on the wall for the future of the Worldox product.

Should Worldox Users Move to NetDocuments?

Given that NetDocuments seems to want Worldox users to switch to their product, the next logical question is–Should Worldox users make the switch to NetDocuments?

Some Uptime Legal customers also use (or have tried) NetDocuments, and we’ve had a chance to hear feedback on the product.  Here are some advantages and drawbacks of NetDocuments as a replacement to Worldox.

What Users Like About NetDocuments

Here’s what some of our clients said they liked about NetDocuments.

Cloud-based

NetDocuments is cloud-based, which means you can access it from anywhere, and do not need to maintain in-house servers.

Better Than Simple Cloud Storage

NetDocuments is an improvement over simple cloud storage tools like Dropbox, OneDrive and Google Drive.

Legal Software Integration

NetDocuments integrates with certain law practice management software.

What Users Don’t Like About NetDocuments

Here’s what our clients said they didn’t like about NetDocuments, and what in many cases made them look for alternatives.

No Native Mac OS Support

All of the NetDocuments components do not work natively on Mac OS.  If your firm uses Macs, you'll need to either replace them with Windows computers, or implement Parallels to run a virtual Windows instance on your Mac.

Migration & Training Performed by a Third-Party

NetDocuments will not help you migrate data or provide any software training.  Instead, they will require that you hire a third-party "consultant" (reseller) to perform all conversion and training.  User reviews of third-party consultants are mixed.

Non-Transparent Pricing

NetDocuments does not publish the pricing for its software publicly, nor do they provide guidance on typical migration or onboarding costs (performed by a third party).

No Client / Matter Structure

Because its made for many industries, NetDocuments does not have a concept of "Clients" or "Matters."  Instead, you must create a "Workspace," and retro-fit workspaces and folders to approximate a Client/Matter structure.

What Should Worldox Users Do?

With everything we’ve seen and heard, publicly and privately, it seems that for any user of Worldox, “do nothing” is simply not going to be an option.

If you are a user of Worldox, we recommend that you start evaluating alternatives and options now, while there’s still some time.  The good news is that there are a number of very solid legal Document Management products in the market today.

Related:

See our rundown on the Top 5 Alternatives to Worldox.  Explore features, advantages and pricing for each alternative.

Related:

Learn about 9 reasons your law firm should consider switching from Worldox to LexWorkplace.

The Future of Legal Document Management

Despite any pressure that users of Worldox feel, they should know that they don’t have to move to NetDocuments if they don’t feel it’s what’s best for their firm.

We invite and encourage Worldox users to explore LexWorkplace, our own document management system, born in the cloud and built for law firms.

Looking for Document Management Software?

LexWorkplace:

Modern Document Management for Law Firms

LexWorkplace is document & email management software, born in the cloud and built for law firms.

Organize by Client & Matter

Organize documents, email and notes by client or matter. Store and manage all data for a case or project in one place.

Go Beyond Basic Files & Folders

Supercharge your firm’s productivity with true DMS functions.

  • Version Management
  • Document Tagging & Profiling
  • Document Check-Out / Check-In
  • Microsoft Office Integration

Search Everything

LexWorkplace is like Google for your law firm.  Search across millions of pages, documents, folder email and notes in seconds. Refine your search by matter, document type, author and more.

Seamless Outlook Integration

Save emails to a matter without leaving Outlook. Saved emails are accessible to your entire team.

Organize Email With Folders & Notes

Organize matter-related emails into subfolders. Add notes to call out important emails.

Works with Windows and Macs

LexWorkplace is 100% compatible with Mac OS and Windows.

LexWorkplace Features

The legal industry has had to put up with dated, clunky document management systems for too long.

No more.

With LexWorkplace, you’ll have access to a wide range of features, including:

  • A Terabyte of Storage: LexWorkplace starts with 1TB of storage for your firm, giving you plenty of room to grow.
  • Advanced security: LexWorkplace encrypts your data in transit and at rest. It also includes enhanced security measures such as permission setting capabilities and two-factor authentication.
  • Geographic redundancy: We have multiple independent data centers across North America. This means we can securely back up your data, so you can trust your data is available to you no matter what happens next.
  • Document tracking IDs: Each file you save to LexWorkplace has a unique ID for easy document tracking.
  • One-click functionality: LexWorkplace can help you move faster. View, edit, and save your documents with a single click, no re-upload required.
  • Document check-in/out: Want to make changes to a document without others doing so at the same time? By checking out a document, you can make the changes you need to make without others on your team interfering. Then, just check the document back in when you’re finished.
  • Version management: LexWorkplace will automatically track each version of your documents, so you can see when changes were made and by whom.
  • Profiling and tagging: You can easily set document types and statuses for each of your files. Plus, you can create tags to keep documents organized based on your firm’s needs.
  • Recent file prioritization: LexWorkplace will place your recent files front and center, so you can easily return to your work. Or, you can set certain documents as important for easy access.
  • Email management capabilities: Easily save emails to each matter file straight from Outlook. Plus, LexWorkplace will provide instant deduplication, so you can avoid saving multiples of the same email. It’s a time-consuming process that LexWorkplace automates on your behalf.

Get in Touch

Want to learn more?  Watch the demo below, or get in touch with our team to learn more about LexWorkplace for your firm.

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