What is horizontal digital integration?

How do law firms choose the right technology? Its a conundrum many law firms face and with so much technology available to them, how can they be sure they're selecting the right option for them? Chris Williams of Novus Strategy & Consulting joins the Today's Conveyancer podcast to share his thoughts and insight on the topic; borne out of his experience working across the property transaction, and notably with lenders in recent years. In simple terms, he says firms should focus on solutions which align with their strategy, client needs, and operational goals. And when outlining what strategy firm's might adopt, Chris adds strategy is "where you play and how you win."But in the current technology climate, where there seems to be rapid change, and moving goalposts if you take the example of settlement where the future remains uncertain; how do firms know if they're "winning"? And how can they prepare for something that may or may not happen? There is lots of time to prepare, says Chris. The market does not move quickly and we can see what is coming down the track. The key is to work with vendors and partners who can provide interoperability and scalability for long term successAlongside settlement, which is one discussion point to consider, Chris adds there is an evolution of the mortgage process coming; which in turn is going to drive some of the work around data standardisation and horizontal data integration; the idea that in each of the existing verticals (lending, brokering, estate agency and conveyancing) there is significant progress on digitisation and the next step is to bring that all together and create greater connectivity throughout the course of the transaction. Drawing on the experience of the retail sector, which went through its own digital (r)evolution, in Chris's view the individual sections of the market are reaching digital maturity to enable the connectivity currently missing to develop and sees the home moving process could look very different in just a few years' time. The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views. Thank you to our podcast sponsors LEAP Legal Software and InfoTrack