NetDocuments is a cloud-based document and email management service that provides enterprise-level security, mobility, disaster recovery, and collaboration solutions for organizations with high data security requirements, such as law firms, financial institutions, and insurance industries. Data security and strict digital asset protection are key components of the service that allow organizations to securely store and collaborate on their documents and email. Additionally, the integrations with Microsoft Office allow for editing, drafting, searching, and version control. Extranets, secure links, and client portals provide collaboration and security to outside parties who require real-time access to relevant documents. NetDocuments was launched in 1999 to sell enterprise applications under the software as a service business model. Its functionality is accessible through a web browser.
History
NetDocuments was founded in 1999 as a web-based document and email management service, delivered through SaaS, which allows for all users of the service to always be on the latest and most current version of the software through quarterly releases and upgrades. The founders of NetDocuments include the same team that developed SoftSolutions in the late 1980s. Before being bought by WordPerfect in 1994, SoftSolutions dominated the legal document and email management service industry, capturing over 50% of the market. The company was founded by Kenneth Duncan, Alvin Tedjamulia, and Lee Duncan, a brother to Kenneth. Kenneth Duncan served as CEO until 2014. NetDocuments is Ken Duncan's second document management company as he founded SoftSolutions in the late 1980s and sold that to WordPerfect in 1994. WordPerfect was subsequently sold to Novell which did not continue the SoftSolutions document management system but did, however, use the SoftSolutions technology in its GroupWise offering. In 2006, NetDocuments moved its primary data center to the LexisNexis headquarters and formed a distribution partnership with LexisNexis. NetDocuments ended their LexisNexis distribution partnership in 2009 but continued to use the LexisNexis data center as its primary data center until 2011 when it was re-located to Arizona. Its secondary data center resides at Zions Bancorporation. In August 2006, NetDocuments developed an integration with Salesforce.com through the . In March 2008, NetDocuments embedded Fast Search and Transfer of Microsoft into its service in order to expand its search functionality. In 2010, NetDocuments was once again named to KMWorld's 100 Companies that Matter in Knowledge Management. In July 2014, Frontier Capital announced a $25 million investment into NetDocuments. In August 2014, Matt Duncan was chosen as the new CEO, replacing his father Kenneth Duncan. In January 2015, the company announced its acquisition of Recommind’s Decisiv search and enterprise email management system. The product was renamed to NetDocuments EM. The acquisition included Decisiv Email’s development team, which brought a wealth of industry knowledge to complement NetDocuments’ core service. In August 2015, NetDocuments announced a new strategic partnership with Microsoft, integrating the two companies’ cloud technologies, including an integration of Microsoft’s Office 365 online web apps with NetDocuments global cloud storage.
Community
In March 2009 the company launched its user community, which allows users to interact, provide feedback and connect with partners and integrated applications. Since then, over 30 applications have been added and NetDocuments has made a number of enhancements that were initiated via the Idea Bank. In 2015, in an open-ended survey of 184 ILTA firms, NetDocuments was ranked in the top four of 101 legal technology vendors with exceptional customer service.
Partnerships
Microsoft – August 2015 – The partnership between NetDocuments and Microsoft will integrate NetDocuments services with Microsoft cloud technologies, to better support law firm and legal department productivity in the cloud. VerQu LLC – July 2017 – VerQu is a strategic partner working closely with NetDocuments to enhance their DMS. VerQu offers multiple add on solutions to ensure law firms are getting the most out of NetDocuments. Hoffbrand Consulting Limited - ' The partnership between NetDocuments and Hoffbrand Consulting allows firms and in house legal teams to leverage our knowledge both during implementation and post-implementation support. Workshare – August 20, 2009 – The partnership between NetDocuments and Workshare enables users to integrate NetDocuments with Workshare to provide a document lifecycle management solution. Litéra – March 23, 2010 – The partnership between NetDocuments and Litéra enables users to integrate NetDocuments with Litéra to provide document comparison and on demand document lifecycle management. Bundledocs - February 2016 - The partnership between NetDocuments and Bundledocs delivers a true cloud integrated solution. Law firms can securely access their documents and collaboratively build electronic bundles, binders and booklets from anywhere, on any device. Tikit - June 22, 2016 - The partnership between NetDocuments and Tikit leverages Tikit's deep understanding of the legal technology sector to supply, implement and support NetDocuments worldwide. DocsCorp - September 2008 - The partnership between NetDocuments and DocsCorp enables users to integrate NetDocuments with DocsCorp to access the document productivity suite.
