Top 5 ways digital ring binders are changing your work environment

As the world becomes increasingly digital and teams work collaboratively across the globe, managing large amounts of information efficiently has become paramount. Physical ring binders have always been used as a centralised tool to store, organise and transport paper documents in large bundles.

However, electronic documents and increasing workforce mobility are creating new needs which the physical ring binder can no longer satisfy. Firms are seeking digital alternatives  that can integrate their modern document workflow and realise the time and cost saving potentials. 
Yes, digital binders do exist and with more and more of our clients deploying them, we look at the top 5 practical ways in which firms are actually using them and making a difference.

Digital binders are a new and intuitive technology.
They are designed to closely imitate the look and feel of the traditional ring binders and to reflect the way employees would normally interact with documents in the traditional paper environment. This ensures that habits are not questioned and facilitates end user’s adoption. 
Digital binders also integrate with other systems so that large volumes of digital files can be processed automatically, from, for example a DMS or a CRM system. The rationale is to keep a seamless document workflow. 




1. Digital library of archived information: facilitating the search & retrieval of documents 
Based in a prime location in London, a firm was initially looking to expand their office space to archive their growing volumes of case files. However as they required constant access to documents they were unable to archive these in a cheaper location outside of the city. 

After investigating the alternatives, they chose to invest time and money in digital archiving instead. They achieved this through firstly scanning their documents using advanced optical character recognition technology (OCR). The aim was to make the text within documents fully searchable to speed up the search and retrieval of information by administrative staff. They then organised these into theme based digital ring binders and created a complete electronic knowledge library for the personnel. As these binders were stored on their local server, it provided quick and easy access to documents with the ability to edit and update the original files when required. 

Ultimately this saved the firm over a £1000 a month in storage space. The time saved when searching and retrieving documents was not formally measured but is agreed to be significant.


2. Corporate policy transmissions: making sure everyone has the latest version of the documents
One firm was using common 3-ring binders to send large policy folders to its clients. As they were prone to constant updates, having to regular reprint and redistribute these to clients was a cumbersome and costly task. Clients themselves were becoming frustrated with the additional workload and waste created by the different versions of documents and by the time spent understanding what was modified within the documents. 

The firm decided to use digital binders to collate the policy documents for each client. They were then stored and shared in their entirety electronically, using an integrated cloud based file sharing solution. 

Sending these binders not only impressed the clients but it also alleviated the need to print and manage the paper versions manually. Clients could simply replace the entire digital file with the latest version rather than taking the time to shred/recycle the old paper policies. Documents that had been updated were highlighted digitally using electronic notes to make this easier for clients to quickly review and only print or replace the pages that needed to. 

Overall the firm has saved 8% of their annual revenue in terms of time, print, paper and postage costs as well as increasing productivity and improving communications with their clients. 


3. Request for proposals, tenders & contracts: Standing out from the crowd
When it came to requests for proposals and tenders, one firm was investing a significant proportion of their time, turnover and resources to win work in competitive bid and tender scenarios. In such an environment and with clients becoming more sophisticated, they decided to use digital binders as a means to differentiate themselves and demonstrate their propensity to work in a modern, hi-tech paperless environment.

Using the non-linear and more dynamic digital binder platform, they now insert pitches with videos, html pages and pdfs directly into the binder without clients needing to open links in disparate places, providing an effortless approach to viewing their proposals.

The firm has also found that when it comes to the negotiation stages of a contact, instead of sending separate emails with amends and comments, each party can add these directly into the document for these to be taken into consideration. Not only has this enriched the communications workflow and speeded up the negotiation process, it has also made a great first impression on clients to help them stand above the crowd. 


4. Projects and client cases: higher levels of organisation 

Working on global projects with large internal and external teams, one client was generating volumes of documents, again in various formats. Not having a central DMS for documents was causing issues - documents would be saved in multiple places making these harder to locate. Once found, it was difficult to determine whether it was the latest version or not. Amends and comments could not be tracked easily as there were communicated in disparate ways (emails, notes on paper etc.). Some people would occasionally be left out of the loop, causing delays and frustration.

They used digital binders to centralise their document and keep a single core file that would include all elements of the project. Residing on the firm’s internal server, all project related materials are now placed in electronic binders. All team members know exactly where to find the binders, and are able to quickly locate relevant documents or undertake research on successful cases from the past. As amends and comments are shared digitally within the binder itself, a full timeline of communications related to the document is available to all members.

This functionality has been instrumental in reducing errors and improving collaboration between teams. Splitting sections of the binder allows groups to share certain sections with relevant teams to increase overall productivity and communications globally. 


5. Board Packs: improve productivity, efficiency & flexibility

Having uncovered the amount of time, effort, paper, printing and postal costs associated with the creation of paper based board packs, it was time for one international firm to rationalise and go digital. No matter how well prepared the administrative team were, it was inevitable that documents would need amending at the last minute. As well as spiralling printing and couriering costs, there was the risk that documents would not be delivered on time and that subsequently board members would be working on various different versions.

The firm decided to resolve these issues by creating electronic board packs. To make operations seamless, they integrated the binder software with their existing DMS. This meant that as documents related to the board packs were updated in the DMS these would automatically synchronise with those in the digital binder. Last minute changes and the fact that board members were spread geographically were no longer an issue.

In terms of mobility and flexibility, board members could now view the entire board pack on their iPad or laptop and amend and annotate documents from any location before the actual meeting - perfect as they were frequently travelling on business. Ultimately this move made the board meetings shorter much more efficient and productive.




With the pressures of reducing costs, increasing productivity and managing large volumes of documents, document storage and organisation, technologies are coming to the foreground. Not only do these technologies allow firms greater control over their operational workflow environment but it fully supports the mobile, flexible workforce which can improve overall productivity and efficiency – factors which are proving to be crucial in today’s highly competitive arena.

Nila Hirani [   ]

Nikec Solutions [ www.nikecsolutions.com ]

Nikec Binder is an electronic ring-binder to view, review, mark up and present your documents in the office or on the move. Nikec Binder collates files in a single convenient binder file. It is designed to provide the busy fee earner with the tools to allow them to view their matter in a format as similar to paper as possible. Whether it's to present pitch document, create matter bibles, know-how documents or internal training or HR documents, Nikec Binder helps you deliver a slick, flashy and user friendly electronic binder. 
Try Nikec Binder here

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