[1]Oyez Professional Services [2] announces the launch of the Oyez Gateway digital submission portal, a single independent platform that allows submissions to all relevant Government authorities.
Oyez Gateway was developed to overcome the shortcomings of government portals by allowing legal practitioners to collaborate and incorporate digital submissions into their current workflows using a common process across multiple government agencies.
Ultimately this will lead to more efficient, lower cost submissions and the adoption of workflow collaboration will reduce the risk of submission rejections.
According to statistics issued by the government, there are currently more than 650 transactional services provided by UK government departments that process more than 2.4bn transactions every year.
The Government’s much heralded Digital by Default strategy was announced in 2010 with the objective of replacing cumbersome and expensive paper transactions with an easier and more cost efficient digital model.
This is gradually changing the way legal professionals interact with official agencies.
However ideal these digital solutions may be in relation to the general public, the non-collaborative approach taken by government agencies is inadvertently adding complexity to processes for law firms.
Separate sign-ins and different workflows for each authority are just two examples of why government portals are not an ideal environment for the legal practitioner.
Additional efficiency barriers include limited functionality and reporting, time-out issues and, critically for law firms, a threat that risk management and compliance could be compromised.
The first portal developed for The Oyez Gateway is the Companies House Charges Module (MR1-5, LLMR1-5), from an agency whose intent is to be 100% digital by 2019.
It was designed with the twin principles of more efficient, lower cost e-submission and the enforcement of workflow collaboration which reduces the risk of non-compliance. The Oyez Gateway Companies House Charges Module has
generated strong interest from larger law firms including two top ten practices who are looking to future proof their submission processes.
The Oyez Gateway took a collaborative approach in order to remove the risks associated with unsupervised submissions. An option was developed that allows a pre-elected authoriser to check and approve all submissions before they are sent to the receiving authority.
Users also have access to a dashboard view of submissions, listed by their current status, and can share view links with relevant co-workers to bring them into the process.
Submissions are displayed in a consistent manner so they are easy to find and users are allowed the further option of exporting to PDF format for printing and review purposes.
The general collaboration engine is enhanced for each specific area of e-submission. In the case of the Companies House Charges Module (MR1-5, LLMR1-5) it verifies company details against the receiving authorities register as the user enters the data, thus removing the risk of submitting incorrect details that could lead to rejection.
Users can also view the attached legal instrument to ensure the correct one is attached.
The additional risk presented by the retyping of a number of very similar multiple mortgage charge submissions, where only a few values have changed, has also been resolved. The Gateway ‘Duplicate’ feature minimises the scope for human error by automatically transferring original data directly into the newly created copy of the initial document.
By centralising the point of release for all submissions, the Oyez Gateway also neutralises any access issues caused by technical problems with the receiving government service. The Gateway can detect and notify all users of any changes in availability and submissions are held securely until they can be released. This avoids wasted time and the uncertainty of a ‘hanging response’.
The Oyez Gateway also offers the elasticity of a UK cloud hosted service. It’s a significant advantage for firms that are looking for maximum efficiency. It allows system users to be added, removed or updated instantly. Enhanced security and reduced demand on internal infrastructure and IT resources are also benefits. Case Management integration is currently in development.
As many firms increasingly rely on key metrics to manage their business, the Oyez Gateway offers a comprehensive range of control options that are of benefit to both users and managers. It is a co-ordinated and purposeful business tool which we believe will be very advantageous to our legal clients.
This is the first step on a development platform that will also include Land Registry, HMRC Stamp Duty, LPA (Lasting Power of Attorney) and Inheritance Tax submissions. The demand for digital submissions will expand as more firms realise the necessity of future proofing their practice.