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Meerssen, May 20th, 2010 - I.R.I.S. The stock exchange listed company I.R.I.S., (EURONEXT Brussels: IRI), specialized in Intelligent Document Recognition (IDR) 1, Enterprise Content Management (ECM) 2 and complex infrastructure for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) 3, is pleased to announce that it has implemented BigHand digital dictation workflow software within the Netherlands office of leading international law firm Simmons & Simmons. BigHand will enable Simmons & Simmons lawyers to get more done by dictating directly to their network infrastructure, making dictations centrally accessible to secretarial resource.

Simmons & Simmons serves a large number of clients, which means efficient communications are paramount. The analogue dictation equipment that was used previously no longer met with modern-day needs and requirements, crucially it did not allow for efficient mobile submission of voice files.

Bert Groothuis, IT Manager for Simmons & Simmons, points out the major benefits that come with embracing the digital dictation technology: “BigHand software will allow all lawyers to record dictations over their BlackBerry. The messages are subsequently made centrally available and accessible to all. In adopting this new digital method, the work no longer ends up on the desk of just one person which allows the work pressure to be evenly spread. In addition, the new system will enable us to work from different locations. This will ensure faster processing of dictations and serve to further improve the quality of service to our clients.”

On the topic of the collaboration with I.R.I.S., Groothuis commented: “We could not have hoped for a better collaboration with I.R.I.S. The BigHand partner is clearly very well-versed in implementing this solution.”
Dries Ausems, I.R.I.S.’s Business Development Manager: “We are absolutely delighted to see a highly reputed international law firm like Simmons & Simmons opt for BigHand in The Netherlands. They are certain to reap the full productivity benefits of BigHand and we are confident that the technology in turn will accomplish maximum efficiency for Simmons & Simmons. ”


1 IDR (Intelligent Document Recognition): automatic recognition of the content of structured (forms) or non-structured documents (incoming post, invoices etc.)
2 ECM (Enterprise Content Management): acronym for the technologies relating to electronic content management.
3 Optimized IT infrastructure: “best-in-class” architecture for servers and digital storage, including consolidation and virtualization

About I.R.I.S.
The mission of I.R.I.S. to increase the productivity and know-how of its clients by helping them better manage their documents, data and information.
I.R.I.S. Products & Technologies develop technologies and products within the field of Intelligent Document Recognition and commercialize the product portfolio worldwide through strong partnerships.
I.R.I.S. Professional Solutions offer companies and governments the chance of finding in one single company innovating know-how and cutting-edge technology for the effective management of their documents, data flows and information infrastructure.
I.R.I.S. employs more than 600 people, spread over branches in Louvain-la-Neuve, Vilvoorde and Antwerp (Belgium), Orly (France), Windhof (Luxembourg), Amstelveen and Maastricht (Netherlands), Aachen (Germany), Delray Beach (Florida, United States), Hong Kong (China) and Oslo (Norway).