Baker Tilly

Baker Tilly is one of the UK’s largest business advice and accounting firms. National Information Services Manager, Fiona Fogden, has the job of catering for the information needs of the company experts.

Looking for an automated solution

Before switching to Linex Smart Alerts, Baker Tilly relied on another system: “We used a news service which required manual intervention.” After a loss of staff during the financial downturn, the company found it had to cope with growing information needs despite having fewer people in the team.

“We couldn’t increase the offering,” explains Fiona, “but there was a demand. I was familiar with some alternatives, but they were too expensive.” 

After initial discussions with Linex, Fiona determined that the Linex Smart Alerts would be a good solution.

Connect to multiple data sources

“We managed to produce something that delivered news directly to the client’s desktop,” clarifies Fiona. “It mashes up information from Thomson Reuters, other online news feeds and the company’s own website.”

Fiona was impressed with the level of assistance she received from the Linex team, and Linex has continued to provide “absolutely fantastic” support.

More for the money – and extra flexibility

“Our fee earners get alerts on the schedule they define,” says Fiona. “It helps them understand the issues facing existing clients, and gives them the long sought for excuse to pick up the phone to a prospect.”

 “For slightly less cost than just a news service, we’ve got a news service plus automatic distribution,” claims Fiona. “I’ve achieved a nil increase in my budget, but we’re delivering three times as many alerts, with a wider variety of content and in more than one way.”

Besides this, Baker Tilly is no longer committed to an exclusive deal with a single information provider: “It gives us greater power to negotiate with providers and make the most of free content, because we’re not tied to a proprietary provider."

"This has huge potential for so many other firms.”