Award for virtual secretary firm
12 October 2004 - Eastern Daily Press
A Norfolk company that is bucking the offshoring trend has picked up an award for its use of the internet. OutSec is one of the largest providers of online secretarial services in the UK, providing typing services to more than 100 companies. It was set up five years ago by husband-and-wife team Richard and Vanessa Phillips who run the business from their farmhouse in Stradsett, near Downham Market.
OutSec has a team of more than 60 British secretaries based in the UK and other parts of the world including Australia, New Zealand and the United States. The company covers the medical, legal, property and commercial sectors which specialise in the transcription of more complicated styles of dictation. OutSec has now won an award in the Eastern Region E-Commerce Awards for 2004. The awards, run by the Department of Trade and Industry, celebrate businesses making effective use of the internet and e-trading.
Mrs Phillips said: "It is a testament to what can be achieved through the internet. The trophy is proudly on display already and the prize money (£2000) will be put towards putting OutSec on the national map. It is a great achievement to gain such a prize and has given a tremendous boost to all the staff here. Technology now means an office without walls is a practical option for any company." OutSec is already one of the largest providers of transcription services in the UK and looks set to continue to grow further.
"Outsourcing has become the norm for any business looking to cut costs and operate more efficiently," said Mrs Phillips. "On cost grounds alone there is nowhere to beat India. Outsec has demonstrated that there is also a demand for UK typists and secretaries who have the old-fashioned skill to turn raw pieces of information into polished perfection."
The company has developed a system called FileManager which uses Internet Explorer to send and receive files, bypassing email completely. "Email has become so unreliable for file transfer that OutSec had to respond," said Mrs Phillips. "FileManager allows secure transfer of sound files with no software installation on client PCs; it uses the browser instead. It is a completely new way to operate and much faster than before. OutSec offers two services: priority, which is immediate, and 24 hour, which sees the work completed overnight. It just works really well. For smaller businesses, it's wonderful because they don't have to pay the overheads of a permanent secretary."
