Peppermint delivers a refreshing user experience in Office 365 and Microsoft Teams with launch of new application: Peppermint Connect

UKUSAUCAWW

10 Mar

March 10, 2022

Building on our extensive success creating solutions for law firms on the Microsoft Cloud, we’re delighted to announce the launch of a new application: Peppermint Connect.

Peppermint Connect is a comprehensive Microsoft Office add-in and native Microsoft Teams application, with wider Microsoft 365 integration on the near-term roadmap. Born in the legal industry, the solution connects people, wherever they are working, to the data and intelligence they need to work effectively.

Deeply embedded in the Microsoft stack, Connect recanvases the modern legal desktop into an innovative, productive, and intelligent user experience.

On Peppermint’s depth of experience with Microsoft innovation, James Chadwick, ISV Ecosystem Lead at Microsoft earlier stated,

“Peppermint Technology is recognised for creating innovative products, based on the Microsoft Cloud, that are transforming how our mutual legal services customers do business and engage with their clients.”

On building Peppermint Connect, Peppermint CTO Mike Walker says,

“With Connect, we set out to create a solution to help revolutionise the user experience work more harmoniously across where lawyers want to work. While the Microsoft platform unifies data, it still requires the end user to switch context and between systems too much."

This started Peppermint's journey towards building a glue to connect the user journey and contextualise user experience in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams.

Walker continues,

"Connect had to work in a seamless, extensible, and powerful way. It had to make life in the user’s selected pane of glass, be that Teams, Outlook, or the wider Office apps, complementary to facilitating how they work and do their job.”

Initially built as an application to transform the lawyer user experience, Peppermint soon realised that the solution had wider use cases and could be used across the law firm to deliver value not only to lawyers, but also to marketing & business development, administrative staff, senior partners, IT teams and beyond.

On the user experience, Walker comments,

“People want to interact with technology through the platform they work in every day. They don’t want to Alt-Tab themselves between multiple platforms and mentally interface between methods of engagement to achieve the same outcome. That’s the problem we’re solving with Connect.

We wanted to create a productive and collaborative experience in the comfort zone of our users, be that Teams, Outlook, in their Case & Matter solution or in the wider Microsoft 365 applications. It’s the careful consideration of user strategy that has brought us to the product we have today.”

Connect exposes the functionality of Peppermint and other 3rd party solutions – from Client Engagement to Case & Matter Management to Document Management - in Office 365 and Microsoft Teams, eliminating the need to interrupt the flow of work by switching between systems.

The trailblazing product was built in close collaboration via an early adopter programme with UK law firm, DWF and one other top 100 UK law firm.

Reflecting on DWF’s experience with the early adopter programme for Connect, CIO Daniel Pollick states,

“Peppermint Connect has been a long time coming and it has been great to see our vision come to life through Peppermint. For a long time, we have been looking for a solution that rethinks the centre of gravity in terms of where people work. That used to be Outlook, and now it’s Teams – for which Connect delivers unparalleled value. It's the perfect combination of form and function.”

On the launch of Connect, Peppermint Head of Product Clare Bonsall states,

“Connect is a prime example of our commitment to the Microsoft stack. It’s front to back, left, right and centre, Microsoft native: born in legal and live in the Cloud. I’m very proud of what our development and product team have created and must also credit our outstanding and unique relationship with DWF which has helped drive this innovation forward. We aren't stopping here; this is just the start! We have a well-defined roadmap and are excited to already be working on the next major enhancement. Watch this space…”

Connect is currently available for purchase as part of Peppermint’s Case & Matter Management, Document Management, and Client Relationship Management solutions, with plans in motion to make the application available in the Microsoft Teams store in the very near future.

Visit the Connect Web Page