By Legal Futures Associate Search Acumen
- Digital onboarding solution, eCOS, incorporated into Search Acumen’s suite of digital due diligence tools for conveyancers and property lawyers
- Launch made possible through technology sharing with InfoTrack, which completed a purchase of Search Acumen earlier this year
- Search Acumen continues to operate independently under its current leadership and brand
- Technology and skills-sharing between the two companies aims to drive product development, client satisfaction and technological innovation in property law.
Search Acumen, the property data insight and technology provider, has added electronic client onboarding solution (eCOS) to its suite of digital conveyancing tools, equipping legal firms with a fast, digital process to communicate with their clients.
The launch represents the first technology-sharing arrangement between the business and its new owners, InfoTrack, one of the world’s leading providers of digital solutions for conveyancers and property lawyers.
The expansion of Search Acumen’s product range represents an acceleration of its vision to deliver a full end-to-end digital due diligence experience for residential and commercial property transactions. To date it has integrated over 60 datasets into its innovative, on-demand platform ForeSite, developed artificial intelligence (AI) tools to streamline processing and been the sole property data provider in the first blockchain trial for property transactions.
Following its sale to InfoTrack, which completed in March 2021, the business continues to operate under the Search Acumen brand, under the leadership of founders Mark Riddick, Andrew Lloyd and Andy Sommerville. The acquisition provides both companies with the opportunity to share technology, drive technological innovation and provide a more extensive suite of products to their customers.
eCOS allows law firms to collect essential client information and conduct verification checks through an easy-to-use online platform, which allows data to be shared between client and conveyancers securely and quickly.
It replaces inefficient and time-consuming manual processes with a digital workflow designed in close consultation with property law firms. Tasks made possible through eCOS include verifying identities and proof of funds, completing onboarding questionnaires and Law Society protocol forms and signing and returning client care documents.
The eCOS system allows all onboarding tasks to take place in a matter of minutes, reducing the time spent onboarding by almost an hour per case and improving the user experience for both the client and their legal adviser.
Andrew Lloyd, Managing Director at Search Acumen, comments:
“Joining forces with InfoTrack while continuing to operate independently under the Search Acumen brand will enable us to accelerate our vision to transform the experience of property law through digitised data and processes. This milestone is a resounding vote of confidence in our ability to enhance the present and shape the future of the market.
“The partnership will allow us to grow the business and develop new technological solutions for our customers, while continuing to leverage our reputation as an innovator in digital conveyancing technology. This joint commitment is already bearing fruit. Incorporating InfoTrack’s onboarding technology into Search Acumen’s proposition puts us one step closer to a complete end-to-end digital journey for property due diligence, saving lawyers and their clients hours of time and dragging property transactions into the 21st century.
“This couldn’t come at a better time as the booming property market, combined with the realities of operating through the pandemic, has brought into sharp focus the necessity of leveraging technology to drive efficiencies in the property buying process.”
Scott Bozinis, CEO at InfoTrack, said:
“Search Acumen is one of the UK’s most exciting proptech businesses, which has made huge strides in driving the digitisation of the conveyancing process, helping firms to work more efficiently to deliver better insights and service to their clients. This work has never been more important as the market has faced exceptional levels of demand in the last 12 months.
“Collaborating with the Search Acumen team allows InfoTrack to develop its technology further, address gaps in our product coverage, and benefit from the reputation Search Acumen has built as a leader in its field that habitually challenges the status quo. We are excited about the future and believe that our two brands are perfectly aligned to develop and implement a digital-first mindset for residential and commercial firms across the property market.”
