Dragon Naturally Speaking version 10 now available
Over the last year, advisers have asked me about dictation software, which prompted my decision to evaluate Dragon Naturally Speaking.
“I use it for dictating letters and emails, putting notes into ACT [the customer relationship management software, Act by Sage, from Sage Software Inc. of Scottsdale, Ariz.]; I’ve even used it for Excel when I’m inputting account numbers,” said Edward C. Goldstein, a certified financial planner and principal Financial Life Planning LLC in Marlton, N.J. It has $12 million under management.
“I’ve found it to be a very worthwhile tool in my practice because it’s a big time saver especially since it types as fast as you talk,” he said.
The latest version of Dragon Naturally Speaking was released today
In it, Nuance Communications Inc. of Burlington, Mass., has worked on further improving the application’s speed and accuracy in all five versions of the system. Among the new features is the ability to start applications by voice command and to access the application menus within Microsoft Office programs by voice command.
Those who prefer the Firefox browser for surfing the Web will find that it is better supported than the previous release. The new version offers the ability to activate a hyperlink by saying part of its name.
The basic standard version of the software is $99, but I’d recommend the much more feature-full “Preferred” edition for $199 (or upgrade from the previous version for $149). There’s also a wireless bundle that contains a Plantronics Bluetooth headset for $349.
Mr. Goldstein said he had already purchased the upgrade, though he offered one parting warning.
“The biggest thing with dictation software, despite it being good these days, is that you still want to proofread it. Nothing’s perfect.”
For more information, visit the
Dragon Naturally Speaking website
MMI, Peridrome Corp. white paper urges standards for managed account biz
The MMI and New York-based Peridrome Corp., published a white paper documenting the savings the managed account industry could realize through data standards.
According to the report, a large management firm with $2.3 billion in annual sales could hypothetically save almost $2 million in staff time over the course of a year.
The MMI Managed Account Solutions Standards Committee, a consortium of more than two dozen management and sponsor firms, has been working since 2002 to create standard messages for the managed account industry.
The committee will rely on XML schema, a code that defines the content and structure of a XML document.
A Deloitte study in 2002 found that the lack of standards caused problems with scalability and efficiency when firms were opening new accounts, analyzing the tax implications of transactions or attempting to perform several other functions, said Gib Veconi, chief executive of New York-based Peridrome Corp. and co-chair of the standards committee. “As they, as a group, begin servicing larger numbers of clients with smaller account sizes — many of the high-profile product initiatives are pushing the amounts lower and lower — they will need efficiencies in the process to make the business tenable,” Mr. Veconi said. “There are definite benefits for financial advisers in this endeavor.”
To download a copy of the paper, visit the
Peridrome website.
Davis D. Janowski is the technology reporter for InvestmentNews.
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