Hybrid working is, quite literally, changing the world.  

The post-pandemic mix of work from-the-office and work-from-anywhere is positively disrupting the way business is done – seemingly in every vertical sector. 

Some of those verticals are more obvious than others. 

In corporate settings, administrative, sales and contact centre roles have all adapted brilliantly. 

And the inexorable transformation of the retail sector – with online shopping now more popular than an actual trip to the shopping mall – is also maximising efficiency and convenience. 

However, a less obvious environment is now beginning to leverage the power of the hybrid model.  

Courts – where countries’ Justice Ministeries do their business – are deploying smart video technology to transform their traditional ways of working. 

And that presents significant new opportunity for Managed Service Providers and Value-Added Resellers who pick the right partner with which to capitalise. 

“As in many cases, the pandemic forced organisations to somehow keep going by communicating virtually – the courts were no exception and, just like those many others, they see the benefits of going forward with the technology as opposed to back to how things used to work,” says Thomas Edberg, Senior Director of Business Management at global video communications provider Pexip, whose ‘Virtual Courts’ solution is the perfect case in point.  

It is already transforming the efficiency of courts in the UK on behalf of the British Ministry of Justice and the proven use case is creating interest in multiple other countries.  

In short, the solution makes it possible to turn any court hearing into a hybrid or fully virtual environment, providing flexibility throughout the entire process.   

Every participant – the accused, the lawyers, the witnesses, the clerks and even the judge – are able to take part in proceedings remotely, via video.     

“Our original solution for the Ministry of Justice in the UK was extremely tailored to respond exactly to their requirements,” says Edberg.  

“The Pexip Virtual Courts solution is deployable, manageable and scalable by partners all over the world.    

“There are many benefits. There is no need to transport defendants from prison to court; there is no need to bring witnesses to court, and there is no need for lawyers, judges and their support staff to be in court. The cost savings on all that transport is obvious, not to mention improved safety, time savings, and reduced case backlogs”   

“Court processes are bound by strict rules and protocols that must be followed precisely in order to preserve the integrity of the process for all parties. We have built a solution which does exactly that.” 

Among the critical functionality are embedded features such as private meeting rooms for lawyers and clients to consult outside of the hearing itself; secure participant authentication and sign-in; fully automatic recording; evidence handling and sharing; public streaming where required; and compatibility with legacy devices, which protects existing technology investments.  

The solution is fully brandable and can be hosted in the cloud or on-premises. 

“Every jurisdiction around the world is different but we have a solution that can be adapted to an end user’s specific requirements,” says Edberg. 

“Court data can be very sensitive, so security is front and centre. A witness’s identity may need to be concealed, for example, so IP addresses for all participants must be managed in a certain way. 

“Judges ultimately run courts and must ensure that all the various legal protocols are meticulously observed. Any breach of process could mean that a case must be cancelled. We have found that judges very much like virtual and hybrid hearings because they can control the process in the way they want to.” 

Adoption to date has of course been helped by the pandemic experience as everyone is now used to communicating via video. 

As a result, it is highly likely that more and more court hearings in more and more countries will eventually turn virtual, hybrid, or a combination of both, depending on the context of the hearing and availability of the different participants. 

As the cost is borne by the taxpayer, it is important that the public understands the benefits and supports the change. 

“We are getting a strong sense that the public is supportive and sees it as technological progress which delivers good value for money and which benefits everyone,” says Edberg. 

“The pandemic has obviously helped in that regard. A couple of years ago many people were not used to video and found it strange. Now everyone uses video and is comfortable and confident.” 

Globally, it seems the opportunities are huge. 

The smart resellers will be found guilty of acting fast…and rightly so! 

To learn more about how Pexip is helping the world digitise services, visit https://www.pexip.com/virtual-courts

 

 



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