Winner: Autonomy

Finalists 2011: Autonomy, BigHand, Epigram, Estate Insure, Mimecast, Rekoop

The suite of iManage products secured high-profile UK search specialist Autonomy the Supplier of the Year Award. iManage helps law firms boost productivity while also meeting the regulatory demands being placed on the legal profession to manage and store information effectively.

This market-leading product deploys Autonomy's flagship Intelligent Data Operating Layer (IDOL) technology, which can search structured content such as databases and unstructured material like emails, audio, video and images. This allows lawyers and other staff to search for information wherever and in whatever format it is stored.

As well as being easily found, information must also be stored and managed properly. Autonomy offers this service via its iManage WorkSite product, which allows lawyers to find and manage content in a single integrated electronic matter file, or 'workspace'. This information can be shared securely with colleagues and clients, mitigating the risk of the information leaking out via emails. Autonomy also makes workspaces available in a number of ways, including when staff are on the move.

Nabarro is one leading law firm recently to have taken advantage of the flexibility mobile access offers by upgrading its WorkSite platform to include mobility components. The success of iManage is demonstrated by the fact that more than 2,000 law firms across the globe use it, including 75% of The American Lawyer/Legal Week Global 100. Usage is also spreading to smaller, regional law firms, with southwest firms Foot Anstey and Ashfords both recently purchasing the product.

In February, Autonomy was named top software vendor for customer support in the annual survey jointly conducted by the International Legal Technology Association and InsideLegal magazine. Autonomy received more unsolicited mentions for providing exceptional customer support than any other software vendor, according to the survey.