Product announcement
RB9 is coming in 2018
The wait for the next generation of legal support business management software is almost over. OMTI is pleased to announce that RB9, the next major upgrade of ReporterBase, will be available Summer 2018. This new version has been completely redesigned with new features and improvements that incorporate user suggestions.
Browser based
RB9 uses new technologies that improve workflow, security, and efficiency while eliminating a lot of the overhead involved in managing your court reporting or other legal support business. It is browser based, which means no more server hardware and software to purchase, maintain, and upgrade. This also eliminates the need for IT to handle these functions. RB9, like RB8 Cloud, is housed in the cloud on Microsoft Azure’s Cloud Services. Microsoft guarantees a 99.9% uptime, and more than 66% of Fortune 500 companies rely on Azure.
Multi-platform
This also means that RB users no longer are restricted to a particular platform or browser. RB9 will work on Macs and PCs, plus tablets; and in all major browsers.
Subscription only
Instead of coming up with a large lump sum upfront for software and user licenses, then paying for annual software maintenance, users will pay for RB9 by monthly subscription only. This eliminates a significant barrier to using RB9: software expenses are part of regular overhead expenses, and users can add or subtract user licenses as needed, even cancel the entire program if needed without further financial obligation.
What’s inside
RB9 has the same modules as RB8 — such as Calendar, Production, and Billing — with many of the same functions. However, every module and function has been rethought and restructured to work better incorporating new technology and more flexible, streamlined workflows.
Visit the RB9 product section for more information on this new version of ReporterBase, the business management software with the largest installed base in legal support businesses.
RB8 Cloud
DIY custom reports from the cloud
August 23, 2018: OMTI has developed a plug-in for RB8 Cloud users who want to create their own custom reports using their RB data in 3rd-party applications. The Data Reader plug-in provides a dedicated connection from a company’s registered device(s) to their RB database in the cloud so they can use their RB information in their own custom reports or other applications. Visit the RB plug-in page for more information.
Client testimonial
Moving to RB8 Cloud: ‘a no-brainer’
November 15, 2016: Christine Phipps, owner of Phipps Reporting Inc., recently switched to RB8 Cloud with a little nudge from a big hurricane named Matthew. She shared her story to help other RB users disaster-proof their businesses:
Phipps Reporting has been on RB8 for 6 years, during which time it became one of the biggest firms in Florida. When it came time to get a new server, Christine considered RB8 Cloud instead, which eliminates the need for a new server, but she was concerned about the financial impact:
"We have offices across Florida, and we have our data in-house. I knew that as we had more data in the cloud, RB would charge us more."
She ultimately decided to switch to RB8 Cloud because it would be more cost-effective than a new server. However, before she could sign the contract, Hurricane Matthew hit.
“Because of the hurricane, we had to close the office. I paid all my employees to stay home Friday. If we had RB8 Cloud, I would have been operational that Friday – I would have been operational serving clients during the hurricane.”
OMTI switched Phipps Reporting over to RB8 Cloud that weekend. Christine and her IT technician are both happy to be on the cloud with no more server worries or expense, plus the peace of mind that RB8 Cloud represents: 99.95% uptime and no loss of data.
Christine is convinced RB8 Cloud is the best system for running her business — or any court reporting business, so she asked us to share her story. “Luckily for us with hurricanes, we have 4-5 days warning; but in places like Tornado Alley, or where there are volcanoes, earthquakes – moving to RB8 Cloud should be a no-brainer.”
To find out more, read the full story.
RB8 User Guide
Latest updates added to user guide
11/30/2015: We have updated the user guide to cover version RB8.93.221. This includes instructions for printing FedEx and UPS shipping labels and for using the streamlined exhibit-linking function.
Team RB User Conference
OMTI’s next generation led online user conference
The 13th annual Team RB user conference, Nov. 3rd, marked the first time our founder, Yong Lee, turned over the reins to our support team and let them run the show, from developing the content to fielding client questions.
After a brief introduction by Ronnie Sampson, OMTI’s Creative Director; Jason Yee, OMTI’s Client Support Manager, explained and demo-ed the final 2015 RB8 and RB Web updates, which were released the same day (Read about the latest updates). Then Ted Yoo, OMTI’s Technical Support Manager, did a presentation to explain RB8 Cloud and presented the results of a survey of current RB8 Cloud users about the service. During the sessions, Client Support Technician Matthew Huh manned the chat room to handle attendees’ immediate questions.
Each presentation ended with a Q&A session, during which attendees got answers to questions about what they had just seen and where they also took the opportunity to make suggestions on how some new features could be improved.
Attendees who wish to earn NCRA CEUs for the conference should contact OMTI support and ask for the Team RB 2015 CEU form to submit to the NCRA.
If you were not able to attend the conference or just want to see it again, we are posting videos here:
RB8 Cloud
What our current RB8 Cloud users think
We launched RB8 Cloud 7 months ago and currently have 25 clients. In preparation for this year’s Team RB user conference, we asked them about their reasons for moving to the cloud and their satisfaction with our new service.
What was the reason you upgraded to Cloud?
(multiple selection)
Overall, how satisfied are you with RB8 Cloud?
How likely are you to recommend RB8 Cloud to others?
How satisfied are you with the pricing of RB8 Cloud?
But for clients who were already using another cloud hosting solution before moving to RB8 Cloud:
How satisfied are you with the pricing of RB8 Cloud?
RB Web
Multi-file downloads no longer work on most sites
At the end of July 2015, we removed the batch download feature in RB Web subscriptions due to issues with the Java plug-in needed to use it. (Read the background on this issue here.)
There is a new mechanism for downloading multiple files in RB Web, but it only works on the RB Web sites of RB8 Cloud customers.
If you are not on RB8 Cloud, but your clients want to download multiple files at once, we can turn on batch download at your request. However, this feature no longer works in all browsers, so we have written an article about this issue to help you support your clients.
Single-file downloads are unaffected by this issue.
Server upgrade
Thinking about upgrading your 2003 Server?
Microsoft s discontinued its support for Windows 2003 Server in June 2015. It will not longer issue patches or bug fixes for this version of Windows Server. If you are thinking about upgrading to replace it, we invite you to check out RB8 Cloud first. With RB8 Cloud, you eliminate the need for any server software, hardware or IT staff to deal with it.
Website security
To improve security, OMTI upgraded SSL certificates
11/24/2014: All RB Web subscriptions are now encrypted with the SHA256 certificate, which is endorsed by all of the leading web browsers and certificate authorities. The SHA256 certificate is more secure than the previous certificate, SHA1, which is no longer trusted by all web browsers so it had to be replaced.
Bug alert
How we are dealing with POODLE bug
10/23/2014: Recently Google security researchers found a bug in SSL v3 cryptography protocol which could be exploited to intercept data that's supposed to be encrypted between computers and servers. POODLE, which stands for Padding Oracle On Downgraded Legacy Encryption, is a problem because it's used by both websites and web browsers.
This bug is not as serious as the Heartbleed bug in OpenSSL, but some clients are wondering how we will address this issue. We disabled using SSL v3 on all our Azure servers that host websites for our clients. From last night, no one can access our web services using SSL v3.
If you use default settings on your browser, there should be no problems. If you turn off all other secure protocols such as TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1, TLS 1.2, etc., then you will get a message stating, "Turn on SSL 3.0, TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 in Advanced settings and try connecting to https://www.omti.com again."
If you get this message, you will need to turn on any other secure protocol if you want to use our services.
Agency digital signatures on RB-PDF Transcripts
Another signature option for PDF transcripts
If your state requires that an agency officer or staffer digitally sign electronic transcripts in addition to having the reporter's digital signature applied, you can do it now in RB8's PDF Transcript Creator. Find instructions for registering your agency signature with RB8 on www.reporterbase.com. Then download the latest RB8 user guide for instructions on applying your agency signature under "Creating PDF Transcripts."
Customer Portal
Manage your OMTI accounts in our ‘online offices’
Like RB Web online offices, OMTI has added online access for our clients to our system. You can use your online office to get copies of invoices, manage subscriptions and more.
