If you talk to the most respected professional reporters and scopists in this business about EDGE, the annual software support agreement for Case CATalyst, you’ll find that all of them agree that they would not consider working without it. Why is that?
Users with EDGE have access to the latest version and all updates. Not only do they have access to the latest features such as RealTeam™ and Brief My Dictionary, they have a far smaller chance of experiencing issues that have already been discovered and reported by other CATalyst users. Reported issues are corrected via updates. Downloading and installing the latest version ensures that you never have to experience an issue that has already been reported and corrected by Stenograph’s development team. Yes, every version of CATalyst has been excellent, but every subsequent version has been better. In today’s court reporting industry, “good enough” doesn’t really cut it; you must be ready, willing, and able to meet the client’s needs, and staying current ensures you can do that!
Users with EDGE have access to U.S.-based, top-quality technical support by phone. While Stenograph works extremely hard to ensure that you don’t experience issues, the reality is that hardware and software and operating systems don’t always function exactly the way you expect them to. Users with EDGE have a resource they can turn to immediately for professional, educated troubleshooting. Users without EDGE don’t. Their knowledge base is limited to their version’s Help file, and, if they’re lucky, perhaps a colleague who may or may not be able to guess based on a similar experience. When your reputation and ability to deliver your product is on the line, is that a risk worth taking?
Users with EDGE have 100GB of free Cloud Backup (and the ability to purchase additional space if needed). Their critical files are always backed up – they don’t have to worry about losing a current or past job if a hard drive or flash drive or memory card goes bad. They don’t worry about being able to access or critical supporting files such as include files or dictionaries, or ever having to re-create/re-select important settings. When users with EDGE set up a new computer, it’s a matter of a couple of downloads: installing software and then restoring their user(s) and selected files. Users without EDGE don’t have this safety net.
Users with EDGE have access to the StenographHelp.Askbot.com website to get questions answered online by professionals, and to have the benefit of seeing the questions their colleagues have asked and had answered. Users without EDGE have well-meaning (but not expert) colleagues on social media.
The most common reason I’ve heard from people not being on EDGE is that “I just can’t afford it, and I’m sure I can ‘just get by.’” To that, I always respond – it’s probably a lot more affordable than you realize. Although EDGE can be purchased in a lump sum, it doesn’t have to be. There are monthly payment plans available. Plus, having EDGE usually turns out to be a lot less expensive than not having it! For more information, visit https://www.stenograph.com/edge today!
Cindi Lynch is the Training Program Manager at Stenograph. She can be reached at clynch@stenograph.com.