Exclusive interview with CEO of Veyo

Veyo, the new home conveyancing portal developed as a Law Society joint venture with Mastek UK, is due to launch in spring 2015.

Heather Cameron of Today’s Conveyancer has conducted an exclusive interview with Chief Executive, Elliott Vigar to answer the questions that conveyancing industry professionals would want to know.

My aim was to find out for you what Veyo will bring to the market, what we can expect to see from the system, and if this system has been designed effectively.

I began by asking Elliott what exactly makes Veyo unique from other similar conveyancing systems.

He responded by saying, "It is difficult to draw a comparison between Veyo and other online software currently on the market." I found this statement interesting and asked Elliott to expand on his thoughts behind this.

"Veyo not only covers the entire chain comprehensively, securely and quickly, but most importantly it’s unique because it allows conveyancers on both sides of the transaction to communicate in real time with each other, their clients and other stakeholders in the transaction. It has been designed with considerable input from licensed conveyancers as well as solicitors to ensure it meets the needs of the industry."

In order to get an overview of where he sees the system going, I then asked Elliott what the current plans are to develop Veyo and how he sees it progressing.

Elliott responded saying, "Now in the final stages of development and testing, Veyo will be launched in spring 2015.

"Fully integrated with Land Registry from day one, the extension of a suite of third services such as integration of searches within Veyo, are planned for subsequent releases after launch. We will continue to develop Veyo post-launch and our intention is that a number of these new functions will be available within 2015."

I wanted to know who was involved in the creation of Veyo, to establish what skill set went into the development. I was also intrigued to find out how long the whole process took from initial idea, to current stages.

"It has been developed through a joint venture between The Law Society and Mastek UK Ltd, a global IT solutions specialist." Elliott stated.

"The Society conducted a rigorous nine month tendering process and talked to more than 20 potential partners to ensure we got this decision right. Mastek was successfully selected because it takes such an agile and collaborative approach to technology. Its overwhelming expertise, experience and pedigree in developing enterprise class solutions with an emphasis on security, robustness and handling sensitive information make it the perfect partner."

He went on to explain the process of creating the system, for which the starting block was only established just over a year ago.

"Initial plans for what was to become Veyo were first considered in September 2013 and were subsequently unveiled at the Law Society Property conference in October 2014. Veyo, as a business, was only launched in June 2014. The speed and agility with which we have established the business and with which we are developing and will continue to develop the product, ahead of our intended spring launch, is testimony to the skill and capability of the team that has been brought together to make this concept a reality."

"Do you think there is a gap in the market for other conveyancing systems?" I then asked.

Elliott responded by raising the current issues being experienced within the industry by saying, "Conveyancing professionals have been in real need of a solution that improves communication and collaboration between everyone involved in the home buying transaction process for a long time now. Veyo is being designed as a complete, end-to-end, transactional solution and unlike any other on the market."

According to Elliott, the current demands of professionals should be widely met by the new system. He added, "Once launched, we consider that any existing ‘gap’ in the market will then be filled. That said, we relish the opportunity to put our system up for comparison with any existing or soon to launch product within this space. We welcome competition but firmly believe that Veyo will compare favourably with any conveyancing related product on offer."

With time being a major factor within the conveyancing process, I asked Elliott what he thinks can be done to streamline the home buying/conveyancing process.

"Today, the housing market is moving at a very fast pace and this, alongside the associated paperwork, is placing enormous professional, administrative and communications pressure on conveyancers." stated Elliott.

"Customer expectations are also changing; the rise of price comparison websites and the increasing use of the Internet means that consumers are becoming more demanding, and used to sourcing and engaging services online – and the market needs to respond.

"Veyo provides the perfect solution by streamlining the process, reducing the administrative burden, enabling seamless communication and thereby both saving conveyancers time and money, but also speeding up and increasing confidence in the home-buying and selling process for consumers."

As the system has been heralded as being "designed by the industry, for the industry", I wanted to find out whether he had been involved in the conveyancing industry previously.

Elliott responded by saying, "Whilst not at the coal face, however, having trained as a barrister and having amongst other roles, previously run the Law Society’s regulatory policy function for a number of years, I have strong legal experience."

He expanded on his previous point by commenting on how he fits into his current role: "My role as CEO of Veyo is to ensure that it operates and grows effectively as a business that the product is fit for the purpose and the best that it can be, and that the associated program of work is on track. I am fortunate in the depth of conveyancing expertise available to Veyo from both the Society and the wider practitioner community, to ensure that the technical conveyancing elements of our work are properly considered and implemented.

"I have been at the very forefront of the work to establish Veyo and bring it from a concept on a piece of paper, to the point you see it at today. This has included developing the business and financial case for investment, as well as negotiating the establishment of the joint venture between the Law Society and global IT leader Mastek UK Ltd."

"What are we to expect in the run up to the launch?" I asked, to which he explained the next step is registration.

"We are encouraging conveyancers to register their interest early, and those interested parties will have the opportunity to test the system and input on its development in the run up to launch next year. For those who are keen to get involved, they can sign up on our website."

So how much exactly will Veyo cost conveyancing firms? I asked Elliott when they will be in a position to fully discuss price.

"At this point it is still too early to confirm, as we are still considering a couple of different pricing models and variations and discussing possible options." said Elliott.

"What is likely to be the case though is that Veyo will be based on an annual, per license fee coupled with an individual transaction fee. We believe that using Veyo will actually save conveyancers money by making the entire conveyancing process quicker and more efficient."

The team are now working on developing an adaptable pricing system, which Elliott explained by stating, "Currently, we’re working to ensure that our pricing structure works for law firms of all sizes. This is because one of the benefits of Veyo is that smaller firms will have access to the kind of advanced technological system that normally only larger, more technically able firms have, bringing improved efficiencies for all and greater financial rewards. We are clear that Veyo should not adopt a pricing model that prices any firm out of its use."

Though there are still around five months until the scheduled launch of Veyo, advertisements to the public have already been released. I asked Elliott whether promoting Veyo to the public be one of the key pathways to market.

"We are implementing several routes to market in the run-up to the launch in spring next year – advertising being one of them." he commented.

"Our PR and Marketing activity has generated great interest in Veyo ahead of its launch next year – we’ve already had 613 registered conveyancers and this number continues to grow every day."

Elliott concluded by adding, "Veyo is a portal that has the potential to transform the home-buying process, both for conveyancers and their clients. Early adoption of the system will bring immediate and significant benefits so we’re keen to raise awareness as much as possible in the run up to the launch to ensure these benefits are realised right from the outset. In addition, we would like to encourage conveyancers to sign up as early adopters of the technology. More information on registering can be found on the website."

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