Moving Lawyers into the Cloud
The legal profession is another area that has started to see more movement into Cloud Services. A recent article discussed how the new choice of IT platform for lawyers in Scotland has become the Cloud, with many firms moving IT processing and data to cloud servers. By doing this, they have suddenly made a vast amount of information that the legal professionals need access available to whether in their offices, in the field or at a court case. It has also made it much easier for smaller law firms to expand into new locations.
Data Accessibility in The Cloud
The first element that most lawyers want to see in the cloud is practice management. This type of software would facilitate an individual lawyer or practice setting up or branching out to new locations quick and easily.
Cloud Hosting Costs
With cloud services’ popular benefit pay-as-you-go cost structure, many lawyers find that moving all of their IT processing and data to the cloud makes a lot of sense. Active case data can be accessed no matter where a lawyer may be at any time. Once a case is closed, the majority of data can be archived. Overhead is reduced and with an ability to share infrastructure many smaller firms find they can afford professional IT structure at a reasonable price.
Cloud Data Security
There was a time when all lawyers worried about the security of the data they had for any case they were working on. This could include physical data as well as information on laptops and USB sticks, as all were vulnerable to theft or damage. With the move to the cloud, all pertinent data can be stored in a safe environment, even in a private cloud if needed, to ensure security for all sources of information. With confidentiality an important part of the business, this increases the ability of any legal professional to serve their clients — knowing that they have a safe and secure place for all confidential data.
Cloud Computing Flexibility
Another great advantage for any lawyer when using the Cloud is that they can work from just about anywhere: at home, the office or even while away on vacation. The ability to check in on new information posted, double check sources and know that all of your information is secure can make it easier for most members of the legal profession to stay on top of latest developments and learn new information as it becomes available.
In short, by evolving with the latest in cloud technology, many legal firms are finding that it can help their teams be more efficient, engage more productively and attend to their business in a more competitive manner than ever before. As the cloud continues to evolve, many predict that it will come to be one of the most important tools yet for the modern law firm.
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