Cloud computing is everywhere, and it’s a trend that’s here to stay. Even when it comes to law firms – a notoriously cautious sector – it’s promising to see that out of the 31 percent of lawyers that use cloud-computing services, nearly 80 percent say they’ll continue to do so.
But why exactly is the cloud so attractive to law firms?
Cloud computing advantages in the legal sector
Law firms now recognise that the market for legal services is changing. Ultimately, you’ll gain significant competitive and productivity advantages through the adoption of modern technology.
But let’s take a closer look at five of the most compelling cloud computing advantages.
1. Scalability
The cloud empowers your firm to increase or decrease IT resources as and when you need. We refer to this as ‘scalability’.
Whereas on-premise servers have a limit to their capacity, cloud computing allows you to instantly grow your firm with minimum downtime, limited cloud wastage and near-infinite storage. So, whether you’re increasing your file storage or looking to provision a new law-based application or client portal, you can rest easy knowing there’s enough space for your ambitions.
2. Mobility
Cloud computing facilitates a very significant business transformation: remote-working.
As a result of Covid-19, 91 percent of law firms believe modern changes to working practices, including more remote-working, are permanent.
Indeed, it appears the need for mobility is here to stay. And cloud computing is necessary to facilitate that need.
With cloud computing, your computer is simply the carrier to the application in use. All of the files and data you need are stored online; this makes your firm’s work, and access to it, flexible and mobile. So, no matter where your employees are in the world, they can stay productive and in-the-know.
3. Affordability
The cloud is a fast, effective way to scale your law firm without the need for hefty up-front investments in new software and hardware.
Cloud-based services are generally available on a subscription-based model. A periodic fee (typically monthly) is required in exchange for access to file storage, sharing and collaboration tools.
This method makes it easy to increase or decrease storage space and services as it’s required, meaning that you only need to pay for what you use. It can save your law practice on the time and money spent navigating expensive maintenance contracts.
4. Data security
Data security concerns are understandably at the top of your law firm’s list of priorities. After all, you handle confidential client data on a daily basis.
But when 75 percent of IT professionals view the cloud as more secure than their data centres, you know you’re in good hands.
Adopting the cloud provides your law practice with:
- Full coverage and visibility of the security settings and policies in use
- Proactive responses to minimise downtime should there be an attack on your system
- The storage of sensitive corporate IP and data off vulnerable endpoint devices
With the right security controls in place, cloud computing can offer your law firm a layer of data security that would not be possible with on-premise data centres.
5. Lawyer collaboration
Visibility of workflow and task delegation is an essential factor in the working environment, particularly when you add a remote-workforce into the mix.
Cloud-based applications, including the Microsoft 365 suite of tools, offer several applications to help your team work together. This allows your firm to:
- Store, save and work on cases and contracts together through OneDrive and Sharepoint
- Connect and share your work through video calls and instant messaging on Microsoft Teams
- Access your emails online with Microsoft Exchange
With the power to limit permissions on sensitive case documents, work with colleagues in drafting a contract in real-time and enable multiple contributors for a single document, it has never been easier to get your work done within the cloud.
Use cloud computing to your advantage
The verdict is in. Moving to the cloud can help your firm increase employee collaboration, scale up your IT infrastructure, embrace remote working and much more.
But this is just the beginning. Now that you have a selection of the most compelling reasons why, it’s time to take the next step in the digital disruption journey and adopt cloud computing to transform your legal practice.
Get in touch with our team to find out more.
