Can your law firm benefit from cloud computing​?

Without doubt, cloud computing has been one of the biggest technology trends of the last few years. With increasingly competitive markets, businesses are shifting to the cloud to improve their efficiency and productivity, including those in the legal industry. The benefits of cloud computing for law firms are far reaching. Let’s explore these benefits further:

Cloud computing explained

Cloud computing is the delivery of IT resources and software over the internet. Without having to invest in IT infrastructure like servers, hardware, or data storage, your business can access it online.

Cloud solutions means any device with internet access can connect to the cloud service and access information as needed, from anywhere. You won't have the up-front costs, nor will you have to worry about maintenance down the road. The cloud provider is responsible for upgrades and maintenance of the cloud servers, which happens automatically in the background, without disrupting your service.

Cloud computing is a flexible, low-cost solution for storing and maintaining information and data over time. This option also scales up and down without any negative impact on performance.

Benefits of cloud computing for law firms

Enhanced accessibility

Cloud computing offers a secure place to store your data and access it from anywhere in the world. This can be especially useful for lawyers who are working remotely or are often out of the office. On-premise legal software can limit lawyers, cloud computing opens the world of accessibility up. With a strong internet connection, lawyers can access and work on cases, and communicate with clients with ease.

Better collaboration

With cloud computing, your legal teams can access documents at the same time, no matter where they are located, which leads to greater efficiency and collaboration. The way we work has changed, and cloud-based productivity tools such as Microsoft 365 makes it easier to adapt. With a familiar interface and desktop environment, such as Word, Excel, and Powerpoint, users can make edits and updates in real time to create documents collaboratively. Legal practice management has all the tools needed to generate reports and communication tools such as Microsoft Teams enables staff to conference with clients or colleagues, even when they are in other locations.

Cloud data storage

The benefits of cloud computing don't stop at ease of collaboration. Legal firms can generate lots of data, which needs to be securely stored, which can take up a lot of physical space. Cloud data storage and management allows all your client and case data to be securely stored in one centralised place. This is a far more efficient and cost-effective way to store data, and removes the expense of archiving systems. Regular cloud-to-cloud backups further protects your data, as vital information is stored on multiple platforms. This protects your business data further in the rare chance one cloud experiences an outage or loss.

Improved efficiencies

Cloud computing reduces your IT administration costs and lowers the need for lots of physical office space. As cloud based solutions allow you to only pay for services and capacity you need on a subscription basis, your firm doesn’t have to budget for physical hardware, office space or storage. Law practises can scale up or down to increase icloud capacity at any given time, integrating new technology as the need arises, such as machine learning and data analytics.

With seamless integration with smartphones, tablets, laptops, and mobile apps, law teams are able to work more efficiently and increase productivity, regardless of where employees are situated.

Safe and secure

One stumbling block for law firms is the concern that cloud computing is not secure, when in fact the opposite is true. Cloud services provide increased security and disaster backup solutions, which is particularly important when it comes to client privacy and sensitive data.

Hardware failures, power outages, natural disasters or cyber-attack - these are all events that can put your business data at risk. Cloud-based data storage and automatic real-time data backup on multiple services can protect your important information in the event of an emergency. Data privacy legislation should be considered when choosing a cloud service provider. These standards need to be consistent with the ethical standard within your industry, which can be different in each country.

Law firms should consult with a security specialist who is familiar with legal cloud technology regulations and compliance can ensure regulatory compliance is being met.

Cloud computing has fast become a popular solution for law firms thanks to so many positive benefits. With the advantages of unlimited secure data storage and ease of accessibility and efficiency, it is time to consider cloud computing for your business. Talk to the cloud experts at Essential Tech today to maximise your investment in cloud computing and accelerate your business success.