Peer to Peer Magazine

14 PEER TO PEER: THE QUARTERLY MAGAZINE OF ILTA | SUMMER 2018 BEST PRACTICES How SaaS-based Services Impact Law Firm Business Continuity Planning Consider the possibility of an earthquake or hurricane destroying the firm's building. The firm would need to replace computer resources, restore networks, possibly replace employees and find a new site to get the firm running again. With cloud-based applications and a solid business continuity plan, law firm staff can be up and running from remote locations using their home computers and devices as soon as personal needs are addressed and electricity and internet connections are restored. Cloud-based applications can store all the important applications and information a law firm needs to operate, including: » Time and billing. » Accounting. » Case management. » Document management. » Contact management. » Communications. Business Continuity in Action: Hurricane Irma Tests Florida Law Firm The recent spate of natural disasters around our country has had a serious potential to cripple businesses and has put cloud technologies to the test. The Florida law firm of Ayo & Iken is a prime example of how operating in the cloud can make all the difference when business continuity is threatened. Several years ago, Ayo & Iken eliminated all local soware and moved everything possible to the cloud. They had begun opening multiple offices around Florida and needed to find a solution that would give their scaered employees access to all the firm's systems. Their original setup involved local servers stored in a giant rack at one location and was not scalable to account for expansion. There was also no assurance that their backup measures had any integrity if something went wrong. With its case management system, document storage, private messaging system and phone system all based in the cloud and distributed across multiple offices, Ayo & Iken can now create a fully functional office from anywhere with an internet connection. As Hurricane Irma barreled toward the Florida coast in September 2017, the firm's cloud-based systems were about to be tested as never before. Not only was hurricane damage expected to reach unprecedented levels, the firm was facing the most potential exposure it ever had. With four staffed and four satellite offices spread across the state and all of Florida in a potential damage zone depending on the storm's path, there was no way for the firm to avoid damage or loss of operations somewhere. Avoiding losses entirely was impossible, so the firm's business continuity plan called for employees to wait out the storm, take inventory of the offices aer it passed, and once they determined people were safe, direct staff to where they could work with power and internet access. As the storm rolled through, Howard Iken used the firm's remote desktop control program, cloud-based alarm and security camera systems to monitor the remote offices. Various offices went dark as the night went on, but thankfully the firm's main office in Tampa stayed secure, never losing power or internet. The Having the firm's entire infrastructure accessible via the cloud enabled Ayo & Iken to keep working in the wake of Hurricane Irma.

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