The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/116777
HOW TO DEVELOP AN INTERACTIVE CLOUD DATA ARCHIVE by Orlando Scott-Cowley of Mimecast Cloud computing has permeated every industry in ways even the most forward-thinking IT department could never have imagined. Moving archives of business data out of the enterprise to trusted cloud providers has added functionality improvements to firms and organizations. Businesses have realized that their in-house big data can be doing so much more than languishing on rarely used disk space by instead fueling innovation and collaboration, and by enhancing business processes. Today more businesses are leveraging the value of their data stored in the cloud for corporate know-how and intellectual property. Innovative cloud vendors are delivering the tools that help acquire and consolidate more types of information into a central repository, giving access to a much wider and useful dataset. Whether it's email data from Exchange or a third-party archive, files from the network or SharePoint or even the users' personal cloud platforms, all can be consolidated into one archive to drive collaboration and improvements to business operations. End users are especially empowered by these new cloud capabilities; their multitude of devices and platforms can give them access to all their data, regardless of the source. This level of empowerment drives a more interactive cloud archive that supports user productivity and collaboration, as well as the firm's e-discovery, search and business intelligence functions. 70 Peer to Peer USE THESE STEPS WHEN THINKING ABOUT HOW TO USE THE DATA YOUR BUSINESS STORES IN THE CLOUD TO DEVELOP AN INTERACTIVE ARCHIVE: 1. Look for a cloud vendor that supports your vision and offers innovation and a roadmap far beyond your immediate requirements. Remember that not all clouds are created equal. Many cloud archives simply store data, without offering any improvements. 2. Acquire and consolidate all your user data into one cloud archive. Interactivity can only be gained by consolidating users' data from email, SharePoint, file stores and their own services (e.g., Dropbox). 3. Your end users are key; support them with a cloud vendor that provides apps for all their mobile platforms. 4. Above all else, drive the use of the tools you're deploying. So many businesses simply don't leverage the true power their cloud vendor can provide. Educate your users; show them how they can improve their collaboration and workflow with those tools.