Digital White Papers

I L T A W H I T E P A P E R | K N O W L E D G E M A N A G E M E N T 13 B I M O D A L I T : O P T I M I Z I N G F O R B O T H P R E D I C T A B L E A N D E X P L O R A T O R Y G O A L S This conflict can be easily remedied through a greater embracing of the cloud. Not only Mode 2 work is suited to the cloud – your core infrastructure can also be migrated to cloud-hosted solutions. Doing so will turn your systems over to vendors who are able to – and, indeed, contractually obligated to – keep your systems and core functions moving forward at a pace that will allow you to support your more innovative work. Firms can also learn valuable lessons from shadow IT – the practice of users finding solutions for their problems without the formal organizational support of the IT department. Shadow IT is typically a strong indicator that an organization isn't moving quickly enough when it comes to innovation or deployment. It also has the potential to increase security risks for the organization. Take, for example, file sharing. Your employees might need an efficient way to distribute files to clients or others outside your organization. If your IT environment only supports file sharing through email, users may turn to an outside product like Dropbox. This creates unregulated and unsecured accounts with files circulating that the firm does not control. While this unmonitored account could lead to problems, Dropbox might actually be a good fit for the firm – if the organization itself sets up the account and can establish controls over inbound and outbound data. Being aware of shadow IT at your firm can be a useful way to create solutions that the firm can leverage to its advantage once they're properly deployed. Aligning the firm's change and deployment management methodologies with the needs of its users is a critical factor in successful bimodal IT. When effective, Mode 2 projects, even those developed out of shadow IT, can be transitioned into the firm's central business processes and services. The firm's core needs can remain stable while its operational environment continues to be nimble. By bridging this gap with bimodal IT, firms are able to eliminate resource contention between its two main IT objectives. Successful bimodal IT allows law firms to operate efficiently by ensuring that there are appropriate and economical solutions in place to handle today's critical needs while still finding space for growth and innovation that will support the needs of tomorrow. ILTA Eli Nussbaum is a Managing Director and the Director of Business Development at Keno Kozie. He continues to manage client accounts while also serving on Keno Kozie Associates' Board of Directors. He joined the firm as an intern in 1998 as part of its Y2K audit team. He then shifted into a full-time engineering position and has held every position within the engineering department, including Director of Engineering. During Eli's tenure with Keno Kozie, he has focused on physical, virtual, and Cloud infrastructure design and implementation services. Eli has been focused on providing clients with economical and appropriate solutions that satisfy their IT needs. While keeping budgets in mind when architecting solutions, he assists clients in solving their operational concerns with an eye to tomorrow's needs.

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