The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/230349
ask the vendor CLOUD COMPUTING CLOUD, CLOUD AND MORE CLOUD name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesly Kenney company . . . . . . Savvy Training & Consulting, Inc. website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . savvytraining.com name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Neil Parekh company . . . . . . . . Project Leadership Associates website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . projectleadership.net Cloud computing technology has continued to dominate the buzz in the legal industry in 2013, with no sign of slowing. As Microsoft shifts to subscription-based offerings and others to subscription-based edicts, users are becoming increasingly aware of the additional opportunities for efficiency and portability with cloud-based work environments. Although legal professionals previously have had access to data stored elsewhere, new cloud-based software options make physical location and device efficiency almost negligible. Users can now complete tasks in the cloud that once required a specific workstation and software tailored for the legal industry. We've yet to hear, "Fire up the Commodore 64, Darla. I have a California pleading to draft at home tonight!" But we are beginning to see a wide array of devices and working environments that simply would have been impossible with the old models of packaged software on in-house servers and inside-the-firm workstations. As cloud computing continues to infiltrate legal technology, our constant connectivity will push the boundaries of the "work anywhere" ideal. We look forward to watching it complement the valuable synergy in a shared work environment. The cloud is being evaluated continually on how it plays in the legal technology space, and it has everyone's attention — ranging from managing partners to IT system administrators. There have been cloud providers such as Amazon and other private facilities that have provided "co-lo" for many years. However, cloud and hybrid cloud solutions — particularly products from Microsoft such as Windows Azure, Office 365, Intune and StorSimple — are now solutions that can spark thought for law firms to move workloads out of their data centers or away from other co-lo providers. These solutions now enable firms to embrace a cost-effective hybrid (on-premise and cloud) approach with single-pane-of-glass management, authentication and monitoring, enabling the ability to scale on-demand while leveraging "pay for what you use" models. Over time, as firms approach their server hardware refresh cycles, need additional servers and storage (litigation support data sprawl) or desire to spin up temporary systems for dev/ test, they would be able to leverage their hybrid cloud to scale and replace their systems, greatly reducing the burden of onsite hardware maintenance and servicing. In the past, "the cloud" was a solution very few law firms could entertain due to security and integration challenges, but the time has finally arrived when all law firms should evaluate what workloads and storage could potentially move to the cloud. "GAMING" THE USER EXPERIENCE by Jasmine Pui A popular idea these days is the gamification of processes. Here are some ways you can incorporate that: Desired application behaviors can be achieved when users understand the reasons for auditing the applications. Create friendly competition through positive public and private recognition of users on the proper use of applications. 22 Peer to Peer Make transparent users' contributions to the success of the firm through firmwide newsletter releases. Grant progressively greater application rights to users as skill proficiencies are demonstrated. Promote upcoming process flows using public advertisement of the concrete time and dollars that are being saved with user compliance.