Peer to Peer Magazine

WWW.ILTANET.ORG 49 MANAGEMENT AND ANALYSIS OF DATA, INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE Increased competition and client demand are reinforcing the importance of transparent systems, timely and forward-looking management information and deep client knowledge. The need to extract value and insight from big data is also rising up the leadership agenda in law firms of all sizes. There is a need for consolidating and sense-making of multiple sources of structured and unstructured data, enabling a single and flexible view of all client-relevant content. This would enable aggregation and analysis of information and communications from the client with relevant content on internal systems. This needs to be supplemented with data extracted from third-party sources and structured and unstructured content from both the Web and social media. Today the focus is on text, voice, images and video data. Over time, as a multi-sensory Internet evolves, data types will expand to include touch, taste, smell, emotions and, eventually, memories and thoughts. SECURITY TECHNOLOGY As business has become more reliant on technology, security has become a critical management issue and a growing priority for law firms. A mobile workforce and cloud computing are driving the need to think about security at every level — data, applications, hardware platforms, devices and networks. A growing emphasis will be placed on accurate identification of individuals and devices and on activity monitoring. There is also a strong focus emerging on methods of encryption that can guarantee secure transmission and prevent unauthorized access. There is a concern over the apparent conflict between the needs for speed and productivity and the controls required to ensure adherence to effective security and risk management protocols. Ultimately, the situation is expected to be resolved through a combination of training using gamification approaches and intelligent embedded tools to make security compliance part of the intuitive process of completing a task rather than a cumbersome add-on. DISRUPTIVE SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENTS There are broader scientific advances whose impact could be potentially dramatic. Perhaps one of the most fundamental changes will be the shift in the governing paradigm from "Information Age" to "Biological Era." The last 30 to 40 years have seen a focus in society on IT and information as the lifeblood of the economy. The next few decades will see a growing focus on biology and the "gene," both from a productive and from a sociological point of view. As things move from being material objects to being living objects, in the future we may use cells and molecules — rather than electrons — as key media for computing, communication and information storage. 8 9 10

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