Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/4636
ILTA White Paper Infrastructure Technologies 28 CLOUD LANDSCAPE We have all heard the term "software as a service" (SaaS), and this can certainly be considered an example of a cloud solution. Less often considered at the base of the solution stack is "infrastructure as a service" (IaaS), and between the two, "platform as a service" (PaaS). It is in these latter two areas that one finds the potential for significant change and benefit to the legal IT function. One can outsource the document management function to a hosted solution, but this point solution, while important, only accounts for a fraction of the total IT function, personnel time and costs. If one is serious about changing the economics of the legal IT function, one needs a more holistic approach to the 100-plus applications hosted internally. These are often running on expensive private hardware, much of which is inefficiently running at 10 to 30 percent capacity, but using up power, cooling and space. Hardware also needs to be repurchased every three to five years (capital expense), and it takes a team of highly skilled personnel to manage it. Clearly the answer must lie in a flexible, pay-as- you-go, IaaS model; one that can be more efficiently managed across multiple firms (to near 80 percent efficiency), housed in N+1 redundant, purpose-built data centers that offer the buying power of much larger enterprises. Business Continuity — Your Path to Clouds A business continuity plan is essentially a firm's insurance policy, and an expensive one at that. Firms with redundant, well-designed primary facilities might never need secondary backup sites, but the modern legal environment still requires a secure offsite facility whereby core services can be quickly resumed in the event of a disaster. If you want to reduce the price and complexity of your DR facility, consider a community cloud to share the cost of redundant infrastructure with other firms. ELASTIC DISASTER RECOVERY Business continuity is the most elastic of the legal IT functions because the secondary service is either needed at a particular moment, or it is not. There are few in-between scenarios. By undertaking a complete replication of data and systems to secure, offsite infrastructure as a service (IaaS) cloud data centers, firms can optimize their use of secondary facilities without paying for the time when they are not in active use. This can save hundreds of millions of dollars across the industry and improve functionality. SAVINGS Potential savings can be realized through the following: • Shared physical infrastructure (amortizes costs across firms) • No capital costs (pay-as-you-go cloud model) • Reduced connectivity fees through deduplication • Less management overhead