Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/98946
Cloud Computing: Data Has a New House The Drive Behind These Changes In the legal environment, there are three critical factors behind this fast-growing service: • Data Security: Data privacy and strict security measures are crucial to all attorneys. There are few greater risks to an organization than the improper handling of confidential client documents. It's becoming more important to support on-demand data storage and retrieval in an environment that meets "best practices" criteria for assuring data security. This also involves technical expertise of specialists handling the data for law firms and their clients. • A Need for Flexible, Cost-Effective Software Applications: Law firms and their corporate clients demand software tools that improve efficiency and accuracy while containing costs of acquisition, maintenance and use. Responding to this demand, legal technology companies have developed increasingly robust software applications, enhancing many aspects of a law firm's ability to better serve its clients. However, it is not surprising that these products often require huge infrastructure investments to host the applications internally, plus increases in IT staff headcounts, an investment in training and other administrative costs necessary to manage these new systems effectively. The bottom line for every firm is how best to control operating costs. Cloud computing and managed services now offer real competitive options that relieve firms of significant investment burdens, such as acquiring and maintaining continually changing software computing platforms. • Data Overload and Discovery Costs: According to the McKinsey Global Institute's 2011 report, "Big Data: The Next Frontier for Innovation, Competition and Productivity," the volume of global data is expected to grow at a staggering 40 percent annually, while the rate of spending on global IT resources is expected to grow at just five percent per year. In the legal space, for instance, the tremendous volume of electronically stored information (ESI) subject to discovery in litigation means the need to preserve, process, review and produce this ESI as evidence has also grown dramatically. This surge in data overload is likely to accelerate in the years ahead. Benefits of the Cloud Reduction in law firm capital expenditures is likely the most significant benefit of moving data and software applications to the cloud. By utilizing cloud computing, law firms can have easy access to both their necessary software applications and all their data without having to purchase and maintain ever-expanding hardware systems and software applications. An added benefit of cloud data management is the IT staffing support for these systems can be reduced or used for other in-house tasks. Cloud computing for law firms also offers greater flexibility with respect to software platforms. Technology in the legal market is evolving continuously. Innovative software tools and upgrades are announced daily. By moving to the cloud, a law firm can essentially "rent" the latest software without having to make a major investment in seat licenses and without having to invest in additional hardware often required to support new products. This creates flexibility in the budget as well. Increased productivity is another advantage that law firms can realize by moving data to the cloud. As concerns about storage, server capacity and security are eliminated, law firm personnel can concentrate on client matters. Risks of the Cloud Of course, there are some important risks associated with cloud computing services to be considered. The top concern for law firms using the cloud is data security. Any time a law firm turns over confidential information to a third party (i.e., a cloud computing services provider), there is a risk that unauthorized parties could ILTA White Paper 19