Legacy operations are no longer viable as organizations strive to keep up with customer demands and competing businesses. While tried-and-true systems might offer a familiar pattern, they are becoming much harder and more costly to maintain and support. Current solutions also might not have the necessary features or capabilities for scaling and performing effectively in the future.

Organization leaders must take action to transform their IT infrastructure into a system that will meet long-term goals. Cloud computing, in particular, will be a key piece of making this effort a reality. There are a few ways that law firms can leverage the cloud to drive IT transformation:

1. Use the provider as a strategic partner

Your cloud provider should take on the role as a strategic partner that understands your industry and how cloud technology can solve your pain points. A recent study by 451 Research revealed that 80 percent of organizations will require moderate or significant transformations to their IT environments within the next five years to keep pace with business requirements. As a result, many businesses have increased spending in cloud technology, and 22 percent have adopted a cloud-first approach.

With this much investment and focus on cloud-based solutions, you must ensure that your provider is by your side as a strategic partner. A capable vendor will position infrastructure and technological innovation alongside meeting business requirements. This includes meeting delivery expectations for uptime, security and technical expertise. With a strategic cloud partner, law firms can leverage the technology to drive IT transformation and yield benefits.

2. Enable mobile through cloud accessibility

Traditionally, legal practices have managed cases through a system of physical file folders. The problem is, lawyers don’t just operate out of an office – they go to the courthouse, meet clients and do other fieldwork. Files can easily get lost during transport or might be forgotten in the office. Lawyers then don’t have the necessary information for their case, leaving them unprepared. Clients expect lawyers to give the best advice possible, but lawyers require easy file access in order to make informed decisions.

The cloud’s biggest advantage is arguably its ability to be accessed from anywhere on any device. This means that lawyers can view necessary files on their computer and then have that same information accessible on their mobile phone or tablet when they go into court. As caseloads get bigger and more complex, digital versions also will cut down on the paper and keep all relevant documents in the same place, Digitalist Magazine stated.

3. Ensure disaster recovery capabilities

Law firms host a significant amount of sensitive data in physical and digital forms. What happens if this information is inaccessible, corrupted or stolen? Disasters come in a number of forms and it will be important to ensure that all data is backed up effectively to minimize downtime and resume operations within your law firm.

Cloud technology is a great addition to business continuity and disaster recovery strategies. Changes to files are seamlessly synced with cloud versions to ensure that you have the most updated information. However, industry regulations will dictate how this data must be protected. You must ensure that data is securely transferred and stored and identify how users are authenticated, TechTarget stated. If possible, two-factor authentication should be implemented to keep sensitive information safe.  The Afinety Cloud Platform offers Multi-Factor authentication for added protection and security.

Law firms can utilize cloud to innovate their IT infrastructure. The disaster recovery capabilities, mobile functionality and strategic presence of a cloud vendor will help legal practices optimize performance and better serve their clients.

Why Cloud Security Should Be Priority For Law Offices

Legal practices are starting to relax their restrictions surrounding technology vendors and processes, including the cloud. More firms are transitioning their critical processes to the cloud to reap the benefits that the solution has to offer. Law firms have traditionally held back from upgrades in the past due to budget restrictions, system dependencies and the uncertainty of what the change might mean for their workflows. Cloud improvements have caught the attention of legal groups, but security remains a main priority for mainstream adoption.

Compliance And Governance Needs

The legal industry has a number of regulations that it must abide by in order to maintain compliance and governance standards. Benemen noted that the Legal Services Act, in particular, is essential to ensuring client confidentiality and secure data storage. Other principles deal with how users should access and manage sensitive records, including financial data and personally identifiable information. If an audit shows that rules aren’t being followed, or if information is compromised, law firms can be hit with heavy fines. They’ll also take major hits to their reputation and client relationships.

Legal practices must be sure that their clients’ financial and personal data is backed up and stored appropriately with protections that can handle advancing cyberthreats. By pairing with a capable provider, law firms can build an environment that meets their needs while enforcing security across sensitive documents.

Improvements in cloud security

Cloud protections have improved considerably for consumer and enterprise environments alike. InformationWeek contributor Andrew Froehlich noted that end-to-end encryption is being adopted extensively within cloud systems to boost security mechanisms while still providing a flexible architecture. Law firms should ensure that their cloud solution has encryption that protects data in transit and at rest to prevent breaches and maintain compliance. The cloud also enables legal practices to pick and choose the security tools they want, while ensuring that they integrate seamlessly. This eliminates vendor lock-in, allowing you to test and use the solutions that will be best for your organization.

Stringent service-level agreements are increasing security expectations and setting the bar for cloud providers. Thomson Reuters research noted that cloud environments are a more secure starting point than some in-house implementations. Law firms can take advantage of these protections to facilitate mobility requirements and virtualize workloads. Although security needs can be a barrier, advancing protections within the cloud and the benefits it offers can be major drivers for its adoption within the legal industry.

Jump on board

The cloud has long passed its buzzword phase to become a major asset to a variety of industries and use cases. While some law firms may still be hesitant to adopt a new technology, cloud security has advanced significantly in recent years to address enterprise concerns and maintain compliance standards. If you still haven’t started your cloud journey, now could be the best time to do so to reap advantages like mobility without sacrificing security. Team up with a cloud provider like Afinety that understands the intricacies of law firm requirements and how to configure a cloud solution using the finest security available.