AlvaradoSmith Saw 25% Cost Reduction With Afinety Cloud Platform
The legal world has changed a lot over the years, notably in how legal professionals do their jobs and interact with clients. Cloud platforms have impacted virtually every industry and promise to bring a multitude of benefits to those that adopt the technology. The question for law firms is, how can they take advantage of the cloud in a secure, productive way? Law firm AlvaradoSmith experienced the viability and the power of the cloud first-hand.
IT Network Changed To Afinety Cloud Platform To Achieve Goals
With 3 offices and 57 users, AlvaradoSmith represents defendants and plaintiffs with respective civil litigation, corporate and intellectual property cases. The firm handles employment and mortgage matters as well, supporting businesses of all sizes as well as individuals. With so many different kinds of clients and cases that could come through their doors, it was important to keep files confidential while also ensuring that AlvaradoSmith staff could easily access necessary information.
File cabinets and large folders are no longer viable for modern law firms. Papers can easily be misplaced, stolen or destroyed. The cloud has increasingly become the answer to these issues, providing an online platform for accessibility, mobility and flexibility. Office Coordinator, Gianna Stover, noted that data security is a major concern in the law industry, particularly as ransomware becomes a more prevalent threat. Clients want to ensure that their documents and information are protected, making it necessary to adopt a platform that can meet these needs. That’s where Afinety has made the greatest impact.
Migrating To Afinety Cloud Platform (ACP)
When it came to upgrading the existing on-premises network, AlvaradoSmith wanted to increase mobility for attorneys and ensure security across the board. Many AlvaradoSmith attorneys travel, and the fact that they could get on a laptop outside of the office without an on- premises network was a major advantage. Stover and the firm’s partners met with the Afinety team and discussed what life would be like once the Afinety Cloud Platform Network, powered by AWS would be implemented. They believed it sounded too simple and too good to be true, but once the solution was rolled out, their perception changed.
“The nicest part, which was one of our key selling points, was that we didn’t have to reinvent how we were practicing and what we were doing,” Stover said. “Our programs translated over into the Afinety Cloud Platform seamlessly. We were able to function as we did in the on-premises network and we didn’t have to change every piece that we used. We just simply transitioned over.”
With Afinety, AlvaradoSmith was able to maintain and improve productivity. Afinety experts walked the organization through the migration step by step, and with diligent, methodical planning, the project progressed to completion without a scramble to get everything done. With their previous network, Stover described how each person was connected to the onsite servers. If one computer was affected by an outage, all users would be affected, creating an issue in rebuilding the workstation and getting everyone back online. The Afinety Cloud Platform runs on Amazon Web Services and provides a separate cloud workspace for every user, thus eliminating the possibility of one workstation affecting another. If issues do arise, Afinety’s experts provide faster troubleshooting support to eliminate lag time and enable easier login processes.
Measurable Results Gained From ACP
Seeing the benefits of the Afinety Cloud Platform first-hand demonstrates the technology’s true power and serves as an example for how other law firms can reap these same advantages. Stover noted that the solution is more cost-effective than their previous setup, saving the firm over 25 percent compared to an onsite network! In addition, productivity has noticeably improved. Legal professionals at AlvaradoSmith now have faster, more secure remote flexibility that wasn’t available before. They can work remotely when they need to, not even thinking about the network. That’s the true experience of a solid cloud network.
The Afinety Cloud Platform runs on Amazon Web Services, making it a turnkey, secure solution for law firm needs. Storing data on this platform helps put minds at ease since AWS uses batch encryptions and other security parameters to protect sensitive data effectively. This ensures that client confidentiality can be upheld and that industry regulations are in compliance. Afinety has strong track record serving law firms since 1986, with more and more clients moving to the cloud each day.