26/07/2021
4 ways the Cloud can revolutionize the legal sector
By: Omar Abdulhafiz
Cloud technology continues to have a rising impact on various industries for the past decade. We saw in a previous article how the education sector is witnessing remarkable transformation with the Cloud technology, and we can find this for numerous other sectors. If this means anything, it means that the Cloud is becoming the new mainstream in business management systems.
The legal industry is no exception. According to the American Bar Association, at least 52% of US law firms in 2017 utilized some type of Cloud-based software to run their law firm. And this percentage only continues to increase especially in the light of on-going shockwave of the COVID-19 pandemic and its huge influence on all facets of our life, including the way we do business.
1. Track your cases with ease, anytime, anywhere
In this time of accelerating speed, the need for constant access to your cases and their documents is a no-brainer. Long gone are the days where accessing your important files and documents entailed visiting your physical office every single time and sifting through clusters of paperwork. In fact, this is not even cost- nor time-effective anymore. Lawyers, due to the critical nature of their job, are entitled to have the ability to have all their resources available at their fingertips when and wherever they need them.
With the power of the Cloud, having this advantage has become much easier than ever. You can now have a digital database for your clients, cases, and documents which you can access anywhere anytime as long as you have a working Internet connection.
2. Achieve more for much less overhead cost
Generally speaking, running an in-house infrastructure at your law firm comes at a hefty price. You will have to buy and manage just about everything from hardware, software, and security. We may also need to hire experienced IT staff to make sure your system is running flawlessly at all times. While these costs used to be a necessary evil in the past, there’s no need for you to put up with them anymore.
With a powerful Cloud system, the overhead cost is much lower. All you need is to buy a Cloud subscription for a relatively affordable monthly fee. This will get you up and running in no time, allowing you to accomplish your tasks and keep up with your work for just a fraction of the financial burden you once had to carry.
3. More reliable disaster recovery
There has been a wide-spread perception of Cloud-computing as being less reliable than on-premise systems in terms of security and performance. With a simple comparison, however, we can easily challenge this perception. In fact, Cloud computing can in many cases be much more reliable as far as security, performance and data safety are concerned.
In on-premise solutions, you have to spend a lot of money on protecting your on-premise servers, from hiring guards to installing locked cages to protect your assets from intruders’ hands. Moreover, you will have to invest in state-of-the art data back-up and security software and hire professional personnel to manage them for you.
In Cloud-based systems, however, you can carry on with your important tasks and go home at the end of the day knowing that all these things are being taken care-of by your Cloud service providers. These companies spend big chunks of their money on making their servers as secure and their systems as robust and impenetrable as possible. This is sure to keep the chances of physical theft or data loss at an extreme minimum.
4. Going green
The thing about running in-house servers is that they pose two major issues regarding their operation and energy use. For one thing, they tend to consume massive loads of energy which also translates into a heavy electricity bill. Moreover, the energy they consume also produces a large amount of heat. Cooling the heat may also require cooling systems to protect the hardware from deterioration.
Using a Cloud-based system, however, takes all this burden off of your back. What is more, Cloud-computing also entails sharing server capacity with other subscribers.
Conclusion: Is the legal sector ready for the Cloud?
With the 4 core points mentioned above, the answer to this question should be pretty clear. It’s a resounding yes. The legal industry could not be more ready to reap the benefits of the Cloud. Not only that, but the legal industry is in need for the merits the Cloud has to offer. Lawyers and legal consultants can now enjoy a fully-digitalized workflow with a fraction of the costs and efforts they once had to spend on establishing on-premise systems.