Multiple Locations, No Headaches: Law Firm Cloud Advantages

Whether you’ve just added a second law firm location or have been juggling the management of multiple locations for longer than you can remember, one thing is true: It can be a headache.

There’s a lot to consider even before you come to IT issues – and IT issues can be the snarliest challenges you’ll face. How do you manage multiple firewalls and phone systems? How do you provide access to shared programs and files? How do you share files securely? How do you make sure that security is consistent and top-of-the-line in each location? How do you check that back-ups are being regularly performed?

A million systems or one simple solution?

You can hire the best people. You can set up systems upon systems that streamline management. You can enact checks and balances that ensure you catch everything that might fall through the cracks. You can assess and reassess. You can think about these issues day and night.

And, still, something might happen that no one foresaw. Still, a server might crash that brings down a location for several hours. Still, a natural disaster could take out an entire region, resulting in data loss. Still, a hacker could target one of your law firms, breach a firewall, and gain access to privileged information.

One simple solution could alleviate all of those headaches and make life a lot simpler for those who manage multiple law firm locations – and for those who work at them. The cloud can simplify IT for law firms with multiple locations, and it can make your technology more reliable, more secure, and easier to access, too.

What the cloud can do

You can stop worrying about multiple firewalls and their vulnerabilities when you use the cloud. Cloud security operates on a different plane. And, Legal Workspace’s cloud security is a cut above the rest because it was designed specifically for law firms, with redundant enterprise-grade firewalls and an intrusion detection/prevention system that can do dual-factor authentication.

What does all that mean, and why is it important? You can take Legal Workspace’s cybersecurity quiz to find out where your IT security currently stands, and how using a cloud environment, like Legal Workspace, can eliminate the headaches that come from managing multiple firewalls, for example.

Networked phone systems can be a pain. When you use a cloud phone system, you connect to a bevy of new and exciting technologies, which can allow for easier collaboration, flexibility, and access. The cloud also simplifies the process of allowing access to shared programs and sharing files securely.

Using the cloud also does something important that many companies – even law firms that are well aware of the risks – avoid. It creates a simple and automatic disaster recovery plan for your multiple firm locations. Because Legal Workspace houses its clients’ data in multiple server centers in diverse geographical locations, you’re covered in case of catastrophe. Beyond that, back-ups are automatically performed, and updates are automatically applied so you know you’re always using the newest and best versions of your legal software.

Managing multiple locations is especially difficult for law firms because the very nature of the business requires top-notch security and collaboration. When you have multiple locations, there are more chances for slip-ups, inconsistencies, and complications. A cloud environment can simplify the way your attorneys work – and keep their work secure.

Top 4 Problems The Cloud Solves

Imagine that you could make one decision – adopt one new technology – and four serious issues for your firm are alleviated. You make this decision and suddenly your firm is winning more clients, increasing productivity, managing turnover, and controlling costs.

You don’t have to have a wild imagination to picture this outcome; it’s possible – right now – if your law firm begins using the cloud. Here’s how it works.

 

  1. Winning Clients

This one is a no-brainer. Most law firms want to win more business and employ countless complex strategies to accomplish this goal. Clients can be skittish about testing out a different firm and may have concerns about security. With law firm data breaches making headlines every day, clients naturally focus on making certain their law firms – and all of their corporate data – are safe.

Your law firm can become the go-to practice for safety and security by using a secure cloud platform such as Legal Workspace. The fastest and simplest way to bolster your security is by selecting a cloud solution that was created specifically for law firms. Legal Workspace knows how important it is for law firms to maintain privilege – and their reputations. Every Legal Workspace client’s data is placed in a military-grade cloud built exclusively for lawyers.

You can use your firm’s data security as a selling point. Legal Workspace provides security information that you can use to win deals by proving that you can meet – and usually beat – all of your prospects’ security requirements.

 

  1. Increasing Productivity

No law firm wants its attorneys twiddling their thumbs as they wait for the server to come back online. The cloud means zero downtime for attorneys.

A cloud environment also gives attorneys the ability to work from any device with internet access. It’s after hours, and they get a call? They can immediately record their time. They’re stuck in the airport across the country? They can access the data they need. They’re in court or a satellite office? They have exactly the same access they would have if they were sitting in their offices. Not only that, but the environment from which they’re working is secure.

 

  1. Managing Turnover

Gone are the days when employees would take one job and turn it into a career that lasts until their retirement. Law firms know that it can be difficult to attract and retain good talent. One perk that appeals to talent is flexibility. Your firm can provide attorneys and administrative employees with the ability to work from home (or anywhere, really) when you use a cloud environment such as Legal Workspace. No hauling files to and from different locations, no thumb drives to misplace, no insecure file sharing. When your workers have access to the Legal Workspace cloud environment, they get the same secure access to files, legal applications, and workflows at home as they would in the office.

And, no law firm is static; as your firm grows and changes, Legal Workspace makes it easy to add and remove users.

 

  1. Controlling Costs

Some budgets are variable, no matter how hard you may try to stabilize them. If you rely on servers, then your IT budget falls into that category. Servers frequently need updating and patching – and that’s not something you can assign just anybody to do. Unique skills are required to work on legal applications, too. You never really know when something might go wrong or how severe the problem will be.

Using a cloud environment eliminates IT budget variability. Law firms never again have to worry about the price of repairs or the steep cost of expert knowledge. You pay a monthly fee, and that’s it. No more outages or downtime, no worrying about disaster recovery. It’s all taken care of for you.

It’s rare to be able to solve four problems by making one simple decision. Adopting a secure cloud environment can do that. Using a cloud environment such as Legal Workspace can change the way that you approach managing your firm and allow your attorneys to have both more freedom and more security.