After much reluctance in the past, the legal industry is slowly adapting to the latest technology to boost productivity and increase client satisfaction. With the growth of cloud adoption, law firms have realised its multifaceted benefits. However, the stakes are pretty high for law firms as they handle large quantities of private information, so choosing the right law firm cloud hosting solution is crucial. You need to make sure that the service provider complies with the industry standard of security and innovation, prevents system downtime and performance issues, and provides agility to the business. Following is a list of requirements you should consider before selecting a cloud provider for your law firm.
Infrastructure and data centres
You must inquire about the client’s infrastructure and data centres that provide solutions to law firms. You need to be mindful of entry-level or generic hardware that may increase downtime and severely affect productivity.
Choose a reliable provider that uses enterprise-grade hardware that complies with the industry standards.
The provider must also own the equipment used for deploying the solution. You may find providers who are white labelling or reselling services from other providers. Using solutions from such providers may cause problems in controlling the data ownership of the firm.
Expertise
You can find several providers offering law firm cloud hosting solutions. However, your choice must depend on the provider’s expertise in deploying, supporting, and managing cloud solutions. It is best to choose a reputed provider with industry knowledge and expertise to prevent issues related to extended downtime, inadequate support, and inefficient customer service.
The choice of your service provider must also depend on their ability to understand the nature, importance, and work carried out by legal professionals. Attorneys follow specific security and legal standards that need to be maintained at all times. You should also assess the service provider’s ability to understand the significance of other business operations like billing, managing, and tracking services integral to all law firms.
Application management
The service provider must have a strong knowledge of various legal applications and ways to deploy and manage such applications. Supporting applications in many cases can be a shared responsibility between the firm, the service provider, and a third party. You should be able to understand the management and support the provider can deliver for the firm’s critical applications.
Solution methods
The service provider offering law firm cloud hosting solutions should have a holistic solution encompassing all the operational areas. It includes evaluating your applications, business functions, workflow, and present and future needs and formulating a solution accordingly. Hence, make sure that the provider listens and understands your requirements and deploys a solution that meets the firm’s needs. You should also check if the provider offers ongoing management of the deployed solution. A provider should ideally offer flexible options for management or co-management of the environment according to the client’s specifications.
Accessibility
Cloud servers must be accessed from any location like the client premises, courtroom, or on the go through any device. It can be of great advantage to firms that outsource work as one can easily grant remote and selective access. With remote accessibility, you can easily get the critical work done without affecting the firm’s productivity.
You can use this checklist to select the right service provider with relevant expertise in working in the legal industry. It will ensure effective deployment and management of technology solutions in your firm to increase efficiency and productivity levels.
