In 2010, CompTIA,
a non-profit trade organization for the IT industry, conducted a study named IT Opportunities in the Legal Services Market that revealed that one out of every
five surveyed law firms indicated an interest to increase their IT budget. Fast
forward to 2017, and you will see that from Philadelphia to Florida, more and
more law firms are hiring IT companies to handle their specific needs. If you want
your practice to stand out in a competitive market, IT managed services can
help you in the following four ways:
1.
Improved
Productivity
Cutting-edge
technologies such as cloud computing and virtualization will allow your
employees to work remotely, access client data securely, and communicate with one
another on the go. This round-the-clock service will enhance your firm’s brand
image. In addition, a proper backup plan will enable you to protect and
retrieve your clients’ sensitive data.
2. Guaranteed Confidentiality
Protecting
your client’s sensitive information is your core duty as an attorney. Failure
to maintain confidentiality can shatter your reputation in the market. Therefore,
it is essential for you to store your client’s data in the most secure location.
IT companies can help you develop multi-layered cyber security strategies to
keep your database, IT assets, mobile devices, and all online endpoints
protected from malicious intrusion.
3. Enhanced Flexibility
Walk into any
law firm and one of the first things you will probably notice are piles of
documents. Legal business involves a lot of paperwork and record maintenance. And
often the law firms cannot afford to part with any of the documents for good. Even
if you digitize all your papers, your growing company will need large server
spaces to backup these files safely. Cloud computing technology not only allows
you to store extra-large files but also to share and sync them without
investing in storage servers and without having to hire a maintenance provider.
Above all, it will enable you to access your confidential files remotely from
any mobile device, allowing you to work with greater flexibility.
4. Protection of Data Through Disaster Recovery
You don’t have to be a
lawyer to guess the extent of hard work that’s needed to build up a case. Just
imagine losing all your research to a natural catastrophe, system crash, or a
malicious attack. You will never have to endure this blow if you have a
disaster recovery plan in place. This is one IT service which is vital not only
for law firms but for business of all sizes and types.
A law firm’s IT needs
can be grouped into two broad categories – the data it creates and the scalable
systems it requires to manage them efficiently. Several IT companies in Florida and other parts of the US offer customized services for the billion-dollar
legal industry. If you feel that your growing practice can benefit from these
services, hire a provider who can help you out.