Clio

In the just-published August issue of the ABA Journal, Dennis Kennedy, a leading authority on legal technology, has written an article entitled “Working in the Cloud“. In the article Dennis outlines some of the major advantages of moving your practice into the cloud:

You might be surprised by the long list of benefits of software as a service:

• Because these services are accessed through your browser and an Internet connection, you avoid software, hardware and network infrastructure costs.

• Data centers provide levels of security, backup, redundancy and performance that go far beyond what the typical law firm can imagine.

• The provider takes care of patches, updates and other administration.

• Remote access from anywhere is a given.

• Perhaps best of all, your technology costs become a utility cost; you typically pay a monthly service fee that you can budget for.

It’s no wonder SaaS is popular for startup practices.

The article is very balanced in pointing out that while there are benefits to be derived from using Software-as-a-Service, issues such as data privacy and security should be considered before jumping in head-first. In his discussion of the data, privacy and security implications of Software-as-a-Service, Dennis has an excellent perspective that we think is all too often overlooked: what are you comparing the data, privacy, and security of Software-as-a-Service to? In many cases, a SaaS solution will deliver reliability, security, and privacy levels much higher than on-premises solutions can deliver.

As you’ve undoubtedly guessed, Dennis’ take on the benefits of SaaS mirror our own here at Clio, and we’re happy to hear from the voice of a respected authority on legal softwarer about the benefits many solos and small firms are realizing thanks to SaaS. While we encourage everyone to evaluate all of the options available to them before comitting to a decision on which Practice Management solution to use, we’re confident that, for those users who are seeking a low-cost, reliable and easy-to-use system that provides unprecedented mobility and rigid security, web-based practice management is the ideal solution.

Read the entire article here to hear the rest of Dennis’ insights on the advantages of Software-as-a-Service along with factors that should be considered before moving your practice into the clouds.