Clio

2010 is already shaping up to be a momentus year for cloud computing – especially in the legal profession. Last week’s mention of the State Bar of Arizona’s recent favorable opinion regarding the use of online services for client collaboration speaks to a growing acceptance of web-based services as a part of regular practice – a point iterated again this week by David Whelan of the Law Society of Upper Canada on the popular Slaw.ca blog, and most recently by Joshua Poje in his article “The ABCs of Cloud-Based Practice Tools” which was published on the ABA’s Law Practice Today. David’s article titled “Where’s Your Stuff” is a great read for cloud novices and veterans alike, highlighting the more opaque details of what cloud computing actually means, along with the important considerations that should be made prior adopting any web-based service. Chief among these are the security and reliability implications involved with migrating to service-based applications such as backup policies, data portability, service level agreements (SLAs), and client confidentiality. Similarly, Joshua Poje examines the gamut of advantages and concerns revolving around the trend towards the cloud, including the topics of mobility, functionality, service and support. Moreover, Joshua details a thorough list of available SaaS tools, and a comprehensive list of questions that any prospective SaaS user would be wise to consult.

We’re definitely excited to see the SaaS star rising into mainstream acceptance, and are encouraged by great articles such as those by David Whelan and Joshua Poje, that are helping to add an objective voice to the web-based software discussion. As David puts it:

SaaS isn’t one-size-fits-all. Elements of your practice will be more or less conducive to using SaaS, depending on how you practice and how comfortable you are with placing your client and work information in the ether. You may decide to use SaaS just for e-mail and calendaring, with everything else installed on your local computer. However you decide to use SaaS applications, they are an exciting new and mature option for many law offices.

If you haven’t already, we encourage everyone to add Slaw.ca and the ABA’s Law Practice Today to their list of regular reading, and recommend giving both Mr. Whelan & Mr. Poje’s articles a read.