Clio

The ABA TECHSHOW 2010 kicks off in just under a week, and we’re looking forward to attending and exhibiting at what will be our third TECHSHOW. We’ve been chatting here at Clio about how the evolution of the exhibitors and sessions at the ABA TECHSHOW has been a telling window into the movement of Software-as-a-Service from a niche, emerging technology into the mainstream:

Back at the 2008 TECHSHOW we were the first web-based practice management system, and one of only a handful of web-based companies overall, exhibiting at the conference. It was an exciting meeting for us, as we were launching our official public beta and introducing attendees to the relatively new concepts of cloud computing and Software-as-a-Service. Very little of the official TECHSHOW conference program touched on SaaS or cloud computing, but attendee interest was obvious. We listened to concerns over data privacy, security, and backup, and developed industry-leading practices to address those concerns. Our TECHSHOW wrap-up blog post from two years ago still resonates today:

It seems clear that the desire for web-based practice management software is present and fast-growing, as attendee after attendee told us that existing desktop-based products are too complex, too hard to use, and too hard to deploy. The idea of a completely web-based solution where deployment, upgrades, and data security backups are 100% managed definitely resonated with attendees we spoke with.

Just one year later, the 2009 TECHSHOW reflected a dramatic shift in attitudes toward SaaS. The TECHSHOW board introduced several sessions on Software-as-a-Service. An influx of additional SaaS vendors exhibited at the show. We had officially launched Clio six months prior at the ABA GP|Solo meeting, and rather than demoing a beta product, we were showing a rapidly maturing, feature-rich product. The overall tone, as we noted in a post-show blog post, was that SaaS was not just a technological fad, but  rather a movement that is reshaping the legal software landscape.

The 2010 TECHSHOW program is perhaps one of the most telling indicators of SaaS going mainstream – rather than one or two presentations, this year we will be treated to an entire afternoon of topics on “Practicing in the Cloud”:

• Introduction to “Cloud” Computing with David Bilinsky and Matt Kesner
• Hey, You, Get Off of Onto My Cloud: Tools to Run Your Practice in the Cloud with Erik Mazzone and Catherine Sanders Reach
• Taking Your Office Virtual with Nicole Garton-Jones and Alan Wernick
• Going Virtual with Web Applications: New Forms of Practice with Will Hornsby and Marc Lauritsen

Clio’s founders and developers will be attending and exhibiting at TECHSHOW 2010, where we’ll be demonstrating several exciting new Clio features – and giving away an iPad!. Drop by and see us at Booth #301 – we look forward to hearing from present and future customers on what they’d like to see the future of law office management to look like.