September 25th, 2012 by Gwynne Monahan
#CloudComputing: Case of Bad Terminology?
In a previous post, we discussed how the iPad and iPhone are in the lead, according to the 2012 ABA Legal Technology Survey Report. We took another look at the Law Technology Today’s 10 highlights of the 2012 ABA Legal Technology Survey Report, and were struck by the following bullet point:
The cloud has room to grow. Despite the hype, the adoption of cloud computing remains fairly low: Just 21% of respondents overall reported ever using the cloud. The No. 1 reason cited by those who have yet to use the cloud? Unfamiliarity with the technology (55%).
Shortly after, 3 Geeks published a post on “The Inevitable Cloud” that stated the following:
Attorneys will eventually figure out how to work with the cloud and still meet their ethical obligations, or they will just get used to the risks and ignore them like they have with email in the last 20 years.
And there was this piece from CIO about a survey from Citrix that shows the public is still confused about “cloud computing” even though “54 percent of the respondents said they never use cloud computing, but nearly all of them do.” People use cloud computing applications without knowing they are doing so, a point also demonstrated by the ABA Legal Technology Survey Report. Lawyers have adopted the iPhone and the iPad, two devices that use “the cloud,” better known as the Internet, to access applications and information.
People understand downloading, and they understand using apps. And according to 3 Geeks, lawyers have a sense of cloud computing, what it is, how it works and its ethical considerations. Yet cloud computing continues to be a source of confusion. There seems to be a disconnect between the apps people use on their mobile devices, like TripIt, Evernote and even Gmail, and how they are able to access information from those apps.
Is it just due to bad terminology, or is the confusion over cloud computing something more?
