The Nice-to-Haves and Need-to-Haves of Cloud Computing
Employees are increasingly using the cloud to access their personal email, documents, music and other data from anywhere at any time. They expect their employers’ digital data will be similarly accessible. Beyond user experience, cost and complexity provide compelling reasons for moving your law firm’s technology operations to cloud providers. This article discusses what to look for in a cloud service provider and other issues that will help determine if moving to the cloud is the right move for your firm.
Challenges for SMBs
The growth of technology has created many challenges for small- to medium-size businesses (SMBs), including law firms: continually upgrading hardware, staying abreast of the latest in security developments and hiring multiple staff members with different skills.
First, SMBs typically purchase server hardware with the expectation it will last for years. A year or two later, they discover they need to double the capacity of that system in order to meet technology needs. These costs are often not budgeted.
Additionally, security has moved from a simple firewall and anti-virus software to very expensive, hard-to-manage security systems, including log review and correlation (SIEM) systems, next-generation firewalls, host intrusion detection systems and sandboxing of all incoming files. Your IT department can no longer consist of one person wearing many hats, including maintaining infrastructure, ensuring data security and providing end-user support. To reduce this complexity and its associated costs, many firms are moving to the cloud.
0 Comments