Considerations to Ponder When Moving to the Cloud for Document Management
Tech has revolutionized many aspects of our society including the legal industry. The cloud is proving especially helpful to attorneys, paralegals and support staff. All sorts of cloud solutions are applicable throughout the legal field. In particular, cloud solutions have helped attorneys shift document management out of the office and onto the cloud. As long as your law firm has the right approach, migration to the cloud won’t prove as daunting as it initially seems.
You can access data on the cloud whenever you desire as long as you are positioned in an area with a web connection.Â
The Merits of Using the Cloud for Document Management
On-site and cloud-based doc management systems are similar in some regards yet they differ quite significantly in terms of cost. Providers are now bundling doc management systems to provide law firms with access to an array of features and functions in the cloud. These extra bells and whistles can be offered at a competitive rate through the cloud. Furthermore, the cloud is revered for its accessibility. You can access data on the cloud whenever you desire as long as you are positioned in an area with a web connection.
Shifting to the Cloud
Migrating to the cloud requires a migration plan, consideration of the firm’s data and a thorough analysis of costs. Planning is essential to migration. Consider whether the assistance of third-party vendors or specific tools will help you rip and replace the current doc management system or perform a phased migration.
You might find it beneficial to test migration with a specific group/practice to ensure there are no major problems. The web migration approach you decide on partially hinges on your web capabilities. As an example, data-intensive wholesale migration performed in a short window of time will prove impossible for diminutive firms with a single connection for all telecommunications.
Focus on the Data
Your firm’s data footprint strongly influences the migration process. Consider how you currently use your doc management data to determine if you can add new workflows or update processes to better manage data. Though initial data storage costs in the cloud are fairly low, your firm’s data repository will gradually expand as time progresses, causing storage costs to increase that much more. Do not lose sight of this reality as you plan to migrate your data and perform the actual migration.
Cloud storage is not only secure, but accessible from anywhere you connect to the internet
Selecting the Proper Cloud Environment
No two cloud providers are exactly alike. As you evaluate cloud providers, consider how your data will be stored, where it will be stored and which parties will be provided access to it. Law firms should avoid public cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services as their data will be grouped with that of other parties. The public cloud is best for non-sensitive information.
All in all, the merits of cloud providers are largely dependent on their ability to secure information. Take a look at the reviews, research cloud providers’ data storage defenses and examine a number of other factors before making a commitment.
