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Evaluating cloud providers
RICHARD WEINER
Technology for Lawyers
Published: June 20, 2014
Ready or not, the legal industry seems poised for a shift into a positive view of placing at least some business functions in the cloud (or online, or whatever you want to call it). It does look like more and more legal billing, data storage, organizational and research functions are going into cyberspace.
This may still be partly cloud companies’ puffery, but many of the past security, ownership and ethical questions have at least been addressed and, to some extent, resolved by state bars and the ABA, security experts and others with a stake in this movement. I’m still a little shaky on the whole security thing, but the view is definitely softening out there toward cloud functions.
So if that’s the way your firm is thinking of going, here are a few tips on finding the right cloud provider.
Start by reading the terms of service (only 40 percent of lawyers do!). Yes, reading the contract is, like, a good place to start. Beause, like, that’s why you went to law school.
Make sure that the functionality of the service actually meets your needs. There are enough providers out there now that you can get someone to do what you need done.
Some functionality questions to ask include secure cross-platform communications (desktops, phones, tablets, etc.) and secure third-party collaboration.
Make sure that you control your data. Free services may claim ownership of the data on their platforms. Dropbox may be good for a few simple transfers of data, but the really important stuff should be encrypted, etc., and stored in such a way that the lawyer owns nit. Don’t contract with any service unless you own your own data, and make sure that you can get your data out with no hassles if you cancel the service.