Cloud computing fundamentally changes the architecture of computers, the development of software and tools, and, of course, the way information is stored, distributed, and consumed. This article will analyze the benefits of using cloud technologies in the legal industry.
Why do we rush to the cloud?
Over the past few years, the information technology industry has developed a new paradigm – cloud computing. Although cloud computing is just a special way of providing computing resources and not a new technology, it has revolutionized how information and services are provided.
Cloud computing is a comprehensive solution that provides IT resources as a service. It is a web-based solution providing public resources, like electricity distribution by wire. Computers in the cloud are configured to work together, and different applications use the combined processing power as if running on a single system.
The flexibility of cloud computing depends on the ability to allocate resources on demand. This distribution allows you to use the system’s total resources without allocating specific hardware resources to a specific task. Before cloud computing, websites and server applications ran on separate systems. With the advent of cloud computing, resources are used as a combined virtual computer. There are good reasons for moving to the cloud computing paradigm from a business and IT perspective. The same basic arguments apply here to the introduction of outsourcing.
- Cost reduction. Cloud computing can reduce capital and operating costs because resources are acquired only when needed and paid for use.
- Optimal use of personnel. The use of cloud computing frees up valuable employees, allowing them to focus on increasing profits rather than maintaining hardware and software.
- Reliable scalability. Cloud computing provides instant upscaling or downscaling at any time with no long-term commitment.
Cloud computing in the legal industry
Most modern law firms transfer their operations into clouds to increase business agility and improve the reliability of storing critical customer data. Cloud technologies provide legal companies with digital solutions that help develop team collaboration (collaboration spaces and mobile workspaces), serve customers better (improved customer relationship management and business innovation), and support their projects (improved communications, agile IT solutions) and cybersecurity. The integrated cloud technologies cover a range of solutions – from software-defined networking, Big Data, and IoT to cloud computing, unified communications, collaboration tools, and cyber defense.
Digital data room – a win-win cloud-based solution for law firms
When using cloud systems, there is always the problem of data security, availability, and malicious actions that impede computing processes. However, with careful planning, service provider selection methodology, and a sound approach to overall risk management, most companies can safely leverage the benefits of this technology. Therefore, modern law firms use virtual data room solutions to conduct secure legal transactions. It is a cloud-based full-packed platform that ensures a secure data repository and well-organized collaborative workspace for file-sharing important law documents. Furthermore, the storage of electronic law documents in the database is carried out in an encrypted form. So, the data room ensures other valuable benefits for the secure exchange of law data:
- The ability to differentiate user access rights – assigning access rights to each side of the software by the typical role of individual access rights to data room resources.
- Two-way online authentication and authorization of each side of the system that accessed the resource based on the signature key certificate are carried out.
- The data room supports electronic signature and traffic encryption and integrates with cryptographic data protection provided by an external crypto provider.