Why law firms are adopting cloud-based document management solutions

As an experienced account manager for our clients, I have dealt with numerous law firms that are looking for ways to improve operational efficiency by adopting new technology to facilitate new ways of working. Ultimately, every law firm’s goal is to deliver the best legal services to their clients. In this blog, I will explain why we see a major shift in the adoption of cloud-based document management systems – and how we help law firms transition from legacy document management systems towards modern, cloud-based solutions for document management.

Before cloud-based document management systems became widely available, a law firm’s traditional on-premise IT infrastructure presented challenges. As a firm grew in terms of employees, clients, and amounts of data, often the IT infrastructure struggled to keep up, resulting in frequent downtimes and causing frustration among legal teams. Additionally, the IT team of the law firm was pressured with managing hardware and software upgrades needed to maintain the infrastructure. As a result, the firm was getting bogged down and was not able to provide efficient services to clients.

One day, the firm learned about cloud-based solutions like the iManage platform and the benefits they offer, such as scalability, security, accessibility, collaboration, cost reductions, compliance, and business continuity. After switching to the cloud, the firm hasn’t looked back.

With iManage, the firm is now able to scale its IT infrastructure up or down according to its needs without investing in expensive hardware or infrastructure. As a result of iManage’s robust security features and compliance standards, the firm can safeguard all sensitive and confidential information with peace of mind.

The firm’s legal teams are now able to access their documents and files from anywhere, at any time, using any device with an internet connection, resulting in increased productivity and flexibility. The real-time collaboration enabled by iManage has improved the efficiency of the legal teams, allowing multiple users to work on a document or file simultaneously, regardless of their location.

The firm has also experienced significant cost reductions as a result of the transition to the cloud. The cloud-based solution eliminates the need for costly upgrades and maintenance, and it no longer needs to invest in expensive hardware and infrastructure. Thanks to iManage’s compliance-level security, the company complies fully with all legal requirements and guidelines like GDPR, HIPAA, and others.

With iManage’s disaster recovery and business continuity capabilities, the company can be sure that its data is always secure and available in the case of any unforeseen circumstance that could affect the system’s availability.

In conclusion, moving to the cloud with iManage has been a game-changer for this law firm. It has improved efficiency, security, and compliance while also reducing costs. The firm is now able to focus on providing the best possible service to its clients – and transformed what previously were challenges into opportunities that fuel business growth.

Until here, I mainly discussed the organizational benefits. However, the cloud-based document management system iManage greatly improves end-user productivity by providing the following features and benefits to all employees of a law firm:

• Intuitive User Interface: iManage platform has a modern, intuitive user interface that is easy to navigate and use, helping users find and access the information they need more quickly and efficiently.
• Streamlined Workflows: iManage provides streamlined workflows and processes, reducing the amount of time spent on manual, repetitive tasks and freeing up time for more valuable work.
• Document and Email Management: iManage provides a centralized repository for managing all of a law firm’s data, including documents, emails, and matter-related information, making it easier to search, find, and access the information needed to serve clients.
• Mobile Access: iManage mobile app allows lawyers to access information from their mobile devices, making it easier to stay productive while on the go.
• Real-Time Collaboration: iManage enables real-time collaboration, allowing multiple users to work on a document or file simultaneously, regardless of their location, improving the efficiency of legal teams.
• Improved Search: iManage powerful search functionality makes it easier to find the information needed to serve clients, improving productivity and reducing the time spent searching for information.

It’s clear that the above mentioned features support the firm’s employees to do their work efficiently, but due to the underlying infrastructure the firm can be confident that everyone works with the most recent version of the software. Additionally, there is a peace of mind as for security due to that this responsibility lies with the cloud solution provider, iManage in this example.

Since iManage has been founded, we have been partnered with iManage as one of their preferred support and implementation partners. Because of our vast amount of experience with their technology and expertise within the legal industry, we can assist your law firm in moving to the iManage Cloud platform following a proven 7-step methodology:

1. Assessment: Our consultants will perform an extensive assessment of your current infrastructure, workflows, and processes to determine the best cloud-based solution for your law firm.
2. Planning: We will work closely with your team to develop a plan for the migration of your data and systems to the cloud.
3. Preparation: Once planning has been defined, we help you prepare all required data for the migration, including ensuring that your data is properly organized and structured.
4. Migration: Our technical team will execute the complete migration of your data and systems to the cloud, ensuring a smooth and seamless transition.
5. Configuration: Our functional team will configure the cloud-based solution to meet your specific requirements and workflows, so you and your teams can work you’re used to.
6. Training: We understand that adoption is key to maximizing the value of your IT investment. That’s why we will provide in-depth training to your teams, ensuring that they are fully proficient in using the cloud-based solution.
7. Ongoing Support: Once a solution is in place, our support team is there for you. We provide ongoing support and maintenance, ensuring business continuity and addressing any issues that may arise.

In summary, we are capable of helping any law firm that wants to grasp the benefits of cloud-based document management. Even though the benefits are pretty much self-explaining, we provide all our clients with extensive advice to make a profound choice about whether to go for a cloud-based document management solution – or not.

However, based on the major increase in the adoption of cloud-based solutions, it is safe to say that law firms that don’t will fall behind at some point, as they are far less agile and responsive than firms that do embrace cloud technology.

First of all, thank you for reading this blog. We are more than happy to share our thoughts on digital business transformation topics, feel free to subscribe to our newsletter if you haven’t already.

At IRIS, we understand like no other that information is the source of every organization and therefor requires intelligent, future-proof solutions which meet the needs of organizations and their users. That’s why we successfully deliver information management solutions to enterprises and professional services firms for over 25 years now. Our team of certified information professionals has the experience and expertise to support you with digital transformation projects from start to finish, and help you drive long-term business value.

Our information management solutions to help our clients establish new ways of working are based on main 3 components:

1. Content services: get a grip on all data to gain value from your business content – and the information it withholds.
2. Privacy & Data Protection: protect your business, reputation, and your clients with robust technology without impacting the workflow of your team.
3. Workflow Automation: replace manual processes with automated ones to improve efficiency, reduce errors and costs, and increase consistency.