Private Cloud Solutions for Toronto Law Firms
Cloud computing has become an integral aspect for many law firms today. A 2019 survey reveals 78% of law firms currently store client data in the cloud, with another 8% planning to do so shortly. Cloud computing offers ease of access from any location, 24/7 availability, robust data backup and recovery, affordability, and low-cost entry, among many more benefits.
Notably, there is more to cloud computing designed for law firms than just web-based software and Web-based practice management applications like MyCase law practice management, DropBox and Google Drive, Clio, or LegalWorks. Today more and more firms of different sizes are switching to private cloud to eliminate the need for on-site premises and optimize operations. This blog focuses on the difference between private cloud and public cloud and why Toronto law firms need to move their software, apps, emails, and documents to the private cloud.
What Is Public Cloud?
Public cloud is what most people think when they envision cloud computing. It is a basic cloud model where infrastructure is shared by many users from various firms or companies. The public cloud offers resources like storage and applications via the internet, with each user typically accessing the service on a pay-as-you-go basis. Although public cloud offers scalability and economies of scale, its biggest drawback is a lack of advanced security and privacy. Additionally, public clouds cannot meet regulatory requirements because several users share a single infrastructure, meaning it is not ideal for organizations with compliance regulations, including law firms.
What Is Private Cloud?
Unlike public cloud, private cloud dedicates its infrastructure to one single law firm. Private cloud offers every law firm its own segregated and segmented working environment, including private virtual servers, a private virtual network, an active private directory, and a private SQL server/SQL database. It is a hosted server or set of hosted servers providing an essential IT platform to host and run your legal software. Opting for private cloud solutions allows you to leverage another company’s server instead of buying, managing, and maintaining your own IT infrastructure. This means when you choose a private cloud, you will enjoy all the benefits of the cloud without sacrificing your software.
Benefits of Private Cloud Computing for Toronto Law Firms
The following are some of the main advantages of cloud computing for a law firm.
Increased Flexibility
Having a private cloud solution for your law firm helps provide the flexibility of working from anywhere. Cloud allows you to safely access your data and applications from anywhere for enhanced productivity. With a private cloud, you won’t have to worry about finding physical servers to meet your needs. It allows you and your remote team to relocate resources, launch new side services and create new protocols with much ease.
Better Security and Privacy
Lawyers constantly handle massive amounts of sensitive data that attract hackers and malicious insiders. Any security breach ultimately leads to remediation costs, penalties, and reputational damages. Although public clouds have made impressive steps in terms of security, private clouds are the surest option for enhanced security and privacy due to virtualized private server environments. Private cloud comes with dedicated firewalls, physical security, and virus programs that ensure your data is invulnerable to external attacks. With a private cloud, you gain more control over who accesses your data and what they do with it. Besides, unlike public clouds, there is no third-party employee to access the data.
Reliability and Resilience
Private cloud offers more reliable and easier backups that guarantee a more resilient network. With a private cloud, you have an option to perform backups in real-time, so you recover any files you need quickly. Remote backup can also be automated and updated daily to get the peace of mind knowing your data is protected, backed up, and up-to-date. Should failures happen, your IT team can easily move resources from crashed servers to unaffected servers, thereby mitigating the effects of an event.
Enhanced Efficiency
Since your private cloud is only accessible to your firm, you have complete control over configuring and managing it to develop a custom network that increases efficiency and productivity. Private cloud allows you to adjust the availability of resources across various functions to respond to changing work demands on the go. Another plus point for adopting private cloud computing for your law firm is secure remote access that enables your employees to access any required data and carry on working remotely. Most private cloud providers today provide mobile apps that can securely access data from smartphones anywhere and anytime.
Reduced Costs
With a private cloud, you don’t need to purchase and maintain expensive IT infrastructure. Ideally, private cloud providers make use of virtualization technology. Instead of real resources, you will use virtual servers and securities. This helps reduce the overall cost of your IT spending, which you can redirect to other crucial areas of your business.
Better Compliance
The number of cybersecurity breaches in the legal industry has been growing in recent times. A 2019 survey by American Bar Association reveals 29% of law firms have suffered from a breach at some point in their history, up from 15% in 2013. Cybersecurity at law firms is regulated by strict IT laws and requirements to mitigate these threats. Private clouds offer the ability to fully control cloud storage and bandwidth, meaning you can also customize your environments and adjust security settings to build a platform that is compliant with industry laws and regulations. Law firms can utilize the advantages of cloud computing to comply with all necessary regulatory requirements and implement protection measures that fit their firm.
What Is Law Firm Software Used in a Private Cloud?
The specific software to be used with private cloud varies from one cloud service provider to another. Generally, a private cloud hosts most Windows-based software and applications, including Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat, and WordPerfect. It also supports several practice management, billing, accounting, case management, and document management applications.
Leverage Private Cloud Today to Optimize the Operations of Your Law Firm
With many clear advantages of using a private cloud for law firms, now is the best time to incorporate this technology into your practice. In the private cloud, you obtain your own proprietary cloud architecture tailor-made to offer custom services to fit the needs of your business. For you to maximize the benefits of private cloud, it is crucial that you partner with a Cloud Service Provider that has extensive experience hosting, maintaining, and managing this technology.
At Tektonic, we provide reliable managed IT solutions for Toronto law firms specifically optimized to run specific law firm applications and software in private cloud environments. We have been providing myriads of professional IT Support for businesses in and around Toronto since 1998. Our team of experts acts as your reliable outsourced IT department, responding to issues quickly, often before you even know about them. We cover everything from your servers and network infrastructure to mobile devices, workstations, and computers. Contact us today to learn more about our solutions.
