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Some legal firms are investing heavily in differentiating their businesses using IT, however, for the remainder, loyalty to legacy IT systems and fear of change is having a huge impact upon their ability to keep up with the pace of change, according to SQS, the world’s leading software quality firm.
SQS works with legal firms to ensure that software and applications run smoothly and that new services can be introduced efficiently.
In today’s fast-paced competitive environment, technology is now considered to be a real business enabler and the backbone for a successful business strategy, however, the IT department may in fact be the bottleneck for change when it comes to keeping up with customer and market demands.
All too often IT is seen as the poor relation and is constantly ordered around by the business, this is particularly prevalent in larger law firms, where projects tend to be prioritised based upon partner seniority and size of budget.
This statement from SQS comes ahead of this year’s VANTAGE 2014: EMEA Regional Conference by Thomson Reuters Elite, where some of the world’s leading software experts will gather to discuss innovation and capabilities specific to legal IT solutions.
According to a recent report[1], the need to leverage the most from IT is at the absolute core of most companies' ambitions to innovate and grow, with the IT department being at the forefront of technology change, and this should be no different within the legal sector. However, IT is often held back by legacy systems and a lack of urgency when it comes to how technology influences consumer behaviour, resulting in IT becoming a stumbling block in an organisation’s change management programme.
Despite the integral role that IT plays in every business function, it is still considered a separate part of the business. Relationships between the IT department and other business teams can be politically charged, with the IT department often being forced to evolve through a series of tactical decisions, as opposed to adopting a well-thought-through strategic transformation programme.
Dan Shooter-Smith, senior legal consultant at SQS, explains: “With the liberalisation of the legal sector, innovative IT driven legal firms are appearing. Competing against the middle market and high street businesses, these new entrants offer clients fixed fees and cloud-based services. Many of this new breed of legal firms are effectively IT companies that also sell legal services. We see others in the legal sector also taking this approach which is purely attributable to the growth, modernisation and advances in IT. Legal organisations cannot ignore the power of IT and the need for modernisation if they are to survive and prosper in the increasingly competitive market place.”
Shooter-Smith adds: “Because of this growth and modernisation new and updated systems need to be made available to the businesses in the legal sector as quickly as possible. The golden rule is that the system must be fit for purpose and work.”
Ignoring the need to modernise legacy systems can have a devastating impact, resulting in:
The SQS team will be sharing their views on challenges key to the success in the legal sector at this year’s VANTAGE Regional Conference between 22nd and 23rd September. With extensive expertise in leading software quality and innovation, the consultants will be drawing on real world examples to enlighten delegates on the pain points of the legal IT departments, as well as looking into 3e solutions, outsourcing, Agile development and how to manage transition in today’s ever-changing legal sector.
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