LTO Interviews Jeff Brandt about the Mysterious Cloud Computing Craze

29
Jun
2012

Taylor Gould

Lately it seems as though everyone has gone cloud crazy.  For today’s Legal Technology Observer post, I had the opportunity to speak with Jeff Brandt, editor of the PinHawk Law Technology Daily Digest and renowned IT consultant and asked him why everyone’s head is suddenly in the cloud. According to Jeff, the cloud is not really anything new, but the craze is.  For years companies have been using cloud systems for many peripheral services like spam filtering and individuals have been using Gmail and Hotmail, which are cloud-based services.

A few adventurous firms have even taken document management to the cloud.  However, some firms and legal departments are migrating the entirety of their core services to the cloud in addition to the more peripheral services.

There are a number of reasons why firms choose to switch to the cloud, and some of them are cost related as firms are seeking to reduce their costs or are too small to handle many of the core systems internally.  Larger firms are also making the transition, often for its benefits of web-access from anywhere, and a fair number are building their own “private clouds” in house rather than using third party services.  Besides the financial and efficiency reasons for cloud adoption, there has been a remarkable consumerization push that has accelerated it as regular users are seeking lighter laptops and more mobility.

With a management’s eye seeking to reduce that bottom line, firms have to do more with less.  But it is not as simple as reciting the mantra, “to the cloud!”  For law firms, questions are raised about whether it is procedurally ethical to make this shift, as well as if this move is compliant with their codes of conduct.  Migrating to cloud can be technically complex as well.

Brandt has some recommendations for firms looking to make the move to cloud.  He says do your research and consult with your local Bar association.  He also says it’s important to know what to expect, think about your backup solution, as well as asking “What does your cloud vendor’s operation look like?”  While it may seem like the farthest things from your mind when you are contemplating a migration to the cloud, it’s important to think about what is going to happen if that vendor closes or is sold.  What type of exit strategy do you have, or what kind of exit strategy does the vendor have for you?  When your vendor leaves, where is your data, is it accessible for you to get it, and what are you going to do afterward?  Yes, these are all worst-case scenarios, but Jeff advises legal buyers to keep these questions in the back of their proverbial heads. Jeff’s solution to this scare: backup your system on two clouds—the likelihood of both of them going out of business is very remote.

We asked Jeff what the some of the potential pitfalls were in the cloud vs. traditional computing setup.  Brandt is largely concerned with the user experience.  He cited examples of Facebook and Gmail suddenly changing the user interface on their users without giving the users the opportunity to choose which set up they prefer.  The same situation could happen with your cloud system.  The vendor could change their setup and you would not be able to dictate the layout as you would with your own in-house system.  With a traditional system, you maintain total control over everything—with the cloud you have to adjust to the system changes.  On the plus side, your firm is not responsible for any of the maintenance or costly onsite storage. For law practices, there is always the fear that changes to policies at the Bar might question the ethics of cloud based solutions. As seasoned legal professionals know, it’s important for you to have done your due diligence.

With any craze, people tend to lose their heads and jump on the bandwagon to buy the hot new item, but Jeff encourages legal professionals, both lawyers and IT, to ask probing questions to determine whether the cloud is as great as everyone says and if it is right for their firm.