The Big Law Business section of Bloomberg reported on a survey that asked directors of law firms of all sizes how they are currently spending on tech solutions and how they plan to in the future. The survey results were pretty standard, showcasing the growth in more law firms transitioning to technology as a workflow and security solution, except for one topic area. Law firms were split on their views about cloud computing.
According to the survey, sixty-three percent of law firms who responded said they wanted to avoid cloud-based technologies due to security concerns. However, twenty-nine percent said that security was the reason they wanted to use the cloud for their processes.
Cloud technology has rapidly evolved and many people have misunderstanding about the technology and the safety. A few years ago, cloud technology definitely had some security flaws, as mentioned in this Forbes article. Cloud computing used to have limited user control and accessibility. These worries, however, have completely changed.
Cloud computing is now on par with other data security measures that we have seen in software, applications and other computer processes for years. Cloud technology has some of the most advanced firewalls to protect against hacking and viruses along with encryption of data and access levels for different users.
These options are available with custom cloud computing options that are tailored for your business and security needs. At the beginning of cloud technology offerings, businesses were worried about cloud providers ignoring or placing little importance on data security. However, cloud providers now monitor cloud security and provide compliance reports for security as well as data access controls.
Law firms, along with other industries, want to stick with their old fashioned data center. Since they can see it and it is physical, they believe it is more secure. But data centers are incredibly vulnerable to hacking, physical attack or natural disasters where all data can be insecure or lost. InformationWeek has an article outlining the benefits of cloud computing when it comes to security over data centers. In the end, it is important for law firms and other industries to understand the growth and development of cloud security and how it is only getting better.
