Journey to the cloud
As appeared on Briefing Magazine on September 26, 2023
Written by Raphael (Rafi) Shure
Aderant’s chief operating officer Raphael (Rafi) Shure discusses how moving from an on-premise practice management system to the cloud can enable firms to redirect their internal IT resources to more strategic advantage.
While law firms’ appetite and need for a cloud-forward strategy have been a core consideration within IT planning for years, the pandemic has accelerated conversations around the many benefits of cloud technology, ranging from enhanced security to greater convenience and efficiency. However, some firms remain tethered to their critical on-premise applications, including financial and practice management systems (PMS) central to firm operations, and have not yet made their lift-and-shift transition to cloud-based versions.
This year, at Aderant’s Global Momentum user conference, a panel of clients and subject matter experts discussed the considerations in embarking on the journey to the cloud and the experience of migrating from an on-premise PMS to the cloud. Moderated by Aderant’s Chief operating officer Rafi Shure, panelists included Lightfoot, Franklin & White’s chief technology officer Corey Thomas, and Aderant’s vice president of global support Samantha Rouse and vice president of global professional services Matt Graywood.
Getting started
Thomas shared his firm’s journey to the cloud as a technology innovator, which began several years ago when Lightfoot, Franklin & White first put their email in the cloud with Microsoft Exchange Online. Next, the firm switched to a cloud-based version of its document management system so its attorneys could access documents remotely. After two successful transitions, the firm decided to make the move to Expert Sierra, Aderant’s cloud-based SaaS version of Expert. Thomas noted that though it’s human nature for people to resist change, everyone in the firm was relieved to find no security issues, uptime inconveniences or other concerns with Sierra. Simply put, Sierra worked well, and the transition was smooth.
Thomas recommended that firms embarking on their journey to the cloud evaluate shifting their IT resources accordingly. Migrating to the cloud does not mean eliminating or consolidating a firm’s IT department. Instead, it enables IT professionals to undertake broader, organisation-wide technology initiatives and strategise for the future — exploring how firms can leverage advanced technologies, artificial intelligences and other innovative solutions.
Expect a partnership approach
Aderant’s Rouse and Graywood discussed what firms should expect from their solution provider when embarking on the journey to the cloud. Ultimately, the process should be a partnership between the firm and its PMS vendor. On average, firms should plan for a 12-week migration process for a basic lift and shift from an on-premise PMS to the cloud. The PMS vendor should drive the documentation of all business processes, integrations and management tasks to ensure they are all converted before the project is complete. The firm should establish a primary point of contact to drive the project forward internally and participate in integration and testing activities.
Establishing roles and responsibilities
In many cases, a cloud-based solution removes the administrative tasks that law firm IT teams have been forced to troubleshoot and manage in-house. After moving to the cloud, the vendor is responsible for the system’s general maintenance but establishing clear communication channels is critical to long-term success. After migration, firms may think they no longer need an IT department to manage the technology — but, as Thomas highlighted, this is not the case. Your PMS vendor will maintain the infrastructure and manage the system in the cloud, including hardware and security. However, firms will continue relying on internal IT resources to support their networks and workstations, manage single sign-on and internal firewalls, and ensure end-user application access. The benefits of moving to the cloud on internal IT resources are reducing administrative tasks allowing them to focus on more strategic initiatives — like AI and technology innovation — to help drive the business forward.
Benefits of moving to the cloud
Fully managed infrastructure: Reduce the cost of on-premise infrastructure expenses and relieve the admin burden on internal IT teams. Reallocate cost savings and resources to more strategic initiatives to meet evolving business needs. Predictable cost structures ensure firms pay a fixed fee, preventing surprise expenses and allowing for better financial planning and control.
Performance: Cloud-based solutions provide a flexible, scalable infrastructure to meet performance needs and ensure prompt completion of technical upgrades to maintain optimal performance, significantly reducing the number of support cases.
Latest and greatest solutions: Get the latest features and enhancements without the delays that often come with upgrading on-premise solutions. Users can immediately access new features and functionality once updates are complete, giving them the tools to do their job as efficiently as possible.
All law firms are unique in their business practices, extending to their technology requirements, challenges and opportunities in moving to the cloud. These considerations will define each firm’s unique journey to the cloud.
