Why ‘Going Cloud’ Is the Ultimate New Year’s Resolution

As appeared in LegalTech News on January 18, 2022

By David Carter, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Aderant

The new year is here, and it’s once again time to consider our New Year’s resolutions. While traditional resolutions like being more active or reading a new book each month are admirable goals, they often fall by the wayside in just a few short weeks. Resolving instead to shift your firm’s technology to the cloud is readily achievable, and its impact can extend well beyond the new year.

The pandemic pushed many law firms to invest more substantially in cloud-based solutions as employees rapidly transitioned to a fully remote work environment. While many firms have already switched over to an entirely cloud-based tech stack, others have made a partial switch, often with only a vague goal to complete the transition and no execution strategy. It has often been said that a goal without a plan is just a dream. Now is the time to make plans to achieve your cloud goals.

IT leaders know that “going cloud” is not as straightforward as buying a subscription and handing out user logins. We asked several law firm CIOs to tell us exactly what it will take to stick to a cloud resolution and get it done in 2022, debunking common misconceptions and sharing their firsthand experiences along the way.

Reimagining Your Firm’s Tech Stack: The cloud is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Once your firm has decided to “go cloud,” you can’t just turn a key and transform into a cloud shop overnight. You must reimagine your tech stack and make changes to infrastructure, adding procedures and safeguards to ensure data security, availability, accessibility, and productivity.

Staffing for the Cloud: While cloud-based technologies often boast smaller IT staffing requirements than their on-premise counterparts, that’s not always the reality. Supporting cloud infrastructure and applications may require different or broader skills. Cloud skills may also be more challenging to hire and retain in today’s job market. CIOs need to perform their due diligence up-front when considering cloud solutions to determine what human and technology resources are required.

Cloud Solutions Should Solve Your Problems, Not Create New Ones: Cloud solutions need to work well within your firm’s existing tech ecosystem, and vendors should ensure seamless integration with other required applications. If cloud tools and their integrations are “buggy,” they will monopolize IT’s time with incessant troubleshooting, resulting in a net-negative impact on productivity and morale. Cloud vendors must ensure that their technologies perform well and integrate seamlessly.

The Money Question: The cloud presents many advantages but having a lower sticker price may not be one of them. A SaaS subscription may end up costing more than a one-time purchase for on-premise software plus maintenance fees. However, don’t forget the many hidden costs of on-premise solutions that are covered in the SaaS subscription price. These costs include hardware and hardware maintenance; system and database software licensing and maintenance; data center space, power, and cooling; security; tech support; and monitoring.

Additionally, the SaaS vendor will provide critical skills that you would need to hire and retain for an on-premise solution, such as database administration and application-specific maintenance. Solution upgrades are another significant consideration when comparing the two technologies. The long-term costs of upgrading on-premise solutions can be significant, whereas cloud solutions will regularly see new product features and technology stack updates as part of standard maintenance.

Prepare for a Tech Stack Shakeup: Like other resolutions that bring about change, moving to the cloud will shake up your firm’s usual routine for a while. Transforming your tech stack may not always be an entirely harmonious experience; just because two products are cloud-based doesn’t mean that they will operate in perfect concert.

With today’s cloud applications, law firms may occasionally need to prioritize security, availability, and accessibility over functionality and integrations. Few tech vendors currently have the “total package” of native cloud, excellent security, rich functionality, and versatile integrations. For the best chance of success, firms should keep a running dialogue going with their tech providers, which can allow them to influence the future development of their cloud solutions to include the features and functions their firm needs.

Greater Accessibility and More Functionality with the Cloud: Moving to the cloud can provide your firm with new features and functionality as vendors roll them out, enabling you to move forward and grow. Certain software vendors have full-featured cloud technology that rivals or even exceeds the capabilities of their on-premise counterparts. For example, Microsoft 365 now has features that outshine traditional Office.

New Year’s resolutions often have three things in common: 1) they’re aspirational, 2) they’re not always easy, and 3) they’re worth the effort if you can make them happen. “Going cloud” is not a simple undertaking, but it is essential for law firms seeking to remain competitive. Each firm will have a different set of challenges to contend with, and the aspirational vision for the cloud often must change when it meets reality. Law firm CIOs who do their due diligence, assess what changes must be made, and collaborate with tech vendors can overcome these obstacles and remain well-positioned to make their “going cloud” resolution happen—and stick—in 2022. David Carter is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Aderant, an ILTA Platinum sponsor and global industry-leading business management software provider for law firms. David has an in-depth background in on-premise and cloud-based/SaaS technology management and support, having worked at mainstream tech providers and consulting firms, including Unisys, S1 Corporation, and Accenture, before joining Aderant. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from The University of Alabama and an MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.