Every business now operates online to some extent and some businesses are entirely online with no physical presence. With the highly competitive nature of market, this virtual global presence is now essential. There are now a number of online legal firms that are providing legal services to their clients through virtual means and most of these firms are small, possibly home-based firms.

The reason why a lot of firms are now opting to operate virtually is the ease and low cost of such operations. This ease is a result of several different cloud computing services that are now available to help you manage almost all business operations. Out of these cloud computing services, there are now a number of them being specifically customised for use of law firms only.

Cloud Software for Law Firms

For those law firms planning to start online operations or an online legal consultation service, here are some simple types of cloud computing software that you can use for an online legal business:

1.     Time Tracking, Billing and Invoicing

The software is designed to track billing hours, expenses and time spent on each client so that the lawyers can charge their client accurately. You can set both hourly and flat fee rate for billing. Most software also allows you to create web-based invoices. They are available for quite low prices and also offer option for collection of payments.

2.     Electronic Signatures

Electronic signature providers save time and money for both lawyers and their clients. These services provide data encryption features to ensure complete privacy of your signature and data. It also store signed documents online for sharing among attorneys and clients. This software also provides photo authentication and data archiving facilities.

3.     Client Management

Client management software can help you in managing group calendaring, activity management, client management and marketing, time and billing, project and matter management, account management, document management and other business management functions. The software also provides several customisation and integration features according to business size and functions.

Such software can be accessed from anywhere, making it highly convenient for law firms to organise their client information at a single source without the hassle of paperwork and filing systems.

4.     Online Law Office Services

They provide a virtual platform that helps legal firms in providing online services to their clients using secure portals and a self-service interface. They provide encrypted communication facilities and archiving facilities. They can integrate all other types of web-based software, like the management and billing software, to create an ideal workplace setting in a virtual space.

5.     Remote Access Tools

This software allows you to access your work computers from any other location. These applications provide instant access to virtual hosted desktops that contain software applications that are not installed on home computer or laptop and important work and client files.

Summary

For attorneys looking to start online services, there is a number of cloud computing software that can help you operate at very low costs, while having all the advantages of a properly managed workplace. But for legal firms security is always a crucial issue, so looking for services designed specifically for legal firms is a preferable option.

“If it is not in writing, it did not happen”. This phrase accurately coins the importance of documentation where legal matters are concerned, highlighting the fact that oral conversations can be easily challenged. Documents provide you with a proof about any claims that you make.

Although document management is significant for each and every business and individual, it is highly critical for law firms because of the sensitive nature of the documents they hold. These firms can end up causing a financial or legal fiasco for themselves or their clients by misplacing any single document.

Paperwork has always been an essential aspect of business operations and there are usually people assigned just for managing paperwork in large organisations. Paper filing is not an easy task; it requires a lot of planning and organising techniques and a lot of hard work goes into it. Even harder is to create a backup system for all these documents and keep it so that your records are safe from all possible threats and easily retainable.

Online documentation management system is the easiest solution for firms that want to keep their data secure in all possible ways. Many hosted service providers make it convenient for you to store your crucial data guaranteeing absolute confidentiality. These services create an automatic backup for your documents at a remote, secure location saving you the threat of losing your data.

Although you can easily rely on almost all cloud data storage companies to keep your data secure, there are now some very specific systems made for law firms with additional security measures. Law firms store very critical information and with very high competition in the business arena, these documents are often under the threat of going in the wrong hands.

Consider this example; what would happen if just a day before a major court ruling, your office suddenly catches fire and all your paperwork is reduced to ashes, along with the proof you were to present tomorrow? You will definitely lose the case for your clients, who will end up facing severe consequences, both legally and financially.

Now imagine the same scenario with a single change; you have a secure online backup service for your data and just before the court proceedings starts, you access the data through your Smartphone or tablet. You can very well imagine how different the result of this scenario would be from the first one.

By making just one single change in the way you manage your data, you can save a lot of people from too many unwanted consequences. Online data management systems are safe, convenient and very economical. And now, with more software being designed specifically for law firms, it is much easier to pick the best system for you.

The new big thing in the virtualised business arena is the introduction of hosted desktops. However, as with certain other technological advancements, people are not too keen on using it or not even aware of it. The problem lies is the lack of education regarding what hosted desktops are and how their use can be helpful for their business.

For those who are avoiding to use this revolutionary technology just because they don’t understand it, here is a brief and simple explanation of what hosted desktops are and how their use can be beneficial for your business:

Hosted Desktops

A hosted desktop is a setup consisting of a variety of files and software that is hosted on another centralised server system. Various users simultaneously using different interface can access this system.

With this technology, a firm can save its file on a secure location outside their office and share it with all of their employees at the same time. A file or software on your hosted desktop can be shared among any number of selected employees, allowing them to use it without any need to install software or download files.

This system helps the firm manage accessibility of their employees to different files, control the usage of software and delegate tasks among employees on a shared platform. It also enables people to communicate any changes made in files immediately to others.

Advantages

The two major advantages of hosted desktops for a company are:

·        Management and Control

The biggest advantage of these desktops is the control they allow the company to have over their software and hardware assets. They can easily control their employees’ activities; the files they open and the software they download on their office computers.

Since employees are connected to a centralised system, they cannot make unauthorised changes to any documents or install pirated or inappropriate programs on your system. Any software needed by them to carry out their work is present on the desktop already.

·        IT Support

Another advantage of using hosted desktops is the additional IT support you can get for your business. The centralised nature of the system allows you to isolate system issues immediately. Unlike the in-house server system, a virus on a single computer does not affect the central server.

You can easily diagnose the host server to check the entire network for any possible error or diagnose if it exists in one of the employee’s terminals.

Understanding what hosted desktops are and learning about their potential advantages for your business can make you much more receptive to the use of this technology.

According to World Internet usage statistics, internet usage is growing approximately 400 – 1000% annually and it is estimated that by 2020 this high rate of energy consumption with web hosting will be a much larger source of pollution than the airline industry. With such threats to natural resources, many web hosting companies are now moving towards more eco-friendly practices.

What is Green Hosting

Green hosting is still your standard hosting services with just a small difference; the way hosting companies are sourcing energy. These companies employ different green technologies to fulfil their energy demands. They use solar energy, wind or other types of renewable energy to power their operations and avoid using fuel obtained from fossils.

They also adopt several energy conservation practices like using energy saving appliance in their data centres and try to keep their office paper-less.  They often plant trees, plants and grass around and over their data centres and use other carbon offsets to save the world from the greenhouse emissions. ( Read This Article )

Advantages of Green Hosting

Using these green hosting companies for your all your hosting functions can eventually be much more beneficial for you, both in monetary and non-monetary sense.

The operating costs of green companies are lower compared to the other companies. After an initial investment required setting up the energy source for renewable energy, their use is free. For example, if a company is using solar energy, they will be required to install solar panels and other equipment initially.

Their prices may be slightly higher at the beginning in order to recover their setup costs, but once it is done, their costs are bound to go down, eventually being lower than their non-green counterparts. The rising demand and growing competition for green hosting companies will also make it impossible for companies to charge high prices for a long time.

While price is an advantage, it is not the main concern for people who demand the use of green resources. The highly adverse effect of energy consumption at such rapidly growing rate is quite alarming. Weather conditions are getting more and more predictable all over the world, bringing severe consequences with them. The increased emphasis on the usage of green energy by companies is a way to contribute toward saving the planet from these calamities.

In comparison to other businesses, using green energy sources are much more important for web hosting companies due to the vastly growing scope of these services. More and more websites are being hosted every day, using more energy to operate hardware and servers. If everyone starts incorporating green techniques in their business practices to even some extent, it can make a huge difference in saving the planet.

Go Green because that is the path leading to a safe and secure future by Sagari.co.uk !

Having your in-house web hosting server is a thing of past with so many economical alternatives available now. For small businesses that cannot afford to have their own in-house servers, hosted email services is a perfect solution. These cloud email hosting services are not only convenient for small businesses; they also offer added benefits which are hard-to-find with in-house servers.

Hosted Emails for Law Firms

Here are seven reasons why having hosted email server is the perfect option for your small law firm:

·        Security

These hosted email services provide you with much more security than you can afford on your own. They have the ability to keep your mailbox safe from virus, spam and phishing that can lead to financial issues for your business or your clients.

These hosted services have a number of different anti-virus and firewalls for maintaining data security. A number of spam filters are available to make it easy for you to reach relevant mail easily.

·        Storage Limit

A large storage space for each mailbox is another advantage. These email hosting companies charge you more for increasing space, so you can select space that you think is suitable for your firm depending on the amount and type of mails you receive.

·        Accessibility and Mobility

Another key advantage these hosted email systems provide your business is the mobility of information. As opposed to your in-house service, these hosted services can be accessed from anywhere using internet, be it your home PC, office desktop, laptop or your mobile phone.

·        Reasonable Costs

The costs for these hosting services are much lower than having in-house systems high cost of ownership. Since these companies are providing services to a lot of clients, they can do so at substantially low prices by dividing costs among their clients.

·        Maintenance

These services also save you the hassle of handling maintenance of your server from time to time. They also keep track of the most updated software and security upgrades, which may not be possible for small firms themselves or take a lot of their time.

·        Address Book

Keeping track of your email contacts is often necessary to prioritise your emails according to their importance and retrieve them accordingly. Email hosting services provide you with the added advantage of an address book to keep track of your contacts.

·        Management Applications

Many email hosting services provide a number of other tools that can prove to be helpful for your business management such as calendars to schedule your appointments etc. These applications can also be shared with other people easily, making it easy for you to manage your time.

Summary

Cloud email hosting services can be extremely beneficial for your small law firm since it offers added security to the information which can be very crucial for you and your clients. These services offer a number of advantages over having an in-house email server for your firm. And the best advantage is the economical cost, which can reduce your own operating costs, ultimately benefiting your clients.

Having a flawless communication system is essential for law firms in order to stay connected to their clients and staff all around the day. The ability to share information promptly and track even the smallest of changes in anything at the right time can be very important.

Therefore, it is necessary for law firms to select their hosted email service provider after a lot of consideration. Here are a few essential things you should consider when selecting cloud email hosting services for your firm:

1.     Security

You should always ask about an email provider’s policies regarding security, spam and virus protection. The provider should ensure the privacy and confidentiality of your data and should provide authenticated systems to control accessibility.

The email provider should also ensure the protection of your data against any possible threats through automatic standard-based encryptions. You should also make sure that the provider does not have a blacklisted IP for bulk emails, causing your mails to end up in recipients’ spam folders.

2.     Price

Another important and usually tricky feature is to evaluate the prices offered by different providers. Many providers often conceal different hidden fees or high penalty contracts behind attractive packages. Selecting a service just on the basis of low price can lead to a number of possible threats to your data.

You should be very precise in asking your provider about any contract or cancellation penalties you may have to pay. Be sure to select a service that allows month-to-month billing and easy cancellation of services. Knowing that you can cancel anytime will likely enhance the service delivery of the email provider.

3.     Support Structure

Make sure that in case of any service disruption or email issues, the provider offers prompt and effective customer support structure and 24/7 availability. You should be able to access a relevant representative directly to solve your problem. It is essential that you are able to communicate effectively with your service provider.

4.     Feature Set

Don’t select a low-cost service with no additional features or a high-priced service with too many features that none of your employees need. Select a feature set that is essential to enhance your employees’ productivity.  Select a provider that allows you a choice of email platforms and related services.

5.     Uptime

Make sure the service provider guarantees uptime and covers any downtime consequences with financial penalties. Downtime with your email server can cause your firm’s communication to be on a standstill. Make sure to understand the uptime conditions of your provider very carefully and review their Service Level Agreement before making a decision.

Bad communication can create a very negative impact of your business on your clients. Be sure to select a hosted email service that is secure, prompt and updated.

A cluttered desktop is a common occurrence for people who are using their PC for a long time without having the time to sort out their files. These unnecessary files can slow down your computer, often causing a delay in your work. You can overcome this problem now by using hosted desktops for your computer.

These virtually hosted desktops don’t have any physical space rather they are stored on a remote server. The files saved on these desktops can be accessed from any computer or Smartphone using an internet connection and the desktop can run on through that device.

Benefits of Virtual Desktops

Using these virtual machines for managing your small law firm can be helpful for attorneys due to the following 5 benefits:

1.     Security

Since all your office files are saved in a virtual environment, you don’t have any risk of losing crucial data in case you lose your office PC or notebook. Also, it saves you from the threat of having a virus spread through your office system since the desktops are not connected to your hardware. Working through a virtual system, you have less chances of getting a malware or virus.

2.     Sharing

Another advantage of these hosted desktops is the ease of sharing information. These desktops can be shared among your different employees and clients and they can save their files or make changes to their information without using mails or telephones. Any changes made can be communicated immediately without any trouble.

You can also use this sharing feature to track the activities of your employees by checking the files they download. It also makes it easier for you to manage the appointments and workloads among your employees even when you are working from different locations.

1.     Cost

Like all other virtual services, hosted desktop are much more cost effective than having an IT expert to manage your PC and handle troubleshooting. It also saves you the cost of getting a number of different PCs connected to a single server for all your office employees.

2.     Scalability

These virtual desktops offer easy scalability to small firms, allowing them to expand the use of software according to the growth of their business. Imagine hiring a new employee and going through the trouble of setting up a whole new desktop and connecting it to the server. This can be avoided using virtually hosted desktops.

3.     Convenience

These online desktops save you a lot of time by providing you access to information anytime you want. If you are out of the office and find yourself with a bit of free time, you can manage your work using your laptop or your phone easily. These hosted desktops also save you the cost of upgrading antivirus and maintenance cost of your systems every now and then.

Summary

Using virtual desktops for your law firm can be very helpful for attorneys who find it hard to manage their busy work life. It can substantially bring down your operating costs while enhancing productivity and providing convenience and protection. Hosted desktops can be a perfect way of securing and sharing crucial legal information at all times.

For law firms, data is a very critical part of their services. Their clients rely on them to provide top-notch security and confidentiality to the information they are provided with. Sometimes a loss of one single legal document can end up in a financial or legal disaster. Making use of secure online backup services can be very beneficial for these firms.

Most of the law firms find it intimidating to manage all their paperwork efficiently, keep a backup system and stay productive all at one time. With all the paperwork and its backup stored at your own office, there are a number of possible threats to your data. Natural disasters, power outages and lost data can leave you with a hitch for a long time.

Why Have an Online Backup for Documents

An easy, convenient and a much more secure solution for these firms is to have a cloud data storage system for their firm. It can save law firms a lot of precious time and money. A paper-less office is not only secure, but much more efficient also especially for small law firms having limited work space. Here are 5 basic advantages of having online backup of your documentation:

1.     Security and Protection

Usually the secure online backup services store data at remote locations as backup. Saving your data in two different geographical regions is a perfect safeguard against any natural disasters.

These services also guarantee complete confidentiality of your clients’ data. Moreover, these companies have the expertise and finances to keep your data much more secured using high digital and manual security levels.

2.     Automated Updates and Upgrades

Online backup services have more automatic features available now. Your data is not only stored automatically but it can also be restored to your computer whenever needed. Any software changes required for your backup are handled by these cloud data storage providers.

These services also maintain continuous updating and upgrading of their infrastructure and software, increasing the efficiency and effectiveness for you and your clients.

3.     Round-the-Globe Accessibility

Another great advantage of having your data on the cloud is the easy accessibility to these sources. Cloud data storage files can be reached from anywhere, anytime using a web browser. Most of these services also offer Smartphone apps, making your documents available to you on your phone.

If you are on the go and find time to review your documents for a case, you can do so easily without carrying a stash of printed papers with you or returning back to your office.

4.     Reduced Costs

Having in-house backups can be expensive; a lot of software and hardware requirements need to be fulfilled, which can cost you highly. And even if you get the software, you may still need help of an IT expert to operate it successfully.

By using cloud software services, you don’t need to purchase any software. You can use hosted software and pay the cloud service providers charges per-user. Since these services offer the use of this software to different firms, they can aggregate the costs and make the service available for you at much lower cost than any in-house storage system.

5.     Employee Productivity and Corporate Image

The lack of managing paperwork can substantially increase your employee productivity by allowing them to focus their energies on their competencies. The employee can make changes to their documents using online backup system anytime they want. This also saves them the trouble of recreating heaps of paperwork in case of any data loss.

This also boosts your company image, giving your law firm a more professional image. A single lost paperwork required by client or regulatory authorities can create a perception of mismanagement or lack of perseverance. For law firm, this can be a crucial factor for losing business. The ability to save and retrieve your documents is essential for attorneys nowadays.

Conclusion

Using secure online backup services can save law firms a lot of time, money and effort and build up their image as a competent firm. These cloud data storage services offer a number of different advantages over having an in-house backup system, protecting your legal paperwork in a better way.

Cloud data storage services provide companies with a lot more benefits compared to on-premises server systems. They are less expensive, more secure and convenient to use. Another major benefit of using these services is that your chances of data loss are very minimal since these service providers undertake a number of data recovery methods to ensure that your data is safe.
In case of having an on-premises system, you need to create backup files on a number of different hardware devices to ensure maximum security. Even then the data can be lost in case of an accident at the office premises as all the devices are kept there. With cloud data storage services, companies are not required to maintain backup systems themselves.
Cloud computing offers secure online backup services to companies by storing data at several locations that are geographically dispersed. In some cases, these service providers have data centres in different states or countries. So, even if the company faces data loss due to a natural calamity in one geographical region, their sensitive data is still stored at another remote location. Companies cannot afford multiple data-centres without facing a significant increase in their cost, but these service providers can provide the service at a much lower cost.
Another advantage of using secure online backup services is that they rely on fail-over servers in order to guarantee continuous availability. In today’s world, when companies rely heavily on server systems for all their operations, a network or system failure can bring a company to a stand-still, which it may not be able to afford. The security of having fail-over servers present to ensure immediate alternative in case of a failure is a major reason why companies can find these services quite beneficial.
The use of load balanced firewalls by these companies is also another advantage. They not only distribute your workload effectively, but also help in connecting to the fail-over servers without any delay. In case of a network failure with a single server, your work is delegated to other fail-over network servers waiting on stand-by without causing you any delay.
With these features, secure online backup services are a much better alternative for companies to consider when it comes to smooth disaster recovery systems. In most cases, you can automatically restore data after a crisis without any complicated procedures. Cloud data storage companies provide maximum protection of your data by delegating it at different geographical locations and providing continuous service availability.

For a lot of people, cloud computing means services provided over the Internet. However, these services are broadly categorised into four basic types according to their availability and usage. Irrelevant of the type of data you want to store with these cloud data storage services, you can use any of these types for your use.

Private Cloud

Private cloud computing services are designed for and provided to a sole company and can be managed either internally or externally. This type of cloud data storage services offer more security and are quite expensive. They are also the most criticised type of cloud services and are often not considered as an authentic example of cloud services. As they are made available for the benefit of a single company, they do not offer most of the benefits, particularly the economic ones, that are associated with the concept of cloud computing. The companies are required to build, buy and manage them separately.

Community Cloud

Community cloud is a type of cloud computing service that allows sharing of infrastructure among a few selected organisations that contribute to a common concern such as a jurisdiction or security community. They are also designed for specific industries and can be managed on-premises or by a third-party. Since the cost is divided among the few selected users, the economical benefits are still lower than a public cloud computing system. It also allows companies belonging to the same community to share information conveniently.

Public Cloud

This is the most common type of cloud computing services where all the resources are made available for public use. These services are always hosted on the premises of the vendor. They can be accessed by the public through the internet either for free or a pay-per-use fee. These services can also be used by any number of organisations. When using public cloud data storage services, users have no level of control or direct access to the infrastructure. The cost of this type of cloud service is divided among a large client-base and they are the least expensive of all types of cloud services.

Hybrid Cloud

Hybrid cloud is a combination of two or more types of cloud services employed by a single user. Companies can use a private cloud for their more sensitive information while the remaining, less crucial information can be delegated to public cloud providers. This provides companies with the few cost advantages associated with cloud services while offering security as well as a little control. They require both on-premises and off-site resources.

Out of all these service types, public cloud services are considered to be the most beneficial one since they offer all the basic advantages of using cloud services.

Many Thanks

Steven John
Sagari Ltd