Hosted vs. installed lawyer software: the match!

The computerization of lawyers began in the 80s. The digitalization of the world has since gone through 4 successive phases that lawyers have followed valiantly. The choice of a lawyer software was carried out by approximately one in two firms. Lawyers began to equip themselves with software (office software in particular) from the 80s. Then the 2000s saw the arrival of a new generation of software, more complete but also more complex: law firm management software. Since 2010, it has been the turn of hosted software (or cloud) dedicated to lawyers to develop strongly. A short historical and comparative review of these different trends.

Lawyer software from the 2000s: specialization

Lawyer management software from the 2000s brought significant added value to lawyers. Finally, a tool allowing them to manage their practice completely, without adding disparate tools! Allowing you to manage your time, invoice and share your files internally, lawyer software has enabled a jump in productivity. However, the trade-off was to make a very significant investment. First, in equipment (servers, workstations), software licenses, training, system administrators and annual maintenance. This was the price to pay for having an effective ERP. Only 50% of lawyers took the plunge, put off by the complexity of learning and the cost of setting up and monitoring.

Current lawyer software: the interface

The development of computing in the clouds, or cloud, from the years 2005-2010 changed the situation. Thanks to the fast speeds of ADSL then SDSL and 3G/4G/5G connections, it became possible to dispense with internal infrastructure. So, no more need to invest in equipment, licenses and maintenance, make way for lawyer software on demand! It is this high availability, security and accessibility of the IT infrastructure that today makes it possible to bring together different departments of the firm. Management software is at the heart of this digital transformation taking place in law firms.  Concretely, the hosted practice management software (or cloud) exceeds its installed ancestors thanks to its operation by interface: 
  • graphic : the use of the Internet browser allows an unrivaled user experience
  • technology : it automatically communicates with the other key functions of the firm (accounting, marketing, IT).
  • collaborative : you easily share your information with colleagues and customers 

Focus on security

The massive attack of ransomwares (which were the subject of an article in Village de la Justice here) has cast a dark light on the security of installed software. Indeed, how can you protect your data yourself, against hackers operating in an organized gang? On the one hand, only professional and extremely expensive infrastructures can resist. On the other hand, cloud technology by definition frees itself from the flaws and fragilities of operating systems.  From a functional, technical, security and financial point of view, hosted practice management software (or cloud) therefore offer today the best added value available.  Find us on www.jarvis-legal.fr / by telephone: 0805 690 595 / by email: contactfr@jarvis-legal.com.