Originally published on January 25, 2011 in our free SmallLaw newsletter. Instead of reading SmallLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.
As more and more functionality moves to cloud-based (SaaS) products, the question of how to deal with your data becomes critical. It's one thing to have your calendar available online, but quite another to move many gigabytes of files. Typically, document storage is one of the weaker elements of SaaS programs such as Clio, Houdini, Rocket Matter, and even AdvologixPM.
So it is important to look more closely at exactly what functionality you want to accomplish. Four different kinds of Web-based storage exist — backups, synchronization, productivity applications (e.g., Google Docs), and document management. Let's explore each of these in the context of small law firms.
Backup Services
A central problem is the simple volume of documents. Even a small firm can have 30 GB of documents, especially if it does a lot of scanning into PDF format. To back this up to the Web or restore it in the event of a crash can easily take several days or even longer.
The best-known backup programs, such as Mozy, Carbonite, or SOS Backup are aimed at home users. If a Web site tells you that a given program lets you store photos and music, it is probably not industrial grade or robust enough for a law firm. In addition, these consumer programs backup data files, not programs. They generally will not backup your settings, programs, or server as such. So in the event of a catastrophic disk failure, you won't lose your files, but you'll have to rebuild the server and install your programs from scratch.
A small law firm should look for the "Pro" version of these programs. Better yet, look at JungleDisk (a front end to Amazon Simple Storage "S3" and Rackspace), Barracuda Backup, or Iron Mountain.
Here are some of the questions that you should ask when evaluating a backup service:
• Will it back up network drives (some home versions do not)?
• How often can you schedule backups (from weekly down to increments of 15 minutes)?
• Will it back up open files? Many lawyers keep Outlook and multiple files open over night. Will these be backed up?
• Will it support both PCs and Macs (if relevant to your firm)?
• What kind of restore does it offer? In particular, will they ship you a DVD or USB key overnight to avoid the problem of taking up to a week to restore a total crash over the Internet?
• What kind of security/encryption does it offer (this hurdle has largely been overcome at this point)?
• Does it offer access from a smartphone (iPhone, Droid, etc.) or an iPad?
Synchronization Services
A second form of online storage is file synchronization. In this scenario, you identify a specific folder (and sub-folders) to be synchronized with a Web location. You drag a file to the specified folder and it is synchronized with the Web and to other computers if you wish (e.g., your home computer). You might call these services "selective backup." In addition to backup options, these programs may let you share files or entire folders with others (think Facebook for documents).
Two of the best-known applications offering this functionality are DropBox and Box.net. One problem area is that in some cases (DropBox), if you share a file/folder with someone, that person can share it with someone else. While the owner of the share can reverse additional shares, basically this means that there is no expectation of confidentiality with shared files (shades of Facebook).
Again a small law firm is likely to want the "Pro" versions of these programs as they offer additional features such as full text search and limited version control (only four versions in the case of Box.net).
One use case for these services is to create an online war room for litigation in which you share documents with various co-counsel.
Productivity Applications
Google Docs is the king of productivity applications online. You edit and store documents using an online word processor, (or spreadsheet or presentation program). Google recently announced a beta version of Google Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office, which will sync a Microsoft Word document with Google Docs, which significantly expands the functionality of Google Docs.
You will be able to edit a document in Word and have it synch with Google Docs. Apparently, the beta is full, but you can sign up to be notified when it is more fully available.
Document Management
Lastly, there are document management programs in the cloud. These services have features most of the backup and synchronization services lack, including search, version control, indexing by client/matter (more efficient than a simple directory tree), and so forth.
There are two types of programs that generally refer to themselves as "document management" programs. What I consider a "true" document management program requires you to save files you are working on to the system in a single step. Other programs "store and forward" — first you save the file and then you choose whether or not to upload it to the document management system.
Industry leader NetDocuments has evolved into a mature program, and can be set up as a true document management program. It also has an option (at additional cost) to "mirror" the documents in the cloud back down to a server at your site. This function is the opposite of the usual backup program that copies files on your server up to the cloud. But it does ensure that you have a backup of your data onsite at all times.
Newer programs include M-files ("Simple and Easy Document Management"), which mirrors Windows Explorer (rather than an indexed search capability). M-files is an example of a "store and forward" application that advertises how easy it is to "Drag and drop documents, email messages, and other files into M-Files."
Conclusion
Given the many options for backup, synchronization, and online storage of your data, it is important to determine exactly what you want to accomplish (and what you can live without) before selecting a specific service.
Written by John Heckman of Heckman Consulting.
How to Receive SmallLaw
Small firm, big dreams. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, SmallLaw provides you with a mix of practical advice that you can use today, and insight about what it will take for small law firms like yours to thrive in the future. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.
