BYOD and consumerisation of IT in the Legal Industry

With an increasing amount of consumer IT software products infiltrating through the business environment, law firms and IT suppliers are facing a shift in their strategies and working practices.  
Competition is fierce and law firms are looking for new ways to provide clients with value added services at competitive rates. Both lawyers and clients urgently need efficient ways to communicate and collaborate using secure and reliable technologies.  The workforce has turned mobile and more people use their own devices at work due to the advent of smartphone devices. 
Faced with these challenges, what can law firms do to stay ahead of the game?

The legal sector has been slow to embrace new IT technology in the past, but now realise that technology can drive efficiently and reduce costs. Legal firms will continuously be attracted by new technologies, and need to keep up with these changes proactively.  

By no means are businesses IT suppliers exempt from participating in these changes. They too face increasing pressure to keep up and provide enhanced business software that is suitable for use on multiple platforms in a business environment.

So for a start, law firms can strengthen relationships with their IT suppliers to provide a firm foundation in this fast moving IT world. This means: 

1. Take the opportunity to demand more from their suppliers by inviting them to discuss relevant projects and see what that existing supplier has to offer so both parties work towards the best solution. 
2. Take advantage of the knowledge that IT suppliers have built up to find the best solution.
3. Explore new opportunities of process improvement with their IT supplier as they often have than more than one string to their bow. 
4. Be proactive and open minded to new IT software and allocate budget to cater for these changing requirements.  

In fact, business IT suppliers must do their bit too and proactively provide law firms with information on the latest technologies to keep legal business up to speed.  Just as business IT providers are looking to consumer IT markets to keep up with new applications, legal firms can learn from businesses in other sectors and adapt their own strategies to grow and survive.  

Damian Jeal [   ]

Nikec Solutions [ www.nikecsolutions.com ]

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