Technology always seems to make life easier and more convenient, but it’s not always smooth sailing. Technical difficulties are common and if you’re not a tech-savvy person, you need outside help to make things work. Sometimes even simple things seem impossible, like reconnecting your copy machine to your wireless network.
You can’t run a successful law practice without technology in the office. If you have remote staff, they need technology in their homes, too. When technical issues arise, who do you call? Or do you just use the internet to troubleshoot?
When you rely heavily on technology, you can’t troubleshoot everything online. If you haven’t looked into managed IT services, here are 5 reasons to consider this essential service.
An IT team can improve your efficiency
Managed IT services aren’t just for fixing network connection errors. Managed IT services can increase your efficiency by:
- Setting you up with an efficient time tracking and billing system
- Improving your communication system to better serve your clients
- Introducing new software applications for tracking profitability and searching documents
- Archiving email documentation, encrypting data, and eDiscovery
- Maintaining your law firm’s network so you don’t have to give it any attention
- And more
If you have any special software or hardware needs, a managed IT service team can help you find the right solution, secure your existing solution, or come up with a better idea.
An IT team will keep an eye out for data breaches that affect you
Have you ever had your personal login credentials stolen? It’s a big deal, but if it happens to your law firm, you and your clients could be in serious trouble.
Managed IT services will give you the option of various monitoring services. For example, your IT pros can monitor your email address or phone number to see if it’s been involved in a data breach by using haveibeenpwned.com. You could use this service yourself, but you might miss the emails.
There are other ways IT teams can monitor your data to find out if or when it’s been compromised in a breach. You don’t have time to manage all of that – it’s better left to the pros.
Managed IT services can help prevent lawsuits against your firm
Law firms get sued all the time. You never know when one small IT mistake can open the door for a lawsuit. For example, a cyber insurance company sued their own law firm for concealing a data breach that occurred in 2016. The law firm quietly paid a ransom after a ransomware attack without notifying the cyber insurance company or the impacted clients.
Unfortunately, in 2018, an employee from the insurance company found some of the stolen information on the dark web and the company launched a $1.5 million investigation. The company sued their law firm for breaching its “contractual, legal, ethical, and fiduciary duties.”
If you have managed IT services, you can consult with your IT team before taking any action in the case of a ransomware attack. While it might seem easier to pay the ransom, that’s not always the best option.
Managed IT services can create a secure backup of your data
What would you do if your entire law firm’s network crashed tomorrow? What would you do if your website went down and you couldn’t recover it from the server? If you have file backups, you could piece everything back together, but that’s not efficient.
An IT team can create a professional disaster and recovery plan for your law firm so that you don’t have to do anything if your network goes down. Depending on your budget, you might even be able to get set up with webhosting services that will keep your site up even when your usual server goes down.
An IT team can help you choose the right technology
If you’re overwhelmed with your choices for technology solutions, you’re not alone. The majority of law firms struggle with choosing the right solutions for their practice. The software world is vast, complex, and full of choices. It’s nearly impossible for anyone to investigate each claim made by every software vendor.
When you have managed IT services, your IT team can advise you on which software application is the best for your needs and budget. You’ll save money, time, and you won’t have to risk making the wrong choice.
Managed IT services are essential for law firms
You can’t skip managed IT services in today’s world. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or you just don’t have time to manage those small, yet unavoidable technical breakdowns, consider hiring an IT team to handle everything for you.
