Scalability, cost-efficiency, mobility, and paperless work ethics are some of the main advantages of the cloud computing solutions that are increasingly being adopted by business owners across the United States. According to July 2017 statistics cited by renowned law firm Bryan Cave LLP, 95 percent of American enterprises are using some sort of cloud service, and this statistic includes nearly 70 percent of e-commerce stores. When it comes to law firms, however, the rate of cloud computing adoption has been slower.
Local Businesses Can Benefit Greatly from Cloud Computing Resources
It is easy to understand why lawyers in Apple Valley, Hesperia and Victorville may be apprehensive about cloud computing; after all, remote storage is one of the pillars of the cloud computing paradigm, which could be compared to leaving confidential and privileged attorney/client information in someone else’s office. This certainly brings up a few ethical concerns for High Desert law firms that may want to augment their practice by hosting their data structure to the cloud.
In 2010, the State Bar of California issued an opinion on the use of cloud technology and the reasonable care standard that should be applied by law firms. According to opinion 2010-179, three considerations should be made:
1 – Security measures and how cloud systems limit the access of third party intrusions.
2 – Attorneys who are not familiar with cloud computing security should not attempt a do-it-yourself approach.
3 – Client instructions should never be ignored, and the use of cloud computing should be disclosed to clients who insist on keeping communications confidential.
Based on the above, High Desert law firms could certainly benefit from self-hosted solutions such as SonicCloud, which gives attorneys total control over their firms’ data and information. Some of the security measures offered by SonicCloud include: locking of files, two-factor authentication, data encryption, virus scan, and smart notifications. Moreover, self-hosting does not mean that law firms will be on their own when it comes to technical issues; Sonic IT Systems offers various levels of technical support, from remote solutions and active monitoring to onsite visits.
