Thanks to the Microsoft Cloud, more and more companies in the Legal sector have been able to transform the way they work. The costly server-based, on-premise infrastructures that businesses would traditionally have are being replaced by lightweight, flexible cloud-based infrastructures that enable businesses to cut costs, work more efficiently, and unlock new opportunities.
We reached out to some cloud solutions providers that have experience working with Law firms, in order to get an idea on how the Microsoft Cloud can help these types of businesses. One of the company, TechQuarters, got back to us to have a discussion. TechQuarters are an IT support company London businesses have been getting Microsoft-based solutions from for the last 12 years.
Benefits of the Microsoft Cloud for Law Firms
Microsoft’s products are used by businesses of all shapes and sizes, from all kinds of sectors, all over the world. In response to this, they have ensured that their business-oriented products contain features that can be utilized even by highly specialised industries like the Legal sector. As one of the leading London IT support companies that Law firms use, in addition to being a Microsoft Partner, TechQuarters were able to describe some of the key benefits of the Microsoft Cloud which Law firms can get.
- Collaboration
The Microsoft Cloud encompasses many applications and services that support collaboration across an organization. For example, Microsoft Teams unifies communications into a single interface; OneDrive and SharePoint facilitate fast and secure file sharing and co-authoring; the Office applications – such as Word, OneNote, Excel, and PowerPoint – are best-in-class when it comes to business content creation.
- Storage
The Microsoft Cloud enables Law Firms to store all of their company data in a secure and agile environment that is accessible to everyone in the organization. Firstly, all users will have 1TB of personal storage, courtesy of OneDrive. In addition to this, SharePoint is the ideal platform for storing shared resources – from documents, PDFs, and spreadsheets, to multimedia files, links, etc. For backend storage – such as archiving or database management – Microsoft Azure is ideal for storing and managing large volumes of data.
- Security & Governance
The Legal sector is full of regulations which practitioners are obligated by law to comply with. At the same time, there is an ever-present risk of cyberattack that all businesses – not just law firms – must be aware of. The Microsoft Cloud has the ability to help with both of these challenges. For instance, Compliance Management is a feature in the Microsoft Business Solutions. Furthermore, Microsoft 365 includes a complete security solution as standard – known as Enterprise Mobility + Security.
How Can Law Firms Leverage the Microsoft Cloud?
The Microsoft Cloud includes several different products and services, each of which is geared towards different areas of businesses. Below is a brief rundown of the different products that make up the Microsoft Cloud ecosystem:
- Microsoft 365 – apps and services designed to empower and streamline day-to-day workflows.
- Microsoft Azure – cloud infrastructure services that help an organisation digitally transform.
- Dynamics 365 – business apps that combine CRM and ERP capabilities into one platform.
- Power Platform – cloud products for automation, app development, business intelligence.
When we asked TechQuarters about the IT support law firms get from them, they stated that most of their clients are looking to be able to segue into additional IT services, such as the following:
- Cloud Hosting – Microsoft Azure enables businesses to migrate their infrastructure to the cloud, which is more cost-effective, agile, and future-proof. With a cloud-based infrastructure, Law firms are able to work in a more flexible and fast-paced manner.
- Business Apps – Lots of businesses can benefit from business-oriented apps that help optimize the management of business resources. A perfect example of this is Dynamics 365, which has many different tools and capabilities to give organizations more control over the various areas of their business.
- Automation & Custom Apps – A great way for organizations to get ahead in their sector is by developing custom solutions; whether it be for their internal processes, or in order to provide custom services to their clients. Through solutions like the Microsoft Power Platform, law firms can spin up custom solutions to whatever challenges they may be experiencing.