Is outdated technology holding back your law firm while racking up an expensive bill?
Law firms, like any other business, have financial demands, with senior partners looking to optimise cost and increase revenue. This sometimes means putting off important investments that may seem expensive, such as IT upgrades or new practice management software, and holding on to outdated and often ill-functioning technology. However, holding on to aging technology can lead to increased costs in the long run. Saving money now may seem like a good plan, but does it actually cost you more in the long run?
Here are 5 examples of how retaining outdated technology negatively impacts your firm
- Security costs: If the technology is no longer supported, or not properly supported by the developer, firms may no longer receive critical security updates leaving the firm vulnerable to attacks by cyber criminals. Data back-up, disaster recovery and business continuity also become a huge concern.
- IT costs: Outdated software often has no support from the provider. For example, Microsoft stopped supporting Windows 7 in January 2020. These events increase pressure on IT resources to resolve issues with temporary fixes, leading to increased IT support costs.
- Hardware maintenance costs: Servers get old, and space runs out. These are just the facts of life with hardware. Replacing servers and paying for more storage can often be expensive. However, with the Keyhouse 365 cloud solution, you no longer need to worry about the end date on your server or running out of space.
- Scalability costs: Older systems lack the functionality and power to support a growing law firm. Your system should not make onboarding new staff a hindrance that slows the system down for everybody else and impacts the team’s performance.
- Inefficiency costs: Older, unsupported, and outdated technology won’t have the automation and integration capabilities of modern tech. Manual operations disrupt workflow and result in solicitors wasting billable time on repetitive, manual processes that their practice management system should be able to automate.
What are the reasons for resistance to new technology?
According to the 2020 Wolters Kluwer Future Ready Lawyer Survey, this resistance is largely down to organisational issues, lack of tech knowledge, understanding and skills, along with financial issues.
The paper also highlighted important reasons for Law firms to invest in technology;
“Firms that are not investing in legal technology will need to re-examine their investments to both catch up to meet the expectations of their clients as well as defend against potential competition from alternative legal service providers.”
We also know from our interactive webinar series that many law firms and solicitors are aware that they are not the most open to change and that they lack a plan for future technology.
Some say that expense is the reason they are unwilling to change their technology but in reality, outdated tech costs them more over time.
The Big Picture
Retaining outdated technology can bring your firm to a halt and have massive implications for your practice. Your server could fail, fall victim to cyber-attacks, or you may have to upgrade multiple components at once which can be very expensive. Additionally, you may lose business to industry counterparts who adapt to new ways of working and gain clients from outside their local area by utilising technology.
It’s time to look at the bigger picture. As the old saying goes; “A stitch in time saves nine” and this exactly what you do when you keep your technology, both hardware and software, up to date.
If you want to learn more about how to take the next step with your Case Management System, call us now on 01 290 2222.
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