When firms in the legal industry understand that they should focus on law and let experts handle legal IT, they save time and reduce expenses in the long run.
Do you feel you're not getting the most out of your technology spending? Or that your legal IT departments are not helping you meet your business goals?
First, rethink your strategy, and your mindset.
When it comes to technology, there are a few key things that firms in the legal industry do in order to improve their business processes:
- Be smart. Select only technology that supports your business objectives.
- Your IT infrastructure must retain its critical pieces: copiers and print output.
- Hire professionals to manage your IT so you can focus on work that brings your firm revenue: practicing law, acquiring new clients, and retaining current ones.
- Remove distractions. Don't try to handle copier repairs in-house, as this only slows down your work.
Here's an overview of how law firms are spending on IT, from the InsideLegal/ILTA Technology Purchasing Survey (click here to read the complete survey).
Law Firms' Spend on Technology
Here's how the competition is spending for information technology: 57% of all respondents are spending 2-4% of total firm revenue on technology alone in order to improve performance and productivity.
In a report from Symantec, the companies that are high-performing were the same ones who viewed IT strategically (83% of top-performing companies). In contrast, those who viewed IT as just an extra and unimportant cost were the low-performing firms.
The ILTA survey also found that the top five tech purchases in the legal industry for 2014 were
- Laptops and notebooks - 67%
- Desktop hardware - 60%
- Network upgrades - 51%
- Printers and multifunctional devices - 49%
- Anti-virus and anti-spam software - 40%
Adding photocopiers to the printers and multifunctional devices category brings the total to 69%.
Getting Help From the Experts
When firms in the legal industry understand that they should focus on law and let experts handle legal IT, they save time and reduce expenses in the long run.
It may come as a surprise that only 49% of the respondents outsourced printer repair or maintenance. This means the others are spending their staff's precious time on IT tasks that could be more efficiently handled by a printer repair specialist.
Security Is a Huge Concern
The hacks, ransomware, and viruses are bound to continue, so cybersecurity should be your top concern when it comes to legal matters. For 59% of the respondents, security management was their top IT challenge. Even small firms are targets for hackers, so don't skimp on the security side of your company.
Datamax Can Help!
Moving into 2017, you want to perform your best. We can help you with network and network security (virus and spam prevention), as well as printer repair and maintenance.
