Attorneys make a living off of billable hours. So, taking the time to fix a computer, reboot the server, or going through desk drawers looking for a password is money out of pocket. It is true that every law office does not need a managed service provider, but that does not mean they shouldn’t have one. A small practice, where the lawyer maintains his own server, may be fine for the short term. The fact remains, if you are working on your computer, then you are not making money.

Downtime – The Money Pit

When you walk into your office with the intent of X-number of billable hours for the day, and those hours get cut short because your server crashes, your mood changes. When that server crashes someone has to fix it. It does not matter if it is you, the secretary, or Bob in accounting, there is downtime. During that time, no one in the office can work at 100%, and that affects the bottom line. Accidents do happen, and you can only hope that the amount of time lost is an hour or two, and not a couple of days or a week, because your hard drive crashed. If minor crashes are starting to affect your business, then it is time to consider getting a managed service provider.

Slow Computers = Money out of Pocket

Face it, when you open your spreadsheet and it takes one to three minutes to open, you are losing money. You may have become accustomed to the snail-paced applications, slow Internet access, and even slower processing speeds of your office computers, but every minute wasted is money you will never have.

If you are a little tech savvy you may consider upgrading your memory and downloading the most recent update to your application, which are all standard computer tasks that attorneys should not have to worry about. If your office environment allows you or your employees to go get a coffee and donuts from the break room while an application loads, then you should consider a managed service provider. Learn more about managed service providers:

Integration of Applications for the Win

Some of the problems with your network, the speed of your computers, and even the lack of functionality in applications can be that they do not work well together. Some apps take more memory than others, and they can affect performance across the network.

Most hardware will work fine together, but if you buy the most recent type of memory, and install it into a legacy system you may be in for a shock. Most likely it will speed up your applications, some, but not effectively. That is because your mother board, or hard drive, or video card has slower architecture. This means the data may leave and enter the memory faster, but to get from the CPU to the memory will still be slow. This could be an opportunity to contact a managed service provider.

Security

This is probably the biggest reason to get help. Client data is sitting on your computer, on your server, and who knows where else. It is sitting there waiting for an outside entity to come poking around and steal it. Lost client data can cost you a damaged reputation, clients, and possible civil suits depending on where that data ends up and how it is used. Managed service providers can help with authentication servers; they can offer dual-authentication technologies, hybrid cloud technologies, and many other ways to protect your data from prying eyes.

IT that Never Sleeps

It is Friday night and you want to go home, but there are some things that need to be finished. You have plans for the weekend and would like to not have to worry if everything is complete for Monday’s meeting. The server crashes, and your IT guy has already gone home to start his ski trip with his family. You are in a mess.

Managed service providers are a 24-hour service. If the server crashes their onsite technicians would already be on it before you could call them to let them know (still call them). Updates, repairs, and fine tuning often occur after hours or during the weekends so it does not affect your schedule, and your office can work seamlessly through the day.

Whatever your reason, it is most likely time to contact a managed service provider. If your computer network is running flawlessly, and there are no intentions to upgrade or update anything within the next couple of years, then there is probably no need for a managed service provider. That is, unless a natural disaster strikes, your computer system is attacked by hackers, or an employee clicks on a link in an email that downloads a virus. The truth is, any of these things could happen. Don’t take unnecessary risks: Get a free assessment.