Information Technology Houston - Address IT Challenges

As we work through a global recession, organizations across all sectors - including the legal industry – are facing unprecedented challenges.

Client demand has increased substantially and lawyers are expected to meet those demands within very strict budgets. These budgets now include contemporary costs like purchasing and maintenance of computer technology that was unnecessary just a few years ago.

This requires many practitioners to spend at a time when they are looking to cut costs. This guide lists the top five IT challenges as identified by various experts in the legal sector, including our own clients - and offers proven methodologies to tackle these challenges by taking a proactive approach to your firm’s IT function.

In times of recession, outsourcing has always been a great way to lower information technology costs and focus on your core business strategies. IT has shifted from merely serving business operations to quietly assuming the role of the entire business function. When deciding to outsource IT, the question remains, “Who can you trust and hold accountable?” Below are a list of tips and strategies when considering outsourcing your firms IT function.

If we have learned anything from Hurricane Ike, it’s to be prepared for the worst case scenario. But it doesn’t just take a hurricane to create a disaster. Disasters can come from anywhere: electrical outages, security breaches, hackers, even disgruntled employees. Evaluate whether your Houston technology services vendor or in-house department has a disaster recovery plan in place to protect your critical data.

Don’t wait for a disaster to occur to take action. Catastrophic disaster can bring a thriving law firm to its knees. The real risk to your firm is interrupted access – even momentarily – to critical data. Your firm should have an IT system that won’t just secure your data, but will make sure it’s never compromised in the first place.

For many firms, the task of managing IT has only created more cost and inefficiencies. The most damaging cost is those your firm never predicted. This is the result many causes – from being sold directly to different parts of an enterprise – to a lack of a centrally managed approach which Gartner Research describes as “uncoordinated at best”.

Companies are continually getting caught in the middle of vendor finger-pointing where the responsibility lies nowhere and a firm gets stuck with the problem.

Successful firm should be able to position itself to profit from new business opportunities and stay ahead of the competition. As firms grow, downsize merge or disband, outsourcing can help you adjust along the way.

Downsizing, merging or disbanding your firm should not slow down your practice. When evolving conditions demand more resources, you can simply let your IT vendor assume the risks of owning the technology instead of letting the investment drain company resources and limit future growth.