Cloud-based document management systems (DMS) offer significant advantages to legal firms and allow them to compete on a level playing field. Still, many law firms hesitate to make the move to the cloud. This quick guide offers practical steps for moving a DMS to the cloud.

A successful move to the cloud requires strategic thought and preparation. Before moving anything, you need to figure out your business case – your “why”. The cloud offers a range of measurable benefits, such as more predictable costs, increased security, scalability, access to files anywhere on any device, no more patching and upgrades, etc.

Every firm and every DMS implementation is different, so first figure out your “why” then we recommend you follow these steps:

Step 1:

Assess and inventory your current DMS to see how it is truly being used

• Audit and list all applications your law firm currently uses. This includes third-party cloud applications like Google Drive, Box or Dropbox. This step will typically uncover surprises, both in terms of what is really being used in your firm and, often, a lack of governance and security surrounding the applications.
• Work with IT to determine how often these systems are being used and the volume of files stored in them, and how they are being secured and governed.
• Find out what sensitive or case-specific files are stored in email instead of DMS.
• Assess what process changes need to be made based on what you discover, especially for any content or communication stored outside of secure and governed systems.

Step 2:

Prepare

• With your IT staff’s involvement, undertake thorough due diligence on potential enterprise-grade cloud providers.
• Ensure that they understand and have documented the unique workflows, security, and compliance requirements of the legal vertical.
• Working with shortlisted providers, define how information will be accessed in the new system, and by whom. Define how it will be structured in the cloud, including integration points to other systems.
• Identify the provider that best meets your requirements.

Step 3:

Migrate the system to the cloud

• Decide whether to migrate all at once or in chunks, depending on your firm’s size and file complexity.
• After the migration, test the new system with your staff and clients.
• Any migration represents a change to your business, so be sure to communicate the changes clearly and work with the business directly to ensure a high level of adoption as well as to obtain full benefits on increased security, governance, and productivity from the move.
• Expect to tweak the UI and ensure that the user access controls, structures, and integrations are optimized.
• Decommission any legacy infrastructure and cancel maintenance payments and upgrade schedules for the old system.