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Many law firm information technology (IT) professionals hear the term “managed services” and immediately jump to long held conclusions about what that means.

Unfortunately, these ideas are often based on outdated models that no longer reflect the reality of today's marketplace and managed services offerings.

For example, managed IT services are no longer synonymous with offshoring. While isolated examples where narrow pieces of law firm operations may benefit from the lower labor costs to be found abroad still exist, problems with quality control and project management have slowed the offshoring frenzy that we saw a decade ago.

In addition, managed services are no longer simply a matter of outsourcing a firm's IT hardware. To be sure, there is a compelling business for eliminating the sunk cost of annual capital expenditures for technology infrastructure by partnering with a company that provides access to the latest hardware; but “outsourcing” describes managed services as insufficiently as “estate planning” describes law firm services.

Other highly regulated industries—such as financial services and health care—are ahead of the curve on this issue and have already discovered how the evolution of managed IT services is translating into improved productivity, better client outcomes and increased profitability.

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Five Elements of Evolution

Managed IT services have emerged as a strategic option for law firms who partner with an expert services provider to assume operational responsibility for all (or most) of a firm's IT systems and functions. They do so by purchasing a service level agreement that

clearly spells out a series of critical IT services that will be provided by the managed services partner so they can buy back the time otherwise spent by their staff members on those day-to- day functions.

This includes key services such as virtual desktop support for the firm's employees; management of the firm's network, servers, databases and software applications; and responsibility for monitoring, managing and resolving issues within the IT environment. In this sense, managed IT services allow law firms to transfer the essential—but routine—IT management requirements to a trusted legal services provider so the firm's IT professionals can focus on more strategic functions that deliver higher business value.

Here are five key ways that managed IT services for law firms have evolved in recent years:

1. Procurement: One key responsibility of a managed IT services provider is to relieve the firm's employees of the burden of working with external vendors for hardware, software, storage and data security products. In addition to the time savings that come from this shift, a managed IT services provider will likely be able to secure better pricing for the firm on those vendor contracts since the provider has a stronger negotiating position than any individual firm. This is especially true of managed IT services firms that specialize in the legal vertical market, where even the largest law firms would be considered a medium-size business when compared to corporate buyers.

2. Strategy: Technology is dynamic so it requires a tremendous amount of time and energy to stay on top of the latest available IT tools and techniques that support a law firm's operations. A managed IT services provider has the skilled staff and collective expertise to make sure their clients are at the forefront of technology usage and to provide crucial insights into optimal IT strategy. Far from a mere outsourcing relationship, managed IT services now means having a trusted advisor/provider sitting next to the law firm CIO and providing high-level strategic counsel.

3. Information Governance: Law firms are subject to a unique level of scrutiny when it comes to the way they manage the information lifecycle, because they are typically managing troves of highly sensitive client information. Moreover, law firms are expected to follow various information governance rules from around the world, such as litigation hold requirements and data protection regulations. Managed IT services providers have stepped into this gap to help formulate, implement and monitor data retention policies, as well as other delicate information management protocols.

4. Project Management: Of course, the core responsibility of any managed IT services provider continues to be the “blocking and tackling” duties associated with the day-to-day upkeep of the firm's IT ecosystem. Essentially, the firm is purchasing a service level agreement to deliver its IT infrastructure so internal resources can refocus on higher value initiatives. The IT managed services provider should manage the IT infrastructure, software applications and user support requirements so effectively that the law firm team members can truly relinquish those burdens. This frees up the firm's time and budget for other, higher-value efforts.

5. Data Security: The bane of every law firm CIO's existence is the ongoing challenge of maintaining data security; a nightmare that has been brought to life by some very high-profile breaches at law firms nationwide in recent years. Working with a managed IT services provider allows firms to flip the script in data security and become proactive—rather than reactive—by deploying state of the art cybersecurity measures along the firm's IT perimeter, locking down the hardware in use, and implementing a consistent data security approach that cuts across all software applications, email, instant messaging, etc. This proactive approach yields quicker server patching, more consistent data back-ups, more disciplined system monitoring and faster notifications of potential threats detected.

Some law firms started embracing the use of managed IT services in recent years by carving out portions of their “back office” IT function to third-party providers. As law firms face increasing pressure to hold the line on operational IT costs while simultaneously improving the way they manage IT risk, progressive firms are taking a holistic approach to managing IT, improving performance and reliability while reducing cost and risk. These firms are partnering with expert service providers that focus exclusively in the legal services marketplace. These legal-specific providers understand both the business and client service sides, as well as the specific needs, requirements and applications of a law firm.

Law firm IT professionals need to spend less time and money on the firm's infrastructure and more of those valuable resources on specific technology applications that drive value to the business, such as analytics, artificial intelligence, knowledge management and client service delivery. By considering the next generation of managed IT services in the legal industry as a strategic option, law firms can improve their operational productivity and their bottom-line profitability in one key move.

 

Matt Coatney is vice president of technology services for Managed Technology Services (MTS), an HBR Consulting solution. He oversees managed services for law firm IT infrastructure, networking, storage and applications. For more information, please visit www.hbrmts.com.