Then & Now: Cloud Storage and its Role within the Legal Industry
There was a time when the idea of digitising simple tasks and storing information on an invisible cloud seemed too farfetched. How far has the legal industry come since Cloud Storage became the norm?
‘In a few years, men will be able to communicate more effectively through a machine than face to face. That is a rather startling thing to say, but it is our conclusion’.
Today, this seems like an obvious statement. But when J. C. R. Licklider, the pioneer whose work led to the invention of ARPAnet (the direct predecessor to the Internet) and the earliest version of cloud storage, said that in 1968, years before the technology required was envisioned, it was simply clairvoyant.
For most of us, living in Licklider’s future, it might be difficult to understand what made this technology so visionary; and perhaps it is easier to simply take it for granted. But there was a time, before human beings learnt to function so effectively with machines, when the idea of digitising simple everyday tasks and storing information on an invisible cloud seemed too farfetched.
So, we decided to take a look at Cloud Storage, one of Licklider’s brainchildren, and the ways it has changed the way we work, particularly within the legal industry.
Access & Usability
| Then | Now |
|---|---|
| Case files and all related information were only available in physical paper formats. Lawyers and prosecutors were constantly in the company of mounting stacks of paper which they had to carry around everywhere. Accessing a particular information from said files meant poring over each and every page carefully and diligently. | Case files and any and all information stored as digital files on a cloud storage platform can now be easily accessed from anywhere in the world in just a few clicks. Simplified interface means uploading files onto an online drive doesn’t require expert knowledge; and advanced search tools have made it so that information can be searched and accessed with just a few choice words. |
Security
| Then | Now |
|---|---|
| Storing information in a secure physical location often came at great costs, at times even personal. Physical paper files, especially those concerning confidential legal matters have always been under risk of loss, theft or damage; and the old solution of ‘multiple copies in multiple locations’ is not as operationally viable as it is chalked out to be. | Recognising that security is a big issue on the Internet, almost all cloud storage providers facilitate their services with advanced protection and privileged access features. Cloud storage service is formed of thousands of data centres. So, even if 1 data centre is affected, the information and files stored will be safe with the others. It is almost impossible to accidently lose information stored on the cloud. Even if the file is accidentally deleted, lost or corrupted at the server, a backup will always be there. |
File Sharing & Collaborations
| Then | Now |
|---|---|
| Sending files and sharing information with paper involved tasks that took hours and days, at times even weeks – depending on geographic locations. It limited opportunities for collaborations and stalled work if it involved inputs from different entities. This also meant a lot of wastage as the discarded versions simply became wasted paper. | On an online cloud storage platform, files can be shared from one corner of the Earth to another in a matter of seconds – with added options to regulate the type of access provided. On a cloud platform, multiple users can access and edit a common file in real time. With an array of supporting formats, collaborative work has never been easier! |
At BIGFORMULA Solutions, as specialists creating platforms that facilitate collaborations, are user friendly and render high security features, we the necessary experience in incorporating Cloud Storage within our systems and we understand the underlying benefits of it better than most.
We understand that the 21st century is the age of data; and that all forms of official or legal enterprises can just as easily collapse if that data is not effectively preserved. We understand the crucial role cloud storage platforms play in convenient, cost-effective, enhanced and successful work environments; and last, but not the least, we understand that when used wisely, they have in them the potential to completely change the way human beings communicate and support one another.
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