The Mobile Technology Revolution

[‘Legal eagles spread their wings’ article adapted for The Law Society. Read full article: The Mobile Technology Revolution]

The mobile technology revolution

Mobile technology is revolutionising the way that many different businesses operate. All kinds of businesses are now benefitting from the latest advances in mobile technology, says Ian Wimbush, chairman of the Legal Software Suppliers Association (LSSA). So why should law firms be any different?

Times have changed

Smartphones have changed the way we conduct business, in part due to the explosion of applications (‘apps’). At the same time, the arrival of ‘cloud computing’ means that important business data, forms and other documents can now be accessed from virtually anywhere, using a wide variety of mobile and office-based devices.

The upsides of mobile computing are well publicised: better communication with colleagues and customers when you’re on the move, easy access to documents via the Internet, the ability to synch multiple computers automatically so that all your data is up to date – the list goes on and on. However, while all of these tools may be useful for a salesperson that spends a lot of time on the road, will these same benefits appeal to those working in the legal sector?

According to the LSSA, the short answer is yes. Applications that cater for everything from time recording to document production have joined the mobile revolution, either as dedicated ‘apps’ that are stored locally, or via new software solutions that allow mobile devices to access and work with their office-based (or cloud-based) data securely.