Private Cloud Solutions For Cincinnati Law Firms
In the past few months, several law firms have shifted to the cloud in all its formats. Moving to the cloud guarantees a more secure remote access that allows for more efficient, reliable, and collaborative workflows with less cost. Ideally, there are two main types of cloud available for Cincinnati law firms: public and private cloud. This blog looks at the difference between the two and why your law firm can benefit more from a private cloud solution over the other options.
What Is the Public Cloud?
Public cloud is a cloud computing model where computing services and infrastructure are managed by a third-party provider and shared with several organizations/law firms using the public internet. Public cloud providers offer a range of cloud-based solutions such as software as a service (SaaS) or service (PaaS) to users who pay a pay-per-use fee or a monthly rate to access the service.
The public cloud allows users to avoid the need to host its services onsite in their own data center, translating to fewer costs. However, one big drawback of public clouds is the inability to provide advanced security measures.
Lawyers are naturally very conscious about cybersecurity due to the nature and amount of confidential data they handle each day. Because several organizations share a single infrastructure, public clouds are typically unable to meet the stringent regulatory requirements placed on law firms.
What Is Private Cloud?
Private cloud is a computing service offered over a private internal network or the internet to only a select user instead of the general public. Private cloud typically offers many of the benefits of a public cloud with additional control and customization and dedicated resources that enhance scalability and agility. Private clouds also deliver an enhanced level of security and privacy through dedicated firewalls and 24-hour monitoring to ensure sensitive law firm data is not accessible to third-party providers and cybercriminals.
7 Benefits of Private Cloud
Enhanced Security
In the current highly volatile cybersecurity landscape, a security breach could negatively affect a firm, resulting in costly claims and a damaged reputation. That is why Cincinnati law firms dealing with financial institutions and other clients whose data require a high level of security choose private cloud over public cloud. With a private cloud, the cloud infrastructure belongs to a single client, meaning the infrastructure and systems can be configured to provide high levels of security. When it comes to proprietary data and client information, private cloud networks ensure the sensitive information stays out of the wrong hand.
Increased Control
Unlike public cloud that forces you to use a predetermined network set-up, private clouds offer better controls for data, the users, and information assets. Ideally, you can set up your network in a way that works best for your firm instead of adapting to the service provider’s process. The increased control and flexibility translate to less time and effort to manage your IT infrastructure, ultimately enhancing productivity and efficiency.
Reduced Costs
In today’s highly competitive business environment, many firms are looking out for anything that could help them save money and become more efficient. Setting up and maintaining servers is not only time-consuming but also an expensive exercise. Onsite servers attract several hidden and direct costs, including the cost for physical security measures, cooling, electricity, HVAC, maintenance, and support personnel.
One of the ways private cloud help reduce costs is in the allocation of resources. Private cloud helps organize and allocate resources in a manner that doesn’t exert additional strain on your network while ensuring the networks and systems are accessible to those who need them. This ultimately leads to reduced costs, greater flexibility, and enhanced productivity.
Unlike public clouds, where costs are calculated based on usage, which could be unknown until the monthly invoice is dispatched, the private cloud operates on a “pay by resource model,” allowing you to budget in advance based on your specific needs.
Improved Reliability
No network is immune to technical hitches that could cause costly downtimes. Unplanned downtimes are a significant disaster for law firms depending on networks to keep sensitive information secure. Private clouds provide virtual operating environments designed to be more resilient to failures and technical glitches in the physical systems. Ideally, private cloud networks operate across multiple servers to create partitions between each. This allows the networks to pull resources from diverse areas, thus greatly decreasing downtimes.
Customization
Another critical feature of the private cloud is the level of customization it offers. Undoubtedly, each law firm has specific technical and business requirements that vary depending on company size, specialty, types of clients, and more. With a private cloud, there is no one size fits all solution. You can choose an infrastructure with customized storage and networking features, so the system and networks meet your firm’s individual needs.
Better Compliance
Cincinnati law firms typically have to comply with several federal and national laws and policies regarding how they manage data. Private cloud is the best option to meet regulatory requirements as it can be deployed as per laid down retention and access control policies from compliance elements such as PCI-compliant hosting and HIPAA-compliant hosting.
Guaranteed Business Continuity
Despite the best security measures, loss of data can still occur to impact your firm’s operations. A computer could be lost or stolen, or fire, floods, and other natural disasters can hit your organization and wipe out all your onsite data. Private cloud storage enables law firms to securely store large amounts of data off-site and in multiple locations. In the event of a major event, you can simply trigger your recovery protocol to recover all the crucial data, so your business can continue operating normally.
Is a Private Cloud Network Right for My Law Firm?
The benefits of the private cloud are clear for everyone to see. It provides enhanced security, increased control and flexibility, improved reliability, and greater efficiency, all at minimized costs. However, moving to the cloud isn’t as easy as many executives might think. The technological world keeps evolving, and cloud infrastructure is getting more advanced and complicated by the day. That is why you need to partner with a locally managed service provider like 4BIS.com to help you maximize the benefits that private cloud offers. 4BIS.com has been serving the greater Cincinnati area since 1996, providing IT support, including managed IT services, business continuity planning, VoIP phone services, technical support, and more. Contact us today to learn more about our IT solutions customized for Cincinnati law firms.
