Technology 7 Reasons Legacy Software Must Be Modernized

Law firms have experienced a large shake-up in the past year. With many working remotely, technology has taken even more of a prominent place in the modern firm's consciousness. It has become clear that the adoption of modern technology in place of legacy software is necessary for continued success in the legal industry.

Legacy systems are useful to a point

Before the legacy systems of today, firms used paper. The issues that these systems addressed were pressing for their time, but we have progressed. The issues of today are different, and our systems need to reflect that.

Time-saving systems of the past are now holding us back. Maintaining old systems is a roadblock to efficiency. Certainly, there are useful aspects of legacy software, and these need to be identified and utilized. However, if we continue to hold on to software of the past, we will begin to bottleneck our business. Why should you upgrade? Here are seven reasons.

Merger or acquisition

A natural step in the progression of the modern firm is a merger or acquisition. Firms often join forces and become stronger together. However, that strength may be impeded by incompatible systems. Reconciling different systems may be difficult when one or both do not conform to modern standards.

Compliance

Legacy systems do not necessarily take modern compliance requirements into account. It often takes a lot of extra work to make sure that these requirements are met when using older systems. Nowadays, firms have a responsibility to comply with federal, state, and international regulations.

Ethics

Firms have a responsibility to their industry and to their clients to protect sensitive data from unauthorized access. They need to abide by CCPA and other consumer privacy laws. As technology progresses, it is easier for nefarious parties to access data stored and moved by older applications. To protect data from modern breaches, firms need to use modern solutions.

Time management

When staff members have to come up with workarounds to make outdated systems work, they are wasting valuable time. The time they spend trying to edit their documents to comply with newer requirements, they could be using on revenue-generating projects.

If staff members cannot trust the accuracy of data that they receive, or if they take days to compile a report, there is an issue in productivity. Modern systems maximize productivity.

Here is an article on time management that may be helpful.

The cloud

We have all learned the importance of the cloud over the past few years. Many firms had already seen the benefits. But others had to quickly make the jump onto the cloud so that staff members could complete their work remotely. As our world returns to normal, we need to realize that certain lasting changes have been made. Remote work is more a part of our natural rhythms than it was before, and we need to continue to use the cloud. Modern systems allow us to do this.

Read more about the compelling case for the cloud.

Hiring new talent

As industry norms change, you will be pressed to find modern talent who are comfortable with outdated systems. It will get to the point where people entering the legal industry will require modern systems. Not only will they be more comfortable with modern systems, but the industry itself would have changed.

Outdated systems are a higher cyber security risk

It's simple. Outdated systems leave too many weak spots for modern security breaches. According to the Legal Technology Survey by the American Bar Association, 29% of firms have experienced a security breach like a hacker, ransomware, break-in, or website exploit attack.

There are modern solutions to this issue that legacy systems may not be able to support. These include multi-factor authentication, single sign-on, and role-based access. Modern encryption methods must also be considered. Read more about user authentication here.

How to upgrade

Upgrading legacy software is a daunting task. There are so many factors to take into account. What are you going to do about authentication and encryption? What about the compliance requirements for your state? How about maximizing productivity for staff members? You are too busy to devote your time to this, and your talents are better used elsewhere.

At Doccly Lender we have developed the solution for you. We have spent the time considering all these and many more factors so that you do not have to. And we have the ticket. Use our Service Hailing platform, Doccly Lender, to get work and do work in a secure and modern environment.