In Australia, most law firms are already using third-party providers for key business – functions such as HR, accounting, and administration. With instant access to a team of specialists without having to hire an in-house team, the decision to outsource these common business functions is a simple one. It allows lawyers to focus on what they do best – law.

With outsourcing high-value functions being a proven model for law firms, one area that has rapidly gained traction is the outsourcing of IT.

Running a successful law firm and providing high-quality experience now requires extensive use of technology – and the ability to keep up as it continues to change. However, for boutique law firms, keeping up with advancements in technology IT while also maximising lawyer efficiency is difficult.

What we’ve found is that, more than ever, the quality and consistency of IT is impacting the competitiveness and service delivery of law firms. The bottom line? Boutique law firms now need more help, more expertise and more flexibility with their IT.

Keeping IT in-house isn’t practical

The problem boutique law firms are facing right now is their IT and technology needs are growing – but they don’t have the same resources as bigger firms to help them meet these needs.

It’s not uncommon for a firm to have just one or two employees handling all IT matters and tech support. They only have so many hours in the day to handle requests and maintenance, meaning issues can pile up quickly – and wait times get ever-longer.

But more than that, the firm is constrained by the knowledge and expertise of those individuals. They might be great IT specialists – but no one person knows it all.

A one-man team is bare-bones approach to IT management. Ultimately, inadequate IT can lead to serious problems that can get in the way of a firm’s growth and ability to deliver high-quality service. These include:

  • A decrease in staff productivity due to time spent fixing issues or inability to securely work from out-of-office locations
  • Time wasted on routine tasks that should or could have been automated
  • Slower server performance, compliance issues, and poor user experience as the firm grows and IT can’t keep up

To keep up with growing firm’s demands, it becomes obvious that IT expertise and resources need to grow as well. However, more hires mean the expense of more salaries. Not to mention the time and money cost of increased workload needed to manage skill development, training, adequate office space, tools, and more.

Your current IT support is fine. Or is it?

It can be easy to convince yourself that your IT set-up is just fine. After all, the alternative means making a change – which takes time, effort, and knowledge you might not have. This all makes it very tempting to continue to just deal with it on the day’s things aren’t working.

But continuing to just “make it work” not only causes problems down the track when your firm grows or your staff need to work remotely, but it impacts the day-to-day quality and consistency of IT support.

The problem here isn’t that your current IT support isn’t capable or knowledgeable. In fact, as your IT demands grow, they are probably working too hard. It can simply be too much to ask a small team to deliver what you want, when you need it, to the level it’s required.

Not knowing what “good” looks like is also a key reason why many firms are slow to beef up their IT capabilities. Have you ever been curious about what IT looks like in best-performing firms? Sometimes, it takes seeing the difference between what you should expect from IT and what you currently have.

When considering how well your IT service is meeting your needs, these are some of the things you should expect to receive:

  • Access to a wide range and multiple levels of IT expertise
  • Quick response times and the ability to escalate issues
  • Remote and out of hours support
  • An understanding of your firm and your unique needs
  • A proactive approach to flag, monitor and fix issues before they cause problems

When you consider this is the service other firms are getting and you should be demanding, do you think it’s a job just one or two people can do?

Outsourced IT for law firms

There’s no doubt higher quality, consistent IT service delivery will translate to a better experience for clients, greater flexibility for lawyers, and will help your company stay competitive now and in the future.

And for boutique firms who require quality support but have limited resources, outsourcing IT can provide the quality and consistency without the big law price tag.

For around the same cost as one internal specialist, you can gain access to an entire team of IT experts who can share the load of the work and contribute combined knowledge and know-how to provide a higher quality IT service.

The benefits of outsourcing IT are fast winning over boutique law firms, who are realising that they can get the IT and technology advantages of much bigger firms, without the cost or resources. It’s proving one of the best keys to growth across the legal industry.

At Innessco, we provide outsourced Tier One IT services to boutique law firms. By ensuring you’re operating with the best possible IT environment for your firm, you will get more out of your applications, are equipped to provide a better experience for staff, and can deliver the best service to clients.

Our IT professionals specialise in managed IT services for law firms, which means we can develop effective, tailored strategies that align with your firm’s goals. We also take a proactive approach to IT security, ensuring your data and systems are protected, whether they are in an on-premises, cloud, or hybrid environment.

Contact us today to find out more about how we can empower your law firm with state-of-the-art IT.