We have all read stories about natural disasters wiping out entire communities. In 2018 alone there were devastating hurricanes in the Carolinas and Florida’s Panhandle. Then there were the equally devastating wildfires in California. In addition to personal loss, the disasters have put plenty of businesses on the brink of bankruptcy. Legal practices have not been spared.

There are a lot of reasons to move practice and case management software to the cloud. One of those reasons, as underscored whenever a severe natural disaster hits, is the need for business continuity. Law firms have to be able to continue doing business as usual in the days and weeks following a devastating natural disaster – for the sake of both their clients and their own future success.

Locally Hosted Apps Don’t Cut It

Before there was cloud computing, practice and case management software had to be hosted locally. Law firms purchased off-the-shelf solutions that were either installed on every computer in the office or hosted on a central mainframe and served to desktop clients. A lot of law offices still do things that way. But that will not cut it when a natural disaster wipes out the office.

Imagine the storm surge of a Cat 4 hurricane flooding your office and destroying all of your computers. It is going to cost you thousands to replace those computers. Even worse, the chances of you recovering data off waterlogged hard drives is slim. How are you going to continue serving your clients in the days and weeks ahead?

One of the most heartbreaking things observed in the aftermath of natural disasters is the fact that so much of the recovery process could have been made easier if proactive steps had been taken to mitigate the damage. Businesses know this all too well. So do law firms that insist on maintaining practice and case management software on local networks.

Data is Safe in the Cloud

Now imagine that same storm surge flooding your office and what it would mean to data stored in the cloud. Quite frankly, it would mean nothing. One of the primary benefits of cloud-based applications is that no data is stored locally. Everything is hosted on remote servers far away from your local office.

A legal practice app like NuLaw, hosted in the cloud, is safe from the ravages of natural disasters. Cloud environments exist inside tough, purpose-built buildings designed to withstand the extreme forces of nature. Not only that, but cloud environments are typically backed up at numerous locations completely separate from the main hosting environment. This provides much needed redundancy.

In short, your data is safe in the cloud. Business continuity is maintained no matter what happens to the computer equipment in your local office. You can access your cloud-based practice and case management software from existing computers, new computers, and even mobile devices.

It’s Time to Move to NuLaw

If your law office has not yet converted to a cloud-based practice and case management solution, it is time to consider making the move to NuLaw. Business continuity is as good a reason as any other to make the switch. And it’s an important reason, too.

You cannot afford for your law firm to be unable to serve clients due to a lack of data access or local computing power. You cannot afford to allow a natural disaster to stop you dead in your tracks at a time when your clients need you most. Moving your legal practice and case management software to the cloud, via NuLaw, ensures business continuity no matter what’s going on at your ground zero.