Office365 is Micrososoft's Future

Jeff Bennion is a lucid law practice technologist. The writing on his virtual wall says Office365 in Big Letters. This week he posted a great article on Above The Law. In the article Jeff makes the following observation:

For years now, Microsoft has been acquiring companies and integrating them with Office 365 and Windows 10 to let you do more from places other than your desk. For example, the new Timeline feature takes advantage of the artificial intelligence working in the background of Windows, and lets you start a document at work, and when you pick up your cell phone or go to another computer it will ask you if you want to pick up where you left off, regardless of whether that file is on your computer. If it’s not on your computer, it downloads it and you can get to work seamlessly.

Jeff also notes the upcoming release of new Surface computers from Microsoft:

So, today [May 23, 2017] Microsoft is having its conference in Shanghai to announce new Surface computers. What does that mean for lawyers though, whose Outlook calendars and pleading templates work just as well on a fourth-generation Intel i5 than on a seventh-generation i7? Does it really matter what the new computers are and how fast they can do things?
The answer is yes, but not because we need faster, better computers. It’s because between the hardware changes that are coming and the software changes, manufacturers are rapidly trying to change work culture to encourage mobility and remote working. We are right in the middle of a huge work culture change, which includes law practices, and it’s being driven in part by these new things coming out.

Jeff is giving us lawyers a heads up that we have to start getting ready now for the inevitable transformation of computing to the cloud. His big statement:  We are going mobile.

The Death of the DesktopIt is my prediction that desktop computers in the office will be gone in five years. As we’ve seen in big law firms, more law firms will rely on employees working from home. That will be hastened by the technology that is allowing that transition to happen more smoothly. 

This message does not come as a shock to me. As someone who has been telecommunting for three decades, the pattern makes sense. People are mobile. Why shouldn't our computing platforms be able to follow us, rather than tying us down. Mobile technology equals convenience. Convenience equals efficiency. Efficiency makes for better performance, be it sales, writing, practicing law, anything!

Get ready folks, the transformation will be a lot easier if you go with it rather than fighting it. If you are not already there, you need to start looking to the cloud. If you are a Microsoft Word of Excel addict, you better start learning more about Office365.

Please visit hardinglaw.com for more information about Harding & Associates Family Law 

Please click here to read the entirety of Jeff's brilliant article.

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The Small Firm Legal Marketing Blog

I am always on the look out for new sources of information to help make the practice of law more efficient, more pleasant, more profitable. To that end I recently find a new blog that I think is pretty good: The Small Firm Legal Marketing blog. Produced by a Washington DC personal injury lawyer who only gives us his first name, Maxwell (sort of a lost marketing opportunity on his part), the blog includes tips into search engine optimization, product reviews, and social media plans.

The blog is pretty new, but I think it has a lot of potential. While not grand in scope or content (kind of matches this blog in that respect) it is worth a click, so click here to visit smallfirmlegalmarketing.com.

Please visit hardinglaw.com for more information about Harding & Associates Family Law 

#Harding&AssociatesFamilyLaw #californiafamilylaw #divorce #family law #superlawyers #americanacademyofmatrimoniallawyers #Pleasantondivorce #AlamedaCountyDivorce #ContraCostaCountyDivorce #lawyers

Office 365 Report

Well, it has been a couple of weeks since we implemented Microsoft's Office 365 Business Premium. On the whole I would say I am most enthused. Having all Microsoft Office products (Outlook, Word, Excel, etc.) on all of my hardware is great! Likewise, being able to go live with Outlook regardless of device or location is a huge convenience. And for $12.50 per user per month, you cannot beat the cost!

Remember we made the switch after Rocket Matter -- our Great practice management software -- released its Office 365 integration features. Those new tools are also proving to be a great addition to our practice, particularly the new email integration tools.

Of course, we are talking about Microsoft here, so I am not going to say everything has been problem free. Office 365 requires a new way of thinking, and it has been mind numbing at times. I have bought books and reviewed dozens of blogs and chat groups as part of the learning curve. Of course, there are also hiccups. We have not completely moved all of our files to the cloud because we are still struggling with some Sharepoint and OneDrive formatting requirements. We are still getting used to finding those cloud based files and documents. While in court yesterday I tried to review some pleadings on my iPad. It did not go as smooth as glass. With time there will come familiarity. I am not worried.

I have been a proponent of maintaining a mobile practice for decades. Office 365 is a major development in that regard. It was the right move to make.

Please visit hardinglaw.com for more information about Harding & Associates Family Law 

#Microsoft #office365 #Harding&AssociatesFamilyLaw #californiafamilylaw #divorce #family law #superlawyers #americanacademyofmatrimoniallawyers #Pleasantondivorce #AlamedaCountyDivorce #ContraCostaCountyDivorce #lawyers