Take stock of your technology strategy

The recent announcement from Thomson Reuters that it has put its mid-market practice management system (PMS), Envision, into what is known as ‘maintenance mode’ is a timely reminder that a PMS is often the pivotal piece of software in a law firm. In this instance, maintenance mode means that the product will no longer be sold, but will be maintained until it is deemed ‘end of life’. In this case, that will be around 2019.

Having four years to replace a product might not make the situation sound particularly urgent. However, given that it can take two years or more to plan and install a PMS, and that suppliers are not geared for instant rollouts of their software, four years is a relatively short window.

When a product like Envision (formerly LawSoft) is withdrawn, firms are faced with two broad choices – accept a replacement from the same provider, if one exists, or go to market to see what else is available. The market for PMS systems has shrunk considerably over the last ten years, but there is still a reasonable amount of choice, and there are some new products vying for a space.

Firms that elect to take a product from the same supplier can take advantage of the fact that it is likely they will not be the first to migrate, so the supplier should have worked out a migration path based on their experiences with other clients. System migration, especially of a core system, is a long and arduous task, and the smaller the impact this has on the firm’s operation the better. Other advantages may accrue, such as familiarity with the support services and the integration of other products used with the new system.

Analyse your firm’s requirements

On the other hand, going out to market can produce its own advantages. A tender process will give a firm an idea of how competitive the pricing of various supplier offerings is. More importantly, if you are prepared to invest in analysing your firm’s requirements in relation to your overall strategy, you should be able to use this to drive the purchase of a product that is fit for purpose.

When you consider the overall cost of a PMS, and the impact it can have on your business, this approach is one I always recommend, even if there is a ready replacement. PMSs are generally amortised over four or more years, and in reality are run for much longer than that. They are a sizeable investment, and one you should put a great deal of effort into getting right.

Looking at alternative core technology platforms can also have the effect of encouraging firms to look at the way in which their technology is housed, run, and delivered. In other words, it is a really good time to take stock of your technology strategy and refine it in line with your firm-wide strategy. In particular, for some firms it will be an opportunity to analyse the possibility of moving more of their technology stack into the cloud or looking at alternative methods of managing and provisioning it.

Of course, you do not need to have a product to go end of life on you to make a change of this nature. The changing nature of the legal world and the constant evolution of software offerings should encourage firms to look at their core products periodically. There is much to gain from a properly specified, installed, and configured PMS. The corollary, as many firms can testify, is that a poorly executed purchase and installation can have long-term repercussions that, while not necessarily affecting the profitability of a firm directly, can very much hold it back.

One of the key technology issues in the legal world over the next few years will be the accumulation, treatment, and reporting of data, and much of this will start with a PMS system. Get this right and the data journey will have one less obstacle to block its progress. SJ

Damian Blackburn is the director of legal IT consultancy firm SLFtech

@Damian_SLFtech