- January 25, 2021
- Gulfstream Legal
Organizations across every industry are discovering how today’s technologies help them achieve their objectives. For example, retailers use real-time analytics to quickly respond to data requests, adapt to changes and make informed decisions before their competition. Hospitals use technology to track patient information and provides this information to doctors at critical points to help prevent a misdiagnosis or prevent prescription of conflicting drugs. Transportation companies use technology to track packages, prevent delays and help ensure timely delivery.
While recent technologies present powerful opportunities for organizations, they also introduce challenges. The pace of change in IT is unprecedented. No longer can IT departments standardize on one or two computer models, a single operating system, and a short list of approved applications. The mobile devices and cloud-based technologies that have brought so much possibility have also introduced a hodgepodge of devices, platforms, and apps for IT departments to manage and secure.
The same holds true for many legal departments, those challenges add up to significant expenses and delay in work product: the cost of hiring and training qualified workers, purchasing the infrastructure to support emerging technologies, and keeping systems up to date and secure. Rather than struggle to keep pace with technology, many organizations turn to managed services providers for help. By trusting a third party such as Gulfstream Legal to handle project management, application updates, data center solutions, collaboration tools and security, legal departments can focus their time and resources on their core business objectives.
Managed service providers take an all-inclusive approach to Legal Technology services, resulting in a higher standard than many organizations can achieve in-house. Gulfstream Legal also offers ongoing management and maintenance of the underlying infrastructure, along with end-user support and service guarantees.
The benefits are clear: In 2014, only 30 percent of organizations used managed services, but within a year, that figure had nearly doubled. Managed services can cut costs by as much as 40 percent while doubling operational efficiency.
Turning to Gulfstream Legal as a trusted partner offers several advantages, including:
- FREEING UP STAFF
Most legal support departments are stretched thin. By outsourcing back-end or complex functions for the rapidly changing technologies present in today landscape, legal departments dedicate their in-house technology experts to projects that will further their core objectives, promote innovative ideas and provide more opportunities for internal wins.
- KEEPING PACE WITH THE DEMANDS FOR Legal Technology EXPERTISE
Legal departments around the world are struggling to fill critical positions, particularly in ESI, cybersecurity and analytics. Outsourcing these functions to a partner, like Gulfstream Legal, with technically skilled and specialized staff in new and emerging technologies alleviates these pressures.
- GREATER SCALABILITY
Internal IT departments can spend months — even years — deploying massive systems. Many organizations are finding it more effective to start small, move fast and expand as needed. Using the Gulfstream Legal modular approach to managed services makes it easy for legal departments to scale up or down depending on demand, such as a review team increasing attorney head count around a large document review, or receiving 1 million documents of production data from opposing counsel.
- 24/7 AVAILABILITY
The 9-to-5 workday is as outdated today as the phone booth. When case teams work around the clock to meet a deadline, so must your support network. With a managed services provider, like Gulfstream Legal, help is always available when you need it — days, nights, weekends, or holidays — to support case teams when they really need it.
- SHIFTING THE BURDEN OF COMPLIANCE
In addition to regular audits, many organizations are obligated to meet standards and requirements with their technology initiatives. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA), Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act (GLBA), Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI) and Sarbanes–Oxley Act (SOX) spell out rules regarding privacy, reporting and security in the healthcare, education, financial services, and retail industries. The latest directive, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), specifics EU law on data protection and privacy for all individuals within the European Union and the European Economic Area. This regulation also addresses the export of personal data outside the EU and EEA areas. Gulfstream Legal understands the regulations that legal departments are bound by, and can provide the systems, processes, and reports to guarantee that organizations meet their requirements — without placing that burden on in-house staff.
- PREDICTABLE PRICING
One of the biggest business values of managed services is greater cost savings. The price of building an internal eDiscovery unit is costly and requires ongoing investment in highly skilled people, processes and technology. By outsourcing initiatives to a Gulfstream Legal, legal departments can break down their costs into predictable monthly payments, as opposed to the large capital expenditures that come with managing systems in-house.
Learn more about Gulfstream Legal’s managed services, or contact us today.