Many professionals use SharePoint because the law firm is using the Microsoft suite of tools and SharePoint is installed for all users. It is specifically designed to give enterprise companies and individual professionals a secure place to store, organize, share and access information from almost any device. There are several SharePoint tools including SharePoint Online, SharePoint Designer and SharePoint Workspace, and each has its own unique purpose that can help lawyers manage their files and communicate with their peers in a more efficient manner.

CloudHQ is one of the most popular data replication services, and many small businesses and professionals use cloudHQ for consolidation, collaboration and backup. It may sound complicated, but actually cloudHQ is VERY simple to use, and it's completely automated, so you can simply set it and forget it, and cloudHQ handles the rest. But what exactly does cloudHQ do? And how can cloudHQ help us lawyers be more efficient?

We've covered Bring your own Device (BYOD) for legal professionals several times in this blog- how to implement a BYOD program, how to secure the mobile devices, how to minimize risks of information security breaches in the cloud, and much more. But what does the future hold for BYOD in the legal profession? The increase of successful cloud-based attacks is a red-flag alert for lawyers who deal with sensitive information on a daily basis. A recent survey of legal counsel from Fortune 1,000 companies showed that BYOD will be the #1 e-discovery challenge for lawyers in 2014. So what will 2014 hold for BYOD, in and out of the courtroom?

Cloud computing trends have been steadily increasing in the last several years and 2014 appears to be set to continue this trend. New cloud startups are being created on a constant basis, and existing cloud services are becoming more sophisticated. The power of cloud computing is pushing mobile trends to new heights as well, the two actually work very well together. Cloud providers are creating mobile apps that allow lawyers to access the cloud services from any mobile device. So if a lawyer creates a document database on a cloud service such as Box or Dropbox, these documents can be accessed quickly on a mobile device from any location that has internet access. 

Lawyers deal with a vast amount of confidential information on a daily basis. Client contact information, social security information, financial records, contracts, case details, photos, sensitive law firm data and much more- it all must be protected securely and backed up to prevent data theft or loss. And only keep the data you need. Unnecessary confidential data stored in your accounts can be a costly risk. All unneeded data should be disposed of using proper methods according to disposal laws. 

With the advancements of mobile and cloud trends, the legal industry has taken notice of the many benefits. Cloud computing offers numerous advantages for lawyers, allowing them to quickly create and share documents, manage cases and projects, stay connected with other legal professionals through social networking, quickly access important files and documents, sync files between numerous cloud services, backup files to prevent data loss and much more. In this article, we will take a look at some of the top tips and tricks for mobile lawyers.

Protecting mobile devices is nothing new to lawyers, you already realize the importance of protecting sensitive and confidential data. But there is always that possibility that something can go wrong. Your mobile device getting lost or stolen is certainly not the end of the world. There are numerous apps, programs and services that are designed to track and locate mobile devices, remotely lock and wipe mobile devices and back up data in case the device is never recovered or is hacked by an intruder. Here are some of the top resources to help lawyers protect their mobile devices from theft and data loss.

The majority of phone carriers have implemented phone tracking to their service plans. If your phone is lost or stolen, you can simply login and track it. If this is not included with your plan, don't despair. There are many independent services and programs that allow you to track your device simply by logging in to the website or using the app from another mobile device. Just remember, your device must be on and transmitting as signal to be able to be tracked. 

You should protect your phone with the security features that it comes enabled with. Often, this includes features such as two-step verification, security challenge questions, encryption and more. There are some newer security methods such as eye-tracking and fingerprint scanning, but the actual security benefits of these features have yet to be validated as they can still be bypassed with a password.

Many employees have begun using multiple phones to keep their personal and business lives separate, especially as more IT departments are implementing monitoring software on mobile devices to ensure that security and company policies are being met. However, some of the newer smartphones such as the Samsung S4 have recently developed split environments to offer users more flexibility and privacy.

Touted as the ultimate business phone, the Samsung S4 is the perfect solution for BYOD implementations or for professionals that prefer to use mobile devices for their business activities. The superior Knox security feature allows for the phone to be separated into two separate partitions- one for business and one for personal use. This way, if your phone is being monitored by the IT guys, they can't see your personal texts, phone logs, photos or emails.

If your phone is lost or stolen, you must act fast. Once an attacker gains access to your phone, they may be able to gain access to many other accounts. There are numerous remote lock and wipe programs includingiCloud and the ultimate Mobile Defense security suite. 

If your mobile device does get stolen, it turns into a bad situation that can get worse. If you don't have the remote lock and wipe feature with your service plan, or are unable to access the internet, you can be in trouble. An attacker can quickly use the device to gain access to the law firm cloud accounts where he can access various types of information, files and documents. A secure cloud data backup system such as cloudHQ will provide a safe, secure and complete backup of all of your important files and documents.

• Ten top mobile security tips you need to know (mefminute.com)
• More customers taking mobile security measures (shoretelsky.com)
• Businesses should place security measures on mobile devices (shoretelsky.com)
• Mobile Device Security (xiaoyanwangmu.wordpress.com)
• Stop Worrying About Mobile Device Security | ForeScout solutions for BYOD (laurence-autorino.com)
• Mobile Device Management: The New Moneymaker for MSPs (gfi.com)
• BYOD Policies Bring a Billion Devices to Businesses by 2018 (eweek.com)
• 95% Of Mobile Devices Have No Security Software Installed - Juniper (misco.co.uk)
• Maintaining Focus On Mobile And Data Management (cloudhq.net)
• Mobile security awareness - top of the list this Christmas (abc.net.au)

Technology has changed the way many lawyers operate, especially with the many added advantages that cloud and mobile has brought to the industry. Mobile apps and cloud services have helped lawyers work more efficiently by spending more of their time on important work and meetings instead of commute times to meetings, appointments, office equipment, to collaborate over files and documents, and much more. Here are the top 5 tech tips for lawyers.

With the surging popularity of mobile devices among lawyers, tablets have increasingly made their way into courtrooms everywhere. This makes it a simple task to show presentations, access information online, share and receive files and much more. If you keep notes in Evernote, they are easily accessible at any time. Documents and presentations created and stored in Google Drive can be quickly downloaded from any location with internet access.

Mobile apps are essential tools, especially when you're on the go much of the time. Some of the top mobile apps that should be in your toolchest include:

• Evernote: Lawyers can quickly create, share and store notes, audio dictations and snapshots from a mobile device.
• Google Apps: Documents can be created, revised, collaborated on, shared and stored in the cloud.
• Dropbox: The world's top-rated cloud storage provider allows easy file-sharing with no file size limits.
• Box: One of the most secure cloud storage providers as it is HIPAA and HiTECH compliant.
• SkyDrive:  Microsoft's cloud storage integrates with many Microsoft services and comes pre-installed on most newer computers and laptops.
• Basecamp: The best cloud project management service provides all the tools lawyers need to manage nearly all aspects of their cases.

A big, luxurious office is great for impressing other lawyers and clients, but it's not as necessary as it once was. Many lawyers have chosen to go the virtual route by creating an entire mobile suite of tools such as the one previously mentioned in this article. By using a mobile internet connection, a laptop, smartphone and tablet, a lawyer can create an entire virtual office that goes everywhere with him. This eliminates the need to have a physical office as meetings can be conducted over video chat; documents can be created, shared and legally signed; cases can be completely managed with other lawyers and sources; and much more. 

Most cloud services do not offer integration with other cloud services because they are in competition with them. This is why a third-party cloud integration service such as cloudHQ should be an integral part of any lawyer’s toolkit. CloudHQ is the glue that bonds information from various cloud services together. For instance, notes you keep stored in Evernote can be automatically replicated to Dropbox, Box, Google Drive and other cloud services. This way you don't have your information scattered across too many cloud services which can make things very confusing.

Lawyers deal with confidential and sensitive information on a daily basis. For this reason, cloudHQ offers their leading cloud backup service. All files that you keep stored in the cloud should be protected in case data loss was to occur. So if you keep all your legal data stored on Dropbox, you can keep a backup of it on Box. If an incident occurs on Dropbox and important files are lost, you can quickly and easily login to Box and restore your files. Don't wait until a data loss incident ruins your legal career, get cloudHQ protection now.

• How To Manage Your Basecamp Projects Like A Pro (cloudhq.net)
• The Ultimate Dropbox Tips and Tricks Guide (cloudhq.net)
• The Six Best Mobile Small-Business Apps (staples.com)
• box.build: Q&A with Senad Dizdar, CEO of cloudHQ (developers.blog.box.com)
• Transforming Your Smartphone or Tablet into a Small-Business Machine (staples.com)
• Online Storage: Best Places to Store Your Folders on the Internet (pc.answers.com)
• WD boosts My Cloud line with four-bay My Cloud EX4 with up to 16TB (electronista.com)
• Sharp targets SMBs with printer-friendly cloud storage service (technewsworlds.wordpress.com)
• Cnet tech: Get 50GB of AT&T Locker cloud storage for free (reviews.cnet.com)
• Dropbox and the Future of Toasters (mi621.com)

If you are a lawyer that has interest in technology, you no doubt have heard of Software as a Service (SaaS) in the cloud. Many lawyers already use SaaS in the cloud,  and you probably already do in some form as well. Many lawyers that use SaaS are wary (and rightfully so) about a number of issues and challenges including security, cost, data backup and recovery and other possible disasters that could happen in the cloud. In this article, we will take a look at what SaaS is, how it is used in the courtroom and law firm and how to prevent any cloud disasters associated with SaaS from happening to you.

Software as a Service apps are quickly becoming more popular in the courtroom and law firms everywhere. A SaaS app is software that is based in the cloud, so it performs the same functions as software installed on your computer, but you can access it from any device that has internet access instead of having to install software on all of your devices.

Some of the most popular SaaS apps that are used in law firms today are:

• Evernote: Used for taking notes, snapping photos, clipping web articles, audio clips and much more.
  

• Google Apps: This powerful document management suite allows lawyers to quickly create, edit, delete, share, sign and save documents, spreadsheets and presentations from any mobile device or computer that has internet access.
  

• Dropbox: The most popular cloud storage provider, offering free space, unlimited size file sharing, simple file sharing, strong encryption and security measures. 
  

• Box: Similar to Dropbox, it offers free space, but does have file size limits. It also offers the strongest security measures as it is HIPAA and HITECH compliant.
  

• Microsoft SkyDrive: Microsoft's cloud storage. If you have Windows 8, you are no doubt familiar with SkyDrive as much of the storage and apps are stored in the cloud on SkyDrive.
  

• Basecamp: That's right, the premier project management tool in the world is SaaS. Based in the cloud, Basecamp provides lawyers with all the tools they need to successfully manage cases and other projects from any location with internet access.
  

Well, there is good news and bad news. The bad news first: 1 out of 3 Companies Lose Data in SaaS. Okay, so now you're thinking that SaaS is not secure, right? Wrong. The sad fact is- human error still accounts for the number one reason for data loss in the cloud. And unfortunately, security cannot predict human error and therefore it is very hard to guard against it. But there is one cloud service that stands against human error, human stupidity and even purposeful malicious human deletion. This cloud service is cloudHQ. 

The cloudHQ backup and replication service works by providing a complete backup of all of your cloud data to a backup account on a completely separate cloud service. So if your law firm uses Dropbox for all of your cloud storage needs, the backup account could be on a separate cloud service such as Google Drive or Box. You choose which folders and files you wish to have backed up and cloudHQ does the rest. All new files added to the shared folders in the main account will be instantly replicated to the backup account. So now if you or your legal aide or anyone else with access to the cloud account accidentally (or purposely) deletes files or important documents, there will always be a secondary copy of all of your files and documents on the backup account. Recovering files is quick and easy and only takes minutes. Most cloud services offer file recovery, but only for short periods up to 30 days. After that period of time, your data is gone forever, unless you have a secure backup system like cloudHQ. Human error is prevalent and is still the number one cause of data loss in the cloud, but with cloudHQ, you can combat human error and defeat it easily.

• SaaS Litmus Test | How to Pick a SaaS Solution | Domo | Blog (domo.com)
• Identify, Acquire and Master the Technology that Will Drive Your Small Business (staples.com)
• First Ever Cloud "SaaS Enablement as a Service" for Rapid Cloud On-boarding of Software Applications by NephoScale Cloud Computing and Corent Technology (prweb.com)
• SoftServe Launches SaaS Tenant Analyzer, a Solution for Predicting Subscriber Behavior (virtual-strategy.com)
• SaaS-based Commercial Fleet Telematics Units will Increase from 1.06 Million in 2012 to 16.8 Million by 2018, Forecasts ABI Research (hispanicbusiness.com)
• Sql saturday199 cloud_stakeholders (slideshare.net)
• Enterprise software vendors face deflation: Advantage SaaS (zdnet.com)

The bond between law firms and cloud computing has seen recent surges due to the useful features of cloud apps, as well as the tightening of cloud security. Mobile and cloud trends have helped push the legal industry towards a more mobile-friendly, remote use industry. Lawyers have searched for apps and services that will save them money while offering them flexibility to manage their legal duties remotely in the least amount of time possible. The cloud has offered numerous apps and services that do all that and much more. In this article, we will take an in-depth look at some of the best cloud apps for lawyers, and why cloud integration and backup are critical for lawyers.