Staying on top of the tech – challenges for small and medium-sized organisations

If the last few months have proved anything it is that businesses are heavily reliant on technology to operate effectively. That is true whether working remotely or not. But as technology becomes ever more sophisticated it also becomes harder to decide where to invest in it and how to implement it, unless you have real expertise and experience.

It is time-consuming to try to keep on top of the rapid pace of developments in technology –analysing the risks and benefits of moving to the cloud, ensuring that data is secure, assessing how to use the new features available in MS Teams and other aspects of Microsoft 365. There are over 200 products on the latest LegalGeek legal tech start-up map alone, not to mention the constant developments in the more established products. Product vendors may claim they can revolutionise your business, but it requires expertise and understanding to validate such claims. The ability to dig into the benefits and potential drawbacks of different solutions (and to demonstrate to your partners and paymasters that you have done so) is essential when making investment decisions.

Many medium-sized and smaller firms – as well as in house legal teams – struggle to align IT requirements with their business goals but are not large enough to warrant the expense of employing a strategic IT leader. Ad hoc consultancy may help in relation to specific needs, but firms are increasingly turning to ‘fractional’ or part-time IT Director offerings to give them the required level of insight, combined with an in-depth familiarity with the business, in their ongoing decision making. We see this trend accelerating and that is why 3Kites has begun providing such services to its clients.