This time around in our developer interviews, I reached out to the good folks over at Clio to get their impressions about the iPad. SaaS applications seem like a natural fit for a mobile device like the iPad with its powerful mobile version of Safari. Check out what they had to say:
TL: For those who may not know, give me a little background about Clio.
The idea for Clio came to us while we were working as consultants to the Law ?Society of British Columbia. Their practice standards division expressed ?concern that much of their solo-small firm membership were under-utilizing ?practice management technology for lack of sufficient technical or financial ?resources, and as a result were having higher rates of competence-related ?issues than their peers in larger firms. Inspired by this, Clio was designed ?to be a turn-key web-based solution that afforded solo & small firm ?attorneys a complete practice management system without the associated ?technical hurdles or financial burden common to the incumbent solutions. In ?our minds, Clio was an opportunity to level the playing field in favor of ?solos and small firms.
TL: Why did you decide to go the SaaS route as opposed to traditional ?installed software?
When we first conceived of Clio back in 2007, early SaaS products like ?Salesforce.com and 37signals’ Basecamp were storming onto the scene and ?legitimizing the web as a viable medium for delivering business-class ?applications. New web-based applications like Gmail and Google Maps were ?also proving that a rich, interactive, highly responsive experience could be ?delivered via the web. We really felt that the writing was on the wall: ?traditional desktop software was fading in importance, and the web was ?emerging as the new platform upon which an entirely new generation of ?applications would be delivered.
We also saw SaaS as a perfect fit for the needs of solos and small firms. ?For a typical 3 or 4 person firm, getting up and running with a traditional ?installed product would involve buying a server, buying multiple software ?licenses, hiring a consultant to install and configure a bunch of software ?and settings, and training staff on how to use and maintain this system. ?Aside from the time investment in setting this up, hard costs could easily ?run in the $5,000-$10,000 range. Clio, on the other hand, can be up and ?running in a firm in less than 5 minutes with no software purchases, ?hardware outlays, or consulting expenses. With SaaS lawyers can focus on ?practicing law and running their practice rather than wrestling with ?technology.
Aside from the platform benefits of the web, we saw building on the web as ?an opportunity to build a simpler, easier-to-use practice management system. ?We’re big believers in the “less is more” design ethos of 37signals, and we ?really built Clio with a “blue sky” approach – we threw out all the baggage ?of how existing desktop-based systems did things, and started from a blank ?slate. We build a solid foundation of base functionality based on what our ?early alpha and beta users wanted to see in the product, and have been ?iterating rapidly based directly on user feedback ever since. That formula ?seems to be working pretty well.
TL: What do you think the advances in mobile devices mean for the legal ?profession? To SaaS vendors such as yourself?
Our hope is that advanced mobile technologies will help to facilitate ?location-independent productivity that allows lawyers and other business ?professionals more readily achieve a work-life balance that isn’t strictly ?challenged by working location. When we were initially developing Clio I ?remember interviewing a lawyer that was taking the bus into work every ?Saturday – this was a two-hour round trip, by the way – to get to the ?computer that hosted his practice information. I knew then that something as ?simple as a laptop and a web-based practice management tool could have saved ?him hours on every weekend that he could have been spending with his family. ?Its situations like those that I hope technology like the iPad and Clio is ?able to solve.
TL: Lawyers are stereotypically very slow to adopt new technologies. Do you ?think this is accurate?
I think people are often too quick to target lawyers as the influence ?slowing the pace of technology adoption. Although the legal industry could ?be said to be very precedent-driven in its thinking, I think much of the ?blame for slow technology adoption ought to be borne by the legal software ?vendors themselves. When we entered the market in 2008 we were surprised by ?the seeming absence of anyone innovating in the practice management space ?along with a general lack of awareness by vendors to the undeniable ?importance of the web in the evolution of industries everywhere.
The same thing appears to be happening on the eve of the launch of the iPad. ?We’ve read hundreds of blogs and twitter posts by lawyers that are keen to ?use the iPad in their practices, but comparatively little from the vendors ?about how they intend to cater to this demand.
TL: It seems that your users are more technically ?sophisticated, but don’t you have to convert the technophobes to grow?
As is the case with all technologies, there will be the laggards and ?technophobes that are hesitant to ride the wave with the early majority, ?but, from our perspective, there’s plenty of technically-minded lawyers who ?have learned to leverage the value of new technology in their practices, and ?we’re more than happy to concentrate our efforts on this demographic – the ?rest will follow eventually.
TL: You currently have the web based product. Is it usable on mobile Safari ?(iPhone) or Blackberry browsers? Does a user suffer any limitations when ?using a mobile browser like on the iPhone or iPad?
Our mobile interface is fully compatible with most newer smartphones such as ?the iPhone, the Droid and the Palm Pre. The site has been optimized for use ?over mobile networks and allows users to access virtually all of the ?functions available via the standard Clio interface.
TL: Are you planning any apps for the iPad?
Our current Clio mobile interface will be compatible with the iPad, as will ?the standard interface. We are, however, looking ahead to leverage the ?opportunities the iPad will undoubtedly offer, and expect to be making some ?announcements regarding this functionality in the near future. We are big ?believers in the open web, and see the iPad supporting next-generation web ?technologies such as HTML5 as an indication of how instrumental Apple sees ?web applications to the success of the iPad.
TL: What will a device like the iPad bring to a Clio user?
I see the iPad as a companion device that virtually every Clio user would ?benefit from having on hand. I say companion because I don’t see the iPad as ?a desktop- or laptop-killer. It’s a device that you would have in addition ?to a primary desktop or laptop computer. It would, however, change the way ?your approach these devices – you’ll find yourself leaving your laptop on ?your desk more often, walking away with only your iPad to review case notes, ?read a document, check your schedule for the week, or update time entries ?for the day through the Clio iPad interface.
What I think will surprise many is how much less they’ll use their desktop ?or laptops once they’ve purchased an iPad.
Thanks to Clio for the perspective on the iPad and hints perhaps of things to come from Clio. Thanks!
If there are other app or SaaS developers you’d like to see featured in this series, drop me an e-mail.
