Much digital ink is already being spilled about the goodies announced this morning at Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference and I’ll have thoughts on some of those things soon. My initial reaction however is that the Documents feature of iCloud may well be the most interesting piece to mobile lawyers (it is to me, anyway).
iCloud promises to serve as the central hub for documents and keeping them in sync with all iOS devices (Mac and PC as well?). Already integrated into Pages, Numbers and Keynote, Apple also promises that it has “given developers the tools to make their apps work with iCloud, too.” We currently accomplish something similar with Dropbox and Dropbox aware apps though that approach often requires manual syncyronization and still has the possibility of file duplication / overwrite. Still lots of questions to be answered (speed, encryption, file format compatibility, APIs made available to developers, etc.) but I’m optimistic about this development.
I’ll have more thoughts about the iPad specific features in the upcoming iOS 5 (coming this Fall) that I think will be of interest to lawyers soon.
I too await iCloud. But Dropbox works and most of my “go to” apps incorporate Dropbox so iCloud will have some catching up to do. I share Josh’s opinion that iOS 5 is the bigger issue. Apparently, major changes are in store. However, one recent article bemoans the lack of five items, including the lack of central file management. As one of those wrestling with workflow to and from an iPad, I join that call for relief. However, I am not so naive to believe it will happen. The article can be found at http://www.informationweek.com/news/230300014
Dropbox isn’t a solution for me because I have to download the app to my work computer, which means I have to deal with our IT department, and I don’t want to do that. So, I’ve been using Google Docs so far and it’s worked like a charm. I can simply drag and drop files from my desktop into Google Docs in a matter of seconds. A few more finger-presses later, the files are in my iPad. No app required. Google’s web interface is sufficient as is.
It’s unclear to me whether iCloud will keep things as simple. I hope so.
I love dropbox and use it all the time. The only problem is that it is not compatible with Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. I suspect the reason these Apple apps aren’t compatible with dropbox is because Apple wants everyone to use iCloud when it’s available. It’s really unfortunate because Pages is hands down the best word processing app for the iPad.
I agree that Pages is the best if you use Pages on the desktop. I also think it is the best example of a well designed mobile app, an example I wish other developers would follow. It doesn’t handle complex formatted .doc files as well as some of the competitors.
You can use Dropbox with Pages if you pair it with a service called DropDAV.
Hello.
The iCloud service on the face of it seems like the logical next step for Apple and I await its arrival to see from an IT technology and personal perspective how I can best use it.
I work within the IT Network Infrastructure Team and part of my job is security. My concerns for any cloud based service in the legal work place is around security, and protecting our legal documents along with protecting our client information. I don’t like the idea of our client information slushing around on Internet cloud based services but if there is security and encryption then this is a good first start. Cloud services are the way forward but security must be the first port of call.
Many thanks
Craig
What are the basic elements for the type of security you would like to see?
I agree that security is important, but I am often amazed when lawyers won’t use cloud tools for some document management for security reasons but the same lawyers don’t have a password on their laptop/phone, use insecure wifi networks, or even just leave a briefcase full of files in a taxi.
Hi Josh.
As a basic starting point I would like to see encryption keys used to protect the data hosted on the cloud system. That has to be a given as far as I am concerned. It would be a requirement that the hosting company not have the means to decrypt any data that we hold with them and again this is a safe guard and one that the law firm would need to be aware of that should they lose the encryption keys that they cant get at the data. When accessing cloud based services I would like to see some kind of two factor authentication like RSA.
I would happen to agree 100% that the cloud has some very obvious security concerns which put people off using it but at the same time don’t take the security of their desktop, mobile phone, laptop as serious. A laptop or phone that has been stolen has the same risk associated with it as regards to cloud based services. It still contains internal information and client details. The cloud is a hot topic but sometimes I don’t think those that wish to use it fully understand where and how such data is being housed and accessed.
On the other hand I can see it being a wonderful technology that is going to change how and when we access data. However like your house you don’t go to work and leave the front door open.
Interested to know what others think of cloud security?
Regarding cloud security, I have no intention of using it to store anything other than my personal files for more than a few hours at a time. The only place I actually store legal documents for work is on my physical ipad. Documents are transferred to Google Docs (and some day to iCloud) for the sole purpose of later transferring to my ipad, because my office doesn’t currently have wifi. I simply go home that evening, complete the transfer, and then delete everything from Google Docs.
We’re going to have wifi soon, so even that step will become less delayed, and documents will sit on Google’s servers for no more than a minute or two before I delete them.
I would not trust the long-term storage of sensitive legal documents on a third-party server, unless extraordinary security measures were promised to me.
Speaking of cloud security failures, get a load of this:
http://money.cnn.com/2011/06/22/technology/dropbox_passwords/index.htm?iid=HP_LN
Oh how this statement is so very very true……..(right now)
“Any trust in the cloud is too much trust in the cloud — it’s as simple as that,” says Dave Aitel, president and CEO of security firm Immunity Inc. “It’s pretty much the standard among security professionals that you should put on the cloud only what you would be willing to give away.”
Yes, having your unencrypted documents reside in DropBox is problematic from a security point of view, but even if you can get comfortable with the security implications you still need to consider what level of document management functionality you need to work effectively.
Do you need a matter-centric view of your documents?
Do you need document versioning and detailed document revision history?
Do you need granular access controls for different attorneys?
Do you need to keep track of document metadata such us notes, author, document class or type, creation/modification dates, etc, etc, to aid during searches or for other purposes?
If your law firm needs some of these features then DropBox does not even meet the minimal functional requirements of your practice.
That’s why many law firms have turned to enterprise-level Document Management Systems. And if you have one of those in place, then DropBox becomes a tiresome process of dragging-and-dropping between you Document Management System, your desktop PC, and DropBox. How much time -really- do you want to spend dragging files around? And what’s plan B for when you failed to drop(Box) that one document revision that your client is now asking for?
In summary, for smaller practices DropBox *may* be ok. For larger practices which already have a Document Management System in place I doubt DropBox will ever be a good enough.
@Daniel.
You make some very interesting points and I would have to agree 100% with you.
from a law firm point of view, dropbox or any cloud based service where unencrypted documents live is so out of control and far to much risk. Law firms trade on their reputation and if I was a client I would want to know my documents are safe and not sitting up on the internet for all to read.
Its a hot topic that I am sure will get much debate in the years to come.