| | February 20168CIOReviewThe Next Big Technology Is ProcessBy Tony Cordeiro, CIO, White CaseFor many years, people have asked me, "What is the next big technology which will change the practice of law?" I usually mention a few of the latest apps we've discovered, mobility trends, the impact of security, new product features vendors have been working on to improve their products, and how we think these will drive the way people work ­ typically with productivity and efficiency in mind. There have been few revolutionary legal IT developments in recent history. However, it is the confluence of these many enhancements and improvements which have made a positive impact - especially in the mobility and remote working world. Most firms work hard to identify these possible solutions, link them to the business issue they seek to improve, and make our lawyers aware of how they can take advantage of them. The intuitive use of these technologies must aid the lawyer and business services professionals in working smarter and more effectively, otherwise they simply will not use them.But what is the secret sauce? What is the technology that really propels a firm forward? Are there tools which no firm can do without? Should they adopt new enterprise and desktop systems before their peers? Will that make them stand out with a competitive advantage and impact client service? Or is there another approach? These are all very good questions and ones we ask ourselves regularly. However, one of the fundamental things we should be spending more quality time on is asking `how' lawyers and business services personnel do what they do. What is the process they follow to get the job done and what enabling technologies do they rely on to execute that process? Even in the most diverse disciplines, practices, or service areas there are some similarities in the way things are done.My point is this: While `IT' does matter ­ business processes matter equally. As suggested, studying and understanding 'what' a process is and `how' it is performed gives us the best chance of enhancing it and making improvements. While I take nothing away from the research and review of possible new technologies, which may seem on the surface to impact an area, many of our business challenges are solved with better and more effective use of the tools we already have which requires a better understanding of the process around their use. Today, many firms simply don't maximize all the tools they have which is a tremendous opportunity cost of under-used software a Firm pays for each year.We have embarked on a mission to connect the simple business processes and steps one takes to get something accomplished with the tools that will readily help them. While there are differences which make development of a single uniform process unattainable (as many lawyers will confirm for you) there are common themes ­ even across different practice areas. A simple example: the most fundamental business process a lawyer performs with a client is communication via email. How that is executed is consistent: read, reply, send and file. The multitude of different desktop and mobile devices will offer different modes on how best to do this based on the lawyer's work style and preference. Some are `filers' and like to put things in Tony CordeiroIn Myopinion | | January 20168CIOReview
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