Mac Ready For The Law Office

I have been using PCs working in the technology industry over 12 years. I just got a Mac a number of weeks ago.

The first thing that made my eyes pop out of my head and say "wow" was searching for anything. Finder or Spotlight can literally be dozens of times faster than anything I can get from a Windows search and, to the ease of use factor, I don't have to have add on product or have an IT specialist install search optimization software on my PC.

Ease of use. Just like the famous PC/Mac commercials using a PC you don't realize the interference Windows puts in front of you to accomplish things until you try a Mac. Even just simple things like connecting to a wireless network.

Next is the cost. Sure I paid more for the Mac computer, but, as a veteran Windows user and professionally focused on technology for the legal industry, I've noticed my total cost of ownership is drastically reduced in time and money spent.

Just using the integrated backup iDisk/iDrive feature alone will save you hours of time, which in my experience adds up to a lot when you consider the hourly bill rate, by having a point a click backup protection system built into the Mac. This is opposed to the Windows user who is buying equipment and/or software, installing and configuring, and spending time ensure his data is secure and protected....if he even bothers to do this at all(which is a huge professional liability risk).

The customer service and support is fantastic. Now I probably benefit from being geographically close in proximity to an Apple store and their direct personal support, but for me, this saved me hours in having to figure out a new computer and new operating system potentially spending hours traversing several levels of product support from an India based call center.

I have spent a total of $25 in software. Everything I need comes installed or built in with the Mac or is available for free. With the exception of 1 small "had to have" utility, I found free, well written and complete software solutions available to me that were open source. NeoOffice and a host of other business productivity applications are available. There are actually now dozens, if not hundreds of open source software programs for the Mac. Now the standard argument PC vs. Mac says "there is no business software for the Mac". Well, I've actually found that to be a blessing because for every software product I need for my PC, I have to wade through dozens of free, shareware, and paid products to try and find the best product and not to land the one that will crash my PC over and over. With Mac, I've found 1 or 2 well written programs for each software function I've needed. Time and money saved......

Software as a service(SaaS). For those who haven't noticed, there is a rapid and strong market force driving software to an internet/web based free or subscription model. Pay as you go, service included, nothing to install software for any business need that runs on any web browser... and that's the key here for Mac. Mac embeds and seeks to earn revenue from this model building in several functions for SaaS via Mac.com. All other web based business management applications that is decently written(which is almost all) runs perfectly on a Safari browser. Of note, for people who are doing much of their work through an Internet browser, the Safari browser is MUCH faster than the current versions of Internet Explorer and this is well documented.

SaaS then further shrinks the business software availability, PC vs. Mac argument. SaaS is projected to be the delivery mechanism for well over 50% of new software in the next 2 years and companies developing SaaS software for business are becoming staggeringly successful(see ticker CRM). This evolution includes legal management software and everything else including your email, data files and security. From practice management, to document construction, to time and billing, to financial(like QuickBooks Online) they are all available today in SaaS for legal business software consumers.

So, in summary I am a convert. Not just now, with a new toy, but for the future as I see the technology/software industry and its direction in the coming years. If you properly plan(specifically for security and confidentiality considerations) how and what to use for business applications and technology for a legal practice, my feeling is you can come out ahead in your efficiency, both monetary and time, by utilizing Mac, it's features, and internet technology available to you today.