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firms and sole practitioners are likely to lead the way to the cloud. That's because of the complexity involved in moving a large firm into an online environment and because most large firms have already invested considerably in desktop and serv- er-based technology. Valadares agrees. "It's easy for me to do it because I'm on my own. If I was working at a larger firm, as I was a few years ago, there's no way it could be implemented. It would be too much of a culture change," he says. Also, Valadares says he was motivated because of a change in his own circum- stances. He moved last fall from a partner- ship with another lawyer to a solo practice, which operates under the name Valadares Law Group LLP. It was a good oppor- tunity to review his IT needs and con- sider whether he still wanted to pay fees and support costs for a hosted Microsoft Exchange Server. Once he decided on Google Apps, the transition was relatively painless. With the help of technology con- sultant Ivan Fedorets, he was able to move all of his e-mails into the Google Apps environment within 24 hours. While he loves the online applications, he admits he is still "a little bit addicted" to Microsoft Word, which he uses on his desktop computer. Nevertheless, he says, he doesn't find the Google applications limiting at all as he has seldom used the extra bells and whistles that Microsoft Office provides. Valadares has actually moved almost all of his technology into the cloud, using various other applications for document management, data storage, and backup. It's therefore hard to calculate the savings accrued through Google Apps alone, but he estimates he will save at least $300 a month in hardware costs and main- tenance once he gets rid of his hosted Microsoft Exchange Server, a step he has not yet taken. A huge benefit of the online environ- ment for Valadares is the live collabora- tion tools. He recalls how he used it for one patent application at a client's site, with himself and several of the client firm's inventors working simultaneously on preparing and updating the appli- cation each from separate offices. He says he has also seen huge productivity gains with the use of online forms that he has developed with the Google Apps ntitled-3 1 PCLaw® spreadsheet to allow patent and trade- mark agents anywhere in the world to fill in information, which can then be easily converted into a document. Above all, he no longer has to worry about a power failure, a computer failure, a fire or any other situation that would otherwise pre- vent him from gaining access to his data. "It frees up time and it gives me peace of mind," he says. Furthermore, cloud computing fits with Valadares' lifestyle. "I have a young growing family and I can work at differ- ent hours in different locations: in the kitchen while I'm holding my newborn, in my home office, or in my actual office. I'm everywhere, so I can't be e-mailing documents back and forth to myself. I just love to be able to quickly open a document and continue working." Freelance journalist and business writer Kevin Marron can be reached at kevin@ kevinmarron.com. Practice Management LexisNexis® PCLaw® Accounting software that SPEAKS LEGALESE. billing and accounting software combines what you need to track your time and money all in one system — from time and billing to trust accounting, cheque writing, financial statements, client identification and verification, automatic backup, offline file management, advanced reporting tools and more. Best of all, it's easy to use and ready to go to work instantly. Download and Try PCLaw for FREE* For more information, call 1-800-328-2898 or visit www.lexisnexis.ca/pclaw. * Download PCLaw free for 30 days. Certain conditions apply. LexisNexis and the Knowledge Burst logo are registered trademarks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used under licence. PCLaw is a registered trademark of LexisNexis Practice Management Systems Inc. © 2011 LexisNexis Canada Inc. All rights reserved. www.CANADIAN Lawyermag.com FEBRUA R Y 2011 23 12/9/10 4:12:40 PM