International Legal Technology Association (ILTA), and InsideLegal, the insider’s guide to doing business in legal technology, today released the findings of the “2016 ILTA/InsideLegal Technology Purchasing Survey” (survey). The survey, which is distributed to all ILTA member law firms, includes detailed technology budget data; updated information on firms’ purchasing influences and patterns; legal IT department trends and challenges; and expansive sections on specific legal technology purchases – both last year’s and those planned for the upcoming year. 2016 survey findings were presented to the vendors at the ILTA/InsideLegal’s Vendor Education Program at ILTA’s Annual Conference, ILTACON, taking place at the Gaylord National Harbor, August 28-September 1, 2016.
2016 ILTA/InsideLegal Technology Purchasing Survey highlights include:
BUDGETS
- 53% of all respondents cited increased budgets, a 12% growth rate compared to 2015. 39% of Small Firms (1-49 attys), 38% of Medium Firms (50-199 attys) and 23% of Large Firms (200+ attys) represent the increase.
- 60% of all respondents spend between 1-3.99% of total firm revenue on technology.
- 24% of respondents spend between 4-5.99% of total firm revenue on technology.
- 22% of all respondents spend between $5,001-$8,000 per attorney on technology, followed by 20% who indicated spending $8,001-$11,000. 77% of survey respondents spend less than $17,000 on technology per attorney.
PURCHASING
- The top five technology purchases in 2016 include: desktop hardware/PCs (61%); laptops/notebooks (59%); network upgrades/servers (53%); printers/multifunctional devices (44%); and antivirus/antispam/spyware software (44%).
- The ‘next five’ purchases include: Disaster Recovery/BC software & services (41%); security/network security/security assessment (40%); Smartphones (38%); cloud storage (34%); storage area networks (SAN) and telephone systems/upgrades (both 28%).
- Microsoft Office 365 purchases increased to 16% (from 13%).
- 17% of survey respondents purchased analytics software within the last 12 months, an 11% increase over annual purchases in 2015.
- OS upgrades: 32% of all respondents are planning to upgrade within the next 12 months versus 16% in 2015.
- Cloud storage: 25% of all respondents are planning to upgrade within the next 12 months versus 15% in 2015.
- Newly added application/service areas included security awareness training services, software and content (27%); security monitoring services for the network (27%); and artificial intelligence technology (3%).
- Internet research, peer recommendations, ILTA conferences, consultant recommendations and ILTA e-Groups are the top five influences when it comes to making legal IT purchasing decisions.
OUTSOURCING, TRENDS, CHALLENGES
- 70% of all survey respondents outsource printer repair/maintenance; website design and services (69%), followed by security assessment/penetration testing services (59%).
- 11% of respondents are currently evaluating artificial intelligence technologies.
- When asked how AI will influence legal, respondents mentioned eDiscovery (71%), document automation (41%), legal research (41%), contract analysis/automation (34%), and case/outcome predictions (24%).
- According to survey respondents, most firm BYOD policies cover Smartphones (68%) and tablets (57%) with only 24% covering laptops.
- Firms’ top IT challenges include security management (67%), user adoption/lack of training (42%), risk management/compliance (40%), and email management (39%).
- 80% of this year’s respondents reported that they use outside technology consultants to assist with some aspect of firm operations, technology and infrastructure.
The entire 2016 survey report can also be downloaded at www.InsideLegal.com. For questions and comments regarding the analysis and results, please contact Jobst Elster.