InsideLegal

2016 ILTA/InsideLegal Technology Purchasing Survey Released!

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.

ILTACON Vendors - Don't Miss out on our 13th Annual ILTA/InsideLegal Vendor Education Program

ILTACON 2016 is upon us... and another ILTACON conference also means an opportunity for us to offer a series of educational sessions to the ILTACON exhibitor community. InsideLegal has been partnering with ILTA for the past 12 years to produce the annual ILTA/InsideLegal Vendor Education Program. Below are the details for the 2016 program being held at the Gaylord National Harbor, Maryland, on Monday, August 29th. If you would like to attend, please RSVP to JoAnna Forshee with name, title, company and email address for each participant as space is limited. Below is information on the program.

What:     13th Annual ILTA/InsideLegal Vendor Education Program
When:    Monday, August 29th, 1:30-4 pm (feel free to attend entire program or a portion)
Where:   Gaylord National, Potomac 1 (Ballroom Level/Conference Side) [Map to Potomac 1]

Here's a detailed description of the program:

1:30-2:15p   ILTA Vendor Business Meeting
This session will include an opportunity to meet the ILTA staff and Board, receive an update on conference activities, and learn additional ways to work with ILTA throughout the year.
Faculty - Peggy Wechsler, ILTA Program Director

2:15-2:45p   InsideLegal Market Flash: 15 Tips for promoting your company/leveraging market(ing) resources
We know how valuable your time is on-site at ILTA, so this rapid fire session will pack in industry statistics and legal marketing information. The program will include topics such as: legal market statistics; the one thing EVERY legal vendor should do…and it’s free; where to get marketing research; stats on purchasing budgets and trends; working with the new legal media landscape; and content marketing insights. Walk away with tips, tricks and legal resources you can use immediately.
Faculty - JoAnna Forshee, InsideLegal CEO & Jobst Elster, InsideLegal Head of Content & Legal Market Strategy

2:45-3:30p   Legal Media Panel – Meet the editors’ panel discussion - Moderated by InsideLegal
InsideLegal has assembled a cadre of well established and reputable legal technology editors to participate in this ever popular legal media panel session. Panelists will tell you how to work with the media to get coverage for your products/services including how to submit news, how to best pitch ideas; and best practices of effective media relations.
Panelists:

• Bob Ambrogi - LawSites Blog/Above the Law contributor
• Rob Ameerun - Legal IT Professionals/Legal IT Today
• Kristy Cole - ILTA Peer to Peer/ILTA Whitepapers
• Adam Schlagman - ALM LJN Cybersecurity & Strategy Newsletter
• Zach Warren - ALM Legaltech News
• Moderator – Jobst Elster, InsideLegal

3:30-4p   2016 ILTA/InsideLegal Technology Purchasing Survey Release - Purchasing Trends of ILTA Law Firms
Last but not least, we will be reviewing the results from this year’s ILTA member technology purchasing survey. The report includes data from more than 200 ILTA law firms of all sizes including: what percentage of firm revenue they spend on technology; what they purchased last year; what they will be purchasing next year; did their budgets increase or decrease; what vendors gave exceptional customer service; etc. Session attendees receive a hard copy report. [View 2015 Survey here]
Faculty - JoAnna Forshee, InsideLegal CEO & Jobst Elster, InsideLegal Head of Content & Legal Market Strategy

 

Complete your setup early Monday and make sure to join us for the program. To reserve your spot, don’t forget to RSVP to JoAnna Forshee with name, title, company and email address for each participant as space is limited.

 

ILTA Law Firms' Technology Purchases Broken Down by Firm Size

At ILTACON 2015 we released the 10th annual ILTA/InsideLegal Technology Purchasing Survey which highlights the purchasing and budgeting habits of ILTA member law firms. One of the most popular questions included in the survey each year covers the technology purchases (by application areas) that participating firms made 'within the last 12 months'.

While the main survey report includes the totals for each application area, we've broken it out further by firm size and included it below in Chart and Table format. This is the first time this data drill-down has been released. You can visit our dedicated survey page for more background and details on the annual report.

The 2016 ILTA/InsideLegal Technology Purchasing Survey is currently being administered to ILTA law firm members with the results being released on Monday, August 29th at ILTACON.

 

Click for Chart View

           

Click for Table View

ALA Interviews InsideLegal's Jobst Elster on Law Firm Purchasing Trends

Listen to the Podcast

Recently, the Association of Legal Administrator's (ALA) Legal Management Talk Podcast invited InsideLegal to share some highlights from the results of our 2015 ILTA/InsideLegal Technology Purchasing Survey (Survey). Since 2006, we have partnered with the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) to produce the annual survey examining the technology budgets and purchasing trends of ILTA member law firms. The Survey 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. The 2015 Survey marks the 10th edition of this ILTA/InsideLegal collaboration. 

Check out ALA's other podcasts and subscribe here.