As laptops and iPads have earned a seat at the table in the courtroom, providing attorneys with a more modern, efficient and productive way of practicing law, VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) may be something else to consider. VDI allows your firm to host and centrally manage an OS (Operating System) within a virtual machine. Attorneys are able to access their desktop remotely and securely without being tied to a specific computing device. This promotes even more mobility, giving attorneys the freedom to work remotely and increase productivity. VDI is gaining momentum across various industries – legal included. In fact, according to ILTA’s 2012 Technology Survey, VDI ranked third behind BYOD/Consumerization/Mobile Devices and Cloud Services, when law firm Chief Information Officers were asked if there was a major technology trend that was believed to create significant change in the legal industry over the next three to five years.

So, why is VDI gaining so much popularity? Here are just a few reasons:

• Sensitive client data remains secure behind a firewall (increasing data security) vs. being carried around on a laptop

• Ability to access your desktop and work remotely from any computing device

• New hires can be quickly set up in minutes

• Ability to encourage BYOD

• IT costs are reduced

• Ability to scale up or down

• Faster troubleshooting as you’ll only have one system

Citrix and VMware are the two leading vendors in the virtual desktop infrastructure space. We use Citrix VDI-in-a-box here at Acrowire are a very happy with it, although, you may find VMware works better for you. Talk with your IT consultant and understand if your firm is ready for this game changing environment.