The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
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SMART MOVES your stories! Have you done any career- enhancing moves: certifications, advanced degrees, internships, leadership training, etc.? This section is also open to stories of radical shifts in technology platforms (a true “move”). Send your “Smart Moves” to editor@iltanet.org. We want Read the digital version on your iPad. Find the link to this and other issues from the Publications menu at www.iltanet.org. iPad is the ability to rapidly download and install new applications without impacting current applications. A firm taking the approach of deploying a standard, native applications set would want to support quick and seamless delivery of firm-approved apps without interfering with being excellent trial presentation software. There are a variety of outliners (Outliner), calendar calculators (Court Days) and Jury selection tools (iJuror, JuryTracker) that attorneys can choose from. A firm pursuing a native app iPad strategy might elect to develop several of their own practice-specific iPad apps as well. As with Word, there are several apps for creating or revising Excel files. For example, Apple’s Numbers app can read, write and print Excel files. Quickoffice Connect and Documents To Go allow basic Excel file editing as well. Document comparison is tricky. I know of no app that can compare two documents natively on the iPad and produce a redline, although several apps can view Word’s “track changes.” Workshare Compare offers a server- based product where documents are uploaded and the server produces the redline. Perhaps this product could be adapted to work with an iPad, but for now, document comparison remains beyond the iPad’s reach. A NEW DEPLOYMENT APPROACH Once upon a time, firms actually deployed versions of Windows and key applications by taking snapshots and applying these snapshot images to multiple machines. More recently, firms have deployed standard “images” by creating automated, scripted installs of Windows and all the key components. I have not seen evidence of any vendor or business providing this sort of functionality for an iPad, but really, this sort of deployment approach wasn’t meant for an iOS device. The strength of the 52 www.iltanet.org Peer to Peer GETTING NATIVE APPS ON THE iPAD Mobile device management (MDM) software allows firms to deploy the apps they want, and to sandbox them from other applications the user might install (i.e. Angry Birds). This software, produced by companies such as MobileIron, Tangoe and BoxTone, allows firms to centrally push a set of applications (or application recommendations) to iPad devices. Additionally, these products can simplify the setting of security policies on the iPad, such as forcing a password lock to access the device, or forcing whole device encryption (although this can also be done via the Apple iPhone Configuration Utility). Even better, should the time come to wipe the device, MDM software can wipe only those applications and their associated data, leaving the consumer-installed applications and their data intact. Most MDM software was originally developed to manage large fleets of smartphones, so some of this application management technology is relatively new, especially in law firms. However, if the software delivers as promised, it could provide the most elegant way to get native apps onto the iPad. NATIVE APP RISK MANAGEMENT CONCERNS Before concluding, it is important to mention a few “gotchas” related to supporting the iPad, with either a virtual desktop approach or a native app approach. These involve patching and iTunes. consumer-installed apps. Fortunately, technology exists to do exactly that with apps for the iPad. MOVES ART Supporting iPads for Business Use by Brian Donato, CIO at Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP I was sitting on my couch, contemplating the road to Law2020, and what progress had been made in 2011. To gain insight, I browsed a copy of Peer to Peer on my iPad. From articles and e-group posts, it was clear that 2011 is the year of the Windows 7/Office 2010 image. But I wondered if it might be a smart move for firms to develop their next major image for an iPad. WHAT AN iPAD IS AND ISN’T The iPad is currently the dominant tablet on the market; not the only tablet out there, but certainly the one most popular with consumers. It is not, however, the best device for creating content. Running the gesture-driven iOS operating system, most reviewers agree that while it is a revolutionary device when it comes to content consumption, it is mediocre at content creation. Still, a primary driver of support for the iPad within law firms is its popularity as a consumer device. Who among us has not fielded that partner-driven inquiry about how to get access to firm email/documents/resources on the iPad so the lawyer can do real work in between rounds of Angry Birds? For many firms, the majority of iPads they support will be consumer-owned devices. TWO APPROACHES, TWO DIFFERENT SETS OF CHALLENGES There are two basic ways to provide access to firm resources on an iPad. First, the firm can provide users the ability to 46 www.iltanet.org Peer to Peer remotely control their desktops, or select apps from their desktops, and thereby indirectly access firm resources. This is the virtual desktop approach. A firm can also distribute a standard set of apps written for the iPad that allow direct access to firm resources. This is the native app approach. THE VIRTUAL DESKTOP APPROACH The virtual desktop approach turns the iPad into a window “The iPad presents an experience that is reasonably close to using a laptop.” to access the firm’s virtual plumbing, which we will call a private virtual cloud (PVC). This cloud can consist of farms of Windows servers running Terminal Services, perhaps Citrix, or perhaps servers running the VMware vSphere solution. The iPad user downloads an app such as Citrix Receiver (or for Terminal Services connections, apps such as iTap, Jump Desktop or Wyse PocketCloud), and now has a virtual Windows desktop running on the iPad. Citrix Receiver even provides instant access to published applications that are really running inside the PVC. If the user hooks up an external Bluetooth keyboard, the iPad presents an experience that is reasonably close to using a laptop, although on most programs, certain keystroke combinations such as Alt-Tab or the Windows key won’t work. Data security is less of an issue than it is with cloud computing since documents and email never actually reside on the iPad, but rather stay inside the PVC. With the latest version of the iOS, users can even print to a local printer from some of these apps. Firms without a PVC can create a similar effect by using programs — such as LogMeIn Ignition — that allow remote control of the desktop, but it is best to check with the IT department before attempting this with a work PC or laptop.