The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
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SMART MOVES SUPPORTING iPADS FOR BUSINESS USE Contrary to the popular “I’m a Mac” commercials, Apple does suffer from security vulnerabilities similar to MS-Windows. Unlike Windows, when those vulnerabilities impact the iPad, there is no Windows Update-like program that can automatically apply patches over the network. When a new version of the iOS is required, each iPad device must be attached to a computer running iTunes to download and install the new iOS software. At my firm, we learned that a surprising number of iOS users simply never used iTunes, and they needed assistance to complete this upgrade process, a process that often took hours to complete. Fortunately, the upgrades occur only a few times a year, but they have the potential to be extremely labor- intensive should the firm deem them a requirement for security purposes. For those people that do use iTunes, the newer versions have a habit of making a backup of all applications and their data to the computer running iTunes. This is typically the user’s computer. While the backup can be encrypted, it still presents the risk of firm work product ending up on a non-firm-managed computer, where it cannot be destroyed if the user leaves the firm, or examined if relevant to a litigation hold. SUPPORTING THE iPAD TODAY This article has presented two different approaches to supporting the iPad: the virtual desktop approach, where the iPad is merely a window into the PVC hosting the firm’s applications and data, and the native app approach, where the firm supports a specific set of native apps that enable lawyers to accomplish tasks. Of course, the approaches can be mixed and matched; for example, email as a native app and Word via the virtual desktop approach. But which approach makes the most sense in supporting the iPad today? Currently, most of the firms supporting iPads do so via the virtual desktop approach. For firms with an existing PVC, this is a low-cost, low-risk way to support the device. This is because currently, for most users, the iPad is best suited to content consumption with only occasional content creation (such as lightly editing a document, or taking notes). I think this approach continues to make the most sense. While the iPad has incredible momentum as a device for reading email, browsing the Internet, typing notes and messages, social networking and other content-consumption tasks, I believe that the iPad will struggle to gain the same momentum as a laptop replacement for anyone who spends a significant part of their time on moderate to complex content-creation tasks. Augmenting the virtual desktop with key native apps for presentation, file viewing and note- For more information on iPad apps click here to read “Citrix on the iPad” in the March 2011 issue of . Negotiate Your Ideal Telecom Contract to renegotiate the contract, without penalty, should you not be able to meet your minimum volume commitment. Usually this would involve a lower commitment offset by a longer term. • Technology Clause: There may come a time when your firm can benefit from newer technology, such as moving from private-line to SIP-trunking. This could have an effect on your minimum volume commitment by lowering your usage. This clause would allow that change to occur without penalty. Know Your Goals Before you walk into any negotiation, ask yourself, “What am I trying to accomplish with this contract?” Of course, you want the best price for the best service, but is that at any cost? Any negotiation involves a compromise. Fail to acknowledge this truism and you might not achieve the goals you have set for yourself and the firm. Remember that when the dust has settled, you need the vendor’s services just as much as they need your business. It’s simply not in the best interest of everyone involved for you to walk out of a room having beaten your vendor into submission, even for a fantastic rate for a marginal service. Chances are you will have damaged your relationship, and it can come back bite you later on. The next time you need a little pressure on the support side of a ticket, your rep may be in meetings all day. Or, when you hear about special incentives for existing services, you might not get the word as quickly as your peers (who are your firm’s competitors). Instead, be prepared to compromise on a price or terms of an agreement that benefits the vendor as well as your firm. Identify any issues that might be sticking points for the vendor, but about which you don’t have an opinion. You don’t want to voice that; however, during negotiations you might want to concede the point and let the vendor score, perhaps making it easier to win your own concession later on. Keep your communication friendly and professional at all times. It’ll go a long way to helping you get what you want. Know What You Don’t Know In negotiating, as in so many other contexts, knowledge is power. Ideally, you will walk into the negotiation with all the answers before the questions have been asked, but in reality, this is usually not the case. You do not know the vendor’s O ur firm is supporting the iPad using a client- side solution called Citrix Receiver, which is available for free in the App Store. All you need is an existing Citrix backend infrastructure, documented security policies, and the associated security mechanisms (e.g., a certificate) in place in order to use the iPad as a solution. Firms that are interested in this type of set-up should already have Citrix remote access, or a Citrix thin client office solution, in their data center. We’ve also been using Citrix Receiver to support the iPhone for a while, but because of the iPhone’s smaller screen size, the use case scenario has really been for the practitioner in a pinch. It’s nice to be able to respond quickly to something urgent, but you don’t really get the screen real estate needed to do extended work. That has changed with the iPad. Because of the screen size, we have been able to publish a virtual desktop on the backend with Citrix XenDesktop. You can take that firm image (whether it’s Windows XP or 7), package it up and publish it out. Someone with Citrix Receiver on the iPad can literally turn the whole screen into what you’d see on the desktop in your office — the task bar, start button and the ability to launch multiple apps from the start button. Even with these developments, the iPad hasn’t proven to be a full-time laptop replacement because users find it’s still necessary to have the keyboard, mouse and other features in a single device. People are primarily using it when they are traveling between offices or away for a personal weekend, for example. They just throw the iPad in a bag and go. on the RUNNING APPLICATIONS As with the iPhone, the iPad runs thousands of apps from by Christopher Lewis of SNR Denton 50 www.iltanet.org Peer to Peer the App Store, either through Apple or from third-party vendors. The inherent issue with a local app, however, is that the iPad is a very popular mobile device, so it’s desirable to thieves. One of the great things about Citrix Receiver for iPad (and this is core to Citrix architecture) is that all you’re getting on the device is a screenshot — nothing is stored locally. When you’re using Word, Outlook, Excel or any of your practice group-specific applications, they’re all running on a server in the data center, and you’re at no risk of having client data stored on the iPad. We don’t feel that the need, or business justification, is there to specifically develop an application for the iPad or iPhone (iOS). With Citrix Receiver and the data center structure, approximately 150 applications — out of the 300 we run — are available in Citrix. If a user wants an app on the iPad, it’s published in Citrix, so the Citrix Receiver on the iPad is all you need. Log in, launch the app and you’re up and running. A DEVICE EVERYONE CAN LOVE When Apple released the iPad, we had a few delivered to us that day. Within 10 minutes, we had downloaded Citrix Receiver from the App Store, and were running our Windows corporate desktop in the iPad. With no new investment on the front end or for developing applications, we were immediately able to have a practitioner come in with an iPad, secure it and apply our policies so they could use Citrix Receiver. Just like that, they could begin using Word and PowerPoint on their iPad. For the first month or so after the initial deployment, we heard from many practitioners who told us how happy they were using the iPad for work. They are utilizing the same device for personal and business use, which gives them the ability to use the apps they love, watch a movie, see their vacation photos or respond to a client. When users get this excited, you know we’re finally starting to see the real intermingling of personal and corporate technology. ILTA Christopher Lewis is the Manager of Software Services for SNR Denton. He manages the Citrix environment, packaged software deployment, the desktop platform, and mobility solutions. Chris is managing the firm’s migration strategy to Citrix as the primary computing platform, originally using a published applications approach with XenApp, now moving to published desktops with XenDesktop. Prior to SNR Denton, Chris spent 10 years in IT consulting with Accenture and Avanade, delivering and managing large custom software and infrastructure deployment projects. He can be reached at christopher.lewis@snrdenton.com. Peer to Peer the quarterly magazine of ILTA 51 taking, for example, is the best approach given the current state of the technology. However, no one expects the tablet market to stand still. Apple is under competitive pressure from Google (Android) and may face pressure from, among others, RIM’s PlayBook and Windows 8 (should Microsoft succeed in making it tablet-friendly). If Apple, or another vendor, successfully evolves the content creation ability of the tablet, and addresses the key risk management issues, you will see firms gravitating more toward native apps that can fully take advantage of the iPad’s user interface. When that day comes, you will see most firms devote significant resources to developing an iPad image. ILTA Brian Donato has been with the law firm of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP for the last 12 years. With 25 years of experience ranging from software developer to process engineer to IT Director, he brings a broad technology and business background to his current position. Brian serves on ILTA’s Desktop and Application Services Peer Group Steering Committee, and he is married with four kids, one dog and two iPads. He can be reached at bjdonato@vssp.com. Peer to Peer the quarterly magazine of ILTA 53 Peer to Peer