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BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE FOR LAW FIRMS

Increasingly, law firms use business intelligence to drive decisions.  The challenge lies in getting to just the right information in this world of big data and information overload.  Throughout each firm are highly qualified information, business development, practice management, and research professionals that each bring a unique perspective to the collection and dissemination of relevant data.  Collaboration across these teams will help firms refine the information and tailor it to answer the questions at hand and grow their businesses through informed decision making.

Business Intelligence brings together internally and externally available information to form a picture of an industry or sector, showing trends and growth opportunities.  This information is used by multiple groups for various purposes... Read more.

INTUTITIVE COMPREHENSION

“In God we trust; all others bring data.”

Since the technological revolution of the late 21st century  the world has become inundated and obsessed with data, now “Big Data” -- its implications and uses, and how to tame the unbridled swarming beast of information hurdling at us every second.

THE SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

There is no denying it these days: social media is popular. The topic is hot, it encourages communication, and provides exposure to anyone and everyone who can tweet and update a Facebook status. There is also no denying that the “social media trend” is not one to be taken lightly: a recent IBM study concluded that the next five years would see 57% of all CEOs using social media [infographic], and that –

“As CEOs ratchet up the level of openness within their organizations, they are developing collaborative environments where employees are encouraged to speak up, exercise personal initiative, connect with fellow collaborators, and innovate.”

Mark Fidelman’s summary of the IBM report in his Forbes column addresses how CEOs are now realizing that “using social technologies to engage with customers, suppliers and employees will enable the organization to be more adaptive and agile.” Furthermore, the demand for personal communication is growing within every firm as partners and employees seek to build trust and align around organizational strategy – “if CEOs continue to hide in their Ivory Towers under the guise of some old command and control mentality, the next chapter in their career might be written somewhere else"... Read more.

"HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM"

While valiant attempts are being made (by Oracle, IBM, and many others) to wrestle the incoming hordes of data into actionable and useful information -- we still have a break-down between having the data and understanding what it means.  While mathematicians, statisticians, and those who are simply over-gifted with an ability to see past the numbers and into the universe may flourish in a data-ridden environment, the rest of us need a little help.

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LEVERAGING MARKET INSIGHT

Law firms are ancient champions of client relationship management, and are now finding opportunities to leverage marketing technology to enhance that relationship management. Proskauer Rose LLP is an example of a law firm that has done just that, using its newly launched Intranet to drive client relationship expansion and service initiatives. 

Intranets provide value in their ability to improve information sharing and collaboration. Still, if the full benefits of corporate Intranets are to be realized, legal CIOs and CMOs must emphasize a close working relationship between marketing and technology. See (Chief Architect at Hubbard One) Shawn Samuel’s Top Five Tips for Harnessing Marketing Technology... Read more.

Also, be sure to listen to Mr. Samuel’s podcast in which he discusses top trends in marketing technologies.

"I'LL KNOW IT WHEN I SEE IT"

Humans have an incredible capacity for intuitive learning, calculation and reaction – especially when faced with visual or physical stimuli. When faced with stimuli that allow us to make general associations (backed by specific data and information) we are able to easily and intuitively understand complex data, translating it into a series of useful pieces of information.  To highlight a cliché: “a picture is worth a thousand words.”

To this end we see a boom in data-visualization innovations geared towards providing low-on-time executives with the information that they need quickly, concisely and in forms which area easily communicated across all levels.

To view included video content please click "web version" in the upper left hand corner of this e-mail.

HOW BUSINESS INTELLIGENT IS YOUR FIRM?

Take the IMS Business Intelligence Survey and see how your firm is managing its business intelligence functions, team and library.