• Legal
  • Intapp Time

Key steps to take before migrating Intapp Time to the cloud

With the introduction of Intapp’s Cloud Acceleration Program, many law firms are now considering migrating their on-premises deployments of Intapp Time to cloud infrastructure. This transition offers significant benefits but also requires careful planning and strategic consideration.

In this article, we’ll discuss the key steps for you as you embark on your journey to Intapp Cloud Infrastructure.

Understand the stakes and advocate for change

Today’s law firm firms operate in an environment where both fee earners and clients expect sophisticated applications. The cloud-based version of Intapp Time meets these expectations by providing the latest features and enhancements as well as robust data recovery and security capabilities. In contrast, your on-premises systems are far more difficult to maintain, update, troubleshoot, scale, or adapt.

You can make the business case for cloud migration by referencing these benefits of cloud-based Intapp Time: 

  • Reduced infrastructure maintenance 
  • Improved system reliability and availability 
  • Automatic updates and feature releases 
  • Better scalability to match firm growth 
  • Advanced security features and compliance capabilities 

Assess your data and integrations

Before beginning any cloud migration, a comprehensive data assessment is crucial. Begin with a thorough analysis of your historical time entry data, which can potentially carry significant business and compliance value.

Analyze your data

Start by quantifying your data volume and understanding its composition, including the following elements:

  • Number of time entries and associated metadata 
  • Custom fields and their usage patterns 
  • Historical reporting requirements 
  • Data retention policies and regulatory obligations 
  • Quality of existing data and potential cleanup needs 

Pay particular attention to data quality issues that might need addressing before migration. Common challenges include:

  • Inconsistent formatting in custom fields 
  • Orphaned records from departed timekeepers 
  • Incomplete or corrupted entries from legacy system migrations 
  • Redundant or conflicting data from system mergers

Document integrations

Modern law firms typically maintain complex ecosystems of application integrations, with Intapp Time being no exception. Be sure to document each integration point and evaluate cloud compatibility. When evaluating, consider the following:

  • Data flow directions and volumes
  • Real-time synchronization requirements
  • API compatibility with cloud versions
  • Authentication and security requirements
  • Impact on related business processes

Share the details of Intapp’s cloud security and compliance

To many stakeholders, security may be the most critical aspect of a cloud migration. While some stakeholders may initially express concern about cloud security, modern cloud infrastructure often provides superior security capabilities compared to on-premises solutions.

Intapp Cloud Infrastructure offers sophisticated security measures that often exceed what most law firms can implement internally. Our cloud security prioritizes data protection, system resilience, and rigorous protocols. To further reassure concerned stakeholders, consider sharing the below details of Intapp’s approach to cloud security.

Client data stewardship

You maintain full data sovereignty and control of your clients’ sensitive information. Through robust protocols, we provide complete transparency into how data is acquired, stored, and utilized. This allows you to harness your data’s value while upholding the highest standards of privacy and security. Learn more about client data stewardship

High-availability architecture

Designed for regulated industries and powered by Microsoft Azure, our high-availability architecture offers secure, efficient cloud deployment. With proactive monitoring and simplified updates, our cloud architecture guarantees robust performance and minimal downtime, leveraging one of the world’s leading public cloud platforms to keep your business running smoothly. 

Identity and access management

We offer uncompromising security through industry-leading encryption protocols, granular access controls, and regular penetration testing to identify and fortify any vulnerability. Built on Microsoft Azure, our identity management system provides a comprehensive safeguard for your firm’s most sensitive data and systems.

Built on Microsoft Azure

Intapp selected Microsoft Azure data centers for their 99.95% uptime and reliability. To ensure the availability of your applications, these facilities have multiple measures in place, including:

  • Protection from fire and electrical failures
  • Temperature and humidity management
  • Physical facility access controls, surveillance, and security
  • Multipoint, two-factor authenticated access to data center floors
  • System monitoring
  • Preventative maintenance

Cloud compliance

Intapp adheres to stringent regulations to ensure data integrity, privacy, and security. By achieving comprehensive cloud compliance, we shield your operations from fines, legal issues, and reputational damage, solidifying our commitment to being your trusted cloud partner. Learn more about our compliance certifications and security scores.  

Prepare for implementation

To ensure a successful migration to the cloud, firms can prepare by:

  • Reviewing and updating security policies to reflect cloud operations
  • Ensuring alignment with client security requirements and audit standards
  • Addressing data residency requirements for international operations
  • Enhancing disaster recovery and business continuity plans
  • Implementing appropriate security monitoring and access management tools

Prepare your technical infrastructure for migration

A successful cloud migration can depend heavily on having the right technical infrastructure in place. This preparation phase should focus on the following:

Network readiness

  • Conduct bandwidth assessments across all office locations
  • Evaluate latency requirements and current performance metrics
  • Consider implementing redundant internet connections
  • Review and update network security measures

Performance benchmarking

  • Document current system performance metrics
  • Establish performance baselines for key operations
  • Define acceptable cloud performance thresholds
  • Plan for performance monitoring and optimization

Manage the change

Intapp Time has introduced significant new features and enhancements in the cloud. While Intapp Time in the cloud will be familiar to users migrating from on-prem, it’s still important to follow a comprehensive change management strategy that addresses user impact and resource planning.

User impact

Your fee earners, finance team, and IT staff will all experience the migration differently. Take into consideration any changes these users will need to understand, such as updates to time entry workflows, reporting and administration changes, and application management and support procedure differences, respectively.

Resource planning

Evaluate your own team’s readiness for cloud operations by assessing current team capabilities, training needs, and skill gaps and planning for potential role changes and new responsibilities.

Coordinate with your Intapp team

Before migrating to Intapp Cloud Infrastructure, a team dedicated to Intapp Time migrations will provide guidance and consultation. This team will adapt to your firm’s needs and help you form a strategy that ensures a successful cloud implementation.

After you migrate, remember to monitor system performance and user adoption, optimize configurations and workflows, fine-tune new support procedures, and measure success against defined KPIs.

Learn more

Migrating Intapp Time to the cloud through the Cloud Acceleration Program represents a significant opportunity for your firm to modernize its operations. While the migration process requires careful planning and consideration, the benefits you gain from migration, including improved security, reliability, and product functionality, make it a worthwhile investment in your firm’s future.

Contact us to learn more about Intapp’s Cloud Acceleration Program.