I attended only one day of the ABA Techshow here in Chicago on Friday, March 23rd.
I initially wrote this post on the train using my latest gadget acquisition, an EvDO Mobile Broadband Card I won at Techshow courtesy of Sprint. I was one of the lucky winners of their giveaway, and wow, it’s nice. The speeds are just a little slower than hard-wired broadband. Chicago just recently got revA, which provides a significant speed increase, so this is the time to get it.
Then, life intervened – between work, the teething pains of a 7-month old, and the double-ear infection of a 2-year old, this summary has been long delayed.
I attended sessions on security with Ross Kodner and Debbie Foster, on email management with Ellen Freedman and Sheila Blackford, on remote access for lawyers by Lincoln Mead and Toby Brown, and on client satisfaction using technology presented by Jim Calloway and Nancy Roberts Linder.
I was pleased to catch back up briefly with Matt Homann, Tom Mighell, Nerino Petro, Rob Robinson, and a few others. I also briefly saw Adriana Linares, but didn’t have a chance to remind her who I was or how much I enjoy reading I Heart Tech.
Some of the best takeaways, other than the EvDO card, were the following:
– Remote access has to be driven by policy, not just the geeky desire to be remotely connected all the time. Careful consideration should be given to security, accountability, and recoverability.
– Technology doesn’t change the fundamental nature of client satisfaction, it can only help you do it. You still need to communicate clearly and effectively what you will do, by when, and what it will cost.
– The instant answer is not always the best answer. Even with the speed of modern communications, sometimes you need time to think through the problem.
– Always use an automated email response if you are going to be out of the office for one day or more. You will never know in advance when a client has an emergency and is counting on your otherwise normally speedy response times.
– By percentage, the average company spends less of its annual budget on security than it does on its coffee service.