According to Gartner’s Hype Cycle for Legal and Compliance, the level of digital maturity for most law departments is shockingly low. Gartner, a leading IT research and advisory company, goes further and drills down to identify three critical opportunities for senior in-house leaders eager to rectify the situation: establishing (or strengthening) foundational systems of record; enabling core workflows with digital investments (beyond sending emails or excel spreadsheets); and transitioning largely analog risk management methodologies to digital. “As a result of acute workload pressures through the pandemic, technology solutions appear more attractive than ever for over-burdened legal and compliance teams,” says Zack Hutto, director, advisory in the Gartner Legal & Compliance practice, adding that lagging tech adoption means legal and compliance should walk before they try running. “Teams should first establish foundational systems of record and then invest in solutions to facilitate key workflows before exploring more sophisticated opportunities like digitally-enabled risk management,” Hutto says. “Significant hype tends to follow more sophisticated technology innovation – like AI – as well. As a result, many legal leaders get overwhelmed by technology opportunities.” For more, including information on a range of mature technologies currently available in the market, check out the Gartner Hype Cycle.
Published September 24, 2021.
