Technology is at the heart of modern business operations, but navigating its legal complexities can be challenging, especially for in-house lawyers who are not tech specialists. This white paper is designed to provide a clear and practical overview of key tech concepts, helping legal professionals understand the critical issues that arise when acquiring and managing IT within their organisations.
Our primary audience is in-house lawyers at organisations that acquire IT rather than provide it. This includes general commercial lawyers who may not have deep technical expertise but are responsible for advising on IT-related matters. A secondary audience includes in-house legal teams at IT acquirer companies who focus specifically on tech procurement and governance. Additionally, tech provider lawyers on the sales side may find this paper useful in understanding the perspectives and concerns of their customers’ legal teams.
This paper explores the eight main types of tech: equipment, software, data, artificial intelligence, services, the cloud, digital commerce, and telecommunications alongside the major trends shaping the tech landscape today. From data protection and cybersecurity to emerging technologies like blockchain, the metaverse, and quantum computing, we highlight the evolving legal and commercial considerations that organisations must navigate.
