In August we wrote about the importance of data portability and the efforts of some companies to allow users of Software as a Service (SaaS) and cloud computing services to easily download their data, for purposes such as keeping local backups and transferring the data to other services.  

Google has finally enabled a feature that has been long awaited for their Google Docs application--the new "Convert, Zip, and Download" feature allows  users to select some or all of their documents and download all of them in a single zip file, whereas previously documents could only be downloaded one at a time. 

If you are using or considering using any SaaS and cloud computing services, whether webmail, online collaboration, or online legal case and practice management software, be sure to investigate their data portability features to ensure that you can keep your data safe and easily available.

Here are other resources on data portability issues:

ABA LTRC

Data Portability: Google Data Liberation Front and Legal SaaS

Avoiding Rain in "the Cloud": Ensuring Access to Your Online Information

FYI: Software as a Service (SaaS) for Lawyers

FYI: E-mail Backup (You've Got Mail! - And Lots Of It)

Compujurist.com

Red Gorilla Redux? Why you need to select your online storage company carefully

There’s No Cure for Stupid – How Failing to Backup Killed JournalSpace

The Economist.com

Unlocking the Cloud

InformationWeek.com

Google Data Liberation Front Fights 'Evil' Lock-In