Solicitors Case Study
VHS Fletchers Solicitors is an independent law firm specialising in criminal defence. They have approximately 45 users, all of whom rely on technology to accommodate their work on tight timescales.
We have supported VHS Fletchers for a number of years now, keeping them connected and working optimally across multiple sites, courtrooms and police stations. Here’s how!
In Summary
Our first task was to supply them with better laptops. VHS were clear in what they wanted, and thanks to our partnerships with 3rd party providers, we were able to supply their new kit at an excellent price. We set everything up over one weekend, resulting in minimal disruption to the work of the solicitors. They now had kit that could easily meet the demands of a fast-paced legal environment.
As we supplied them with new hardware, we also took the opportunity to develop a rock-solid infrastructure to support their network and devices. We built this from the ground up and have perfected it over time, so whenever a new user comes on board, their laptop is ready to go for them in a matter of seconds, whereas before it would take a couple of hours just to set up one laptop.
We then upgraded their infrastructure further by changing the way they remotely access their data. They previously used a VPN, which was problematic because the police station firewalls were blocking it, preventing them from accessing crucial data when they were meeting with clients. We updated it to a secure SSL VPN, meaning they could now easily access their data from inside courts and police stations.
Additionally, we’ve done a lot of work on their cyber security. An Cyber Essentials certification is essential for a law firm, not only because it protects sensitive data from cyberattacks, but also because some clients will list it as a requirement during tender offers. We secured VHS their Cyber Essentials certification as early as possible, bolstering their cyber defences and enabling them to win more tenders.
Beyond that, we’ve upgraded their email system, their servers, their backups, and much more. We provide 24/7 proactive monitoring and support, taking care of everything; if any problems occur out of the blue for any of their team, they can contact us and we will quickly resolve the issue.
The Outcome
Here are a few of the improvements we made when onboarding:
- Inventoried all PC’s to see which computers needed upgrading
- Created a plan to replace all computers outside a 4 year lifespan (due to cost constraints). These computers would be removed from the network, recycled and disposed of.
- We also removed unnecessary ‘bloatware’ that new computers are supplied with, as well as upgrading the network backbone from 100Mbps to 1000Mbps.
- Migrate their existing exchange server to office 365
- This server needed replacing or migrating to the cloud. We opted for a low cost onsite server to take advantage of the lightning fast file access speeds and granular security control, complimented by the enterprise features of Microsoft Office 365. To find out more about how an office 365 migration can improve your business click here.
- Installed monitoring tools on every PC, laptop and server
- This gave us up to date information on all devices allowing whole network monitoring and maintenance.
- Moved the client over to Liberate’s offsite hosted backup solution
- One of the recurring issues was the backups not completing and a subsequent fear of losing data. We implemented a solution where backups are taken throughout the day and are fully encrypted. Since being installed our backup system has completed 100% of the time. Every night we take a full offsite backup which is encrypted at rest and in transit, over the internet to our secure datacentre in the east midlands. This provided much needed security and encryption.
- We provide annual disaster recovery tests as standard, which we ran when the client first came onboard. The results proved that onsite backups could be restored instantly, through virtualisation technology. Should the worst happen, a new server with a full restore of all data could be delivered to site in approx. 5 hours including travel time.
- Attained Cyber Essentials Accreditation for the client’s IT infrastructure
- This accreditation is proof the client conforms with the latest regulations and standards, helping towards being GDPR complaint. Most insurers also provide cyber insurance discounts for Cyber Essentials accredited companies.
In Summary
We ensure guaranteed fast response times and expert issue resolution during onboarding. We start with the development of a tailored IT strategy, auditing all users and devices to pinpoint areas for improvement, and optimising client investments. Key improvements include PC inventory assessments, replacing computers past a four-year lifespan, eliminating bloatware, and upgrading network speed. We migrated VHS Fletchers over to Office 365, installed monitoring tools, and implemented a secure offsite backup solution to address recurring backup issues and enhance data security. We also provided them with annual disaster recovery tests to ensure reliable onsite backups, and Cyber Essentials Accreditation confirms compliance with regulations and potential insurance benefits, collectively delivering enhanced IT support for clients.