Systematic change: How your IT team can be a business enabler

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Key takeaway points:

1. Any IT investment needs to align itself to the firm’s strategic objectives. In our case, this was about acting and feeling like one firm, no matter where you are in the world.

2. A drive to improve efficiency and productivity should be central to any technology investment.

3. IT has moved from being a line on a balance sheet to a key business enabler, allowing our partners and staff to work faster, smarter and with greater flexibility.

4. If using the ‘big bang’ rollout approach, ensure you have built in the capacity to deal with the inevitable increase in support requests.

5. An investment of this scale requires a project board with individual responsibilities, deadlines and a clear and focused agenda.

6. Communication is absolutely critical to ensure staff and partners understand what is being implemented and, more importantly, why.

7. Do not underestimate the value of face-to-face expectation setting and progress updates.

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The world has changed dramatically over the past ten years and we have seen the immense impact that technology - and the failure to keep up with its evolution - can have on a business. Organisations that fail to adopt and embrace new technology will inevitably wither away. It is imperative that IT systems are aligned to the strategic objectives
of the firm.

It was for these reasons that we embarked on a project at our international law firm, Kennedys, to commoditise core IT into a utility and further improve productivity by enhancing the speed and reliability of the systems that support the user experience.

The initiative, titled Project Athena, involved an upheaval of our core data centre infrastructure and the deployment of a workspace solution far more flexible than any traditional desktop. The user experience was transformed through
the delivery of a virtual desktop solution that incorporates:

• a corporate apps store;

• follow-me data for truly global accessibility to all business systems from anywhere on multiple devices; and

• a standardised, more easily managed, desktop image for the operating system and core applications.

Streamlining systems

Streamlining was a key theme throughout the project - we were determined to strip down the myriad systems and platforms used across the firm. We previously had localised data stores in several locations around the world; we consolidated these into two primary data centres. In addition, we previously had at least nine desktop images (and several configuration variations) across our global offices; we consolidated these into one virtual desktop.

With more than 1,300 staff in a growing network of 23 offices across Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Latin America, we needed a workspace solution that was far more flexible than the traditional desktop. Our IT department had issues with our outdated systems and the number of different desktop configurations and software versions we operated on. If we wanted to implement a change with our case management system, for example, it would be a laborious task to plan and manage the testing and deployment
of new releases across a variety of
desktop configurations.

Like any modern business, a law firm with a widespread network of offices needs to be able to deliver truly global accessibility, from anywhere and on multiple devices. The virtual desktop infrastructure has simplified our IT operations, reduced operating costs and improved operating efficiency, ultimately reducing the firm's energy consumption and carbon footprint.

The new system has introduced significantly more flexible and efficient working practices, allowing lawyers to switch between working on different computers, be it in an office in Sheffield
or Singapore, a client site, at home,
or commuting between meetings.

The consolidation of our data centres has improved our security and compliance. We have moved from having more than
10 data centres (some managed locally)
to having two primary and centrally-managed sites. As a result, our IT team
has much greater control over access
to our firm's data.

Implementation process

It goes without saying that this was a
huge project that required detailed planning and timing.

We initially carried out a detailed technical proof of concept, which included access from Hong Kong and London. Working alongside managed services specialist ANS Group, the proof of concept enabled the project to be designed and fully costed to secure the approvals required. The build was completed in four months; the next step was building and testing the desktops. We began our pilots in Manchester in May 2014 and in Singapore in June 2014.

During the summer of 2014, we worked hard on refining the product and updating training based on pilot feedback, having made the decision to use e-learning to enable us to deploy the project as quickly as possible.

Guided by the project board, a decision was made to take a 'big bang' deployment approach in September 2014, which kicked off with London and the remaining seven UK offices. More than
70 per cent of users were switched within two weeks.

Following the UK launch, we paused the migration to address some of the issues that arose before continuing
with the international offices.

Challenges faced

Naturally, there were some challenges and bugs given the size and scale of the change and the speed with which we
were trying to switch systems.

The single biggest issue we faced was with printing: we found ourselves caught out by bugs in the driver software that emerged during deployment, which were difficult to resolve quickly. There were also problems typical of what you would expect with getting the latest versions of several products to work nicely together.

The 'big bang' approach we undertook created a large number of support calls in a short space of time. However we were able to leverage support from our third-party helpdesk, Plan-Net, to help us to cope with user demand.

We anticipated a need to rebalance capacity across our networks, as our dependency on them increased. For the most part, this went as planned, although there were unforeseen problems when the main intercontinental internet link between Singapore and Australia was severed. Although a backup route was available, this left the Sydney office in a protracted period of slow traffic just one week after going live with Project Athena.

That said, I do believe the rapid deployment approach we took was the right one. We could have approached the implementation process gradually, deploying each office in turn, but the project would still be ongoing today. Working simultaneously with two very different environments would have significantly reduced our efficiency.

Taking everything into account,
the solution has now been successfully bedded in. Within a few months of the rollouts, the environment was tuned to produce a significantly-improved working environment, which is far easier and cheaper for us to manage.

Impact on the firm

Kennedys prides itself on being a joined-up international law firm; the IT upgrade has had a significant impact on ensuring we operate accordingly.

The 'access from anywhere' approach allows our staff to connect to their desktops, applications and documents wherever they are with 'follow-me' data. One of the first examples of this was with two lawyers on secondment in Singapore from London. They were able to relocate and work seamlessly without IT assistance or intervention.

This has brought about significantly increased efficiency and flexibility. In addition to improved mobility, users are reporting a much-improved experience of working from home. A recent office reshuffle proved that the IT effort involved to support staff moves can be reduced
to almost nil.

With the whole firm on the same desktop, we were able to streamline the support offered from our IT department. It has been much easier to provide consistent support and to upgrade and deploy new software solutions when we need to.

Gone are the days of the painstaking process of implementing change on nine different desktop images on different operating systems. We now have a system that allows us to adapt to the organisation's and market's needs, implementing anything from policy
to software change almost instantly.

The upgraded desktop environment has allowed for centralised management and control. It has improved the user experience by reducing login times, enabling faster application response times and making it easier for business applications to be requested, approved
and downloaded.

Return on investment

The way in which law firms are viewing technology is changing. This investment has enabled IT to move from a line on a balance sheet to a business enabler, allowing our partners and staff to work faster, smarter and with greater flexibility.

The return on investment comes
from several streams, both in terms
of reducing operational costs and in
terms of increasing productivity within
our legal teams as a result of a more
stable IT environment.

As Kennedys continues to grow,
the IT costs associated with changes
in office premises are expected to be
much lower than they were before
Project Athena's rollout. This will
become evident as we open up new international offices or complete mergers.

Over the past three years, we have reduced our operational IT costs by 18 per cent, while also simultaneously experiencing firm growth of around the same figure. Project Athena has played
a pivotal role in reducing operational
costs while also supporting more cost-effective and flexible firm growth.

Since the peak created by the implementation of Athena, we are seeing a reducing trend in the volume of support calls to the IT department. While this
has a direct cost benefit in reducing IT support costs, the main benefit is improved productivity, freeing up our lawyers and IT staff to do what they do best.

Future plans

We are now shifting the focus of our IT department to give greater emphasis to delivering improved business solutions; previously we were focused on delivering core infrastructure. Meanwhile, our lawyers have quickly become accustomed to moving around the world and taking their full desktops with them.

In terms of future development, the flexibility of our desktop environment means that it is constantly evolving as a product and any changes are being consistently applied across the globe. As a firm,
we have become much more agile while streamlining our systems. There are several refinements and enhancements planned for our desktop environment, which will take place in the form of incremental change.

The investment in Project Athena has placed Kennedys in the strongest possible position for capitalising on our anticipated growth. It was well worth the cost and effort, the firm is now able to capitalise on the latest developments in technology for years to come.

Mike Gilpin is director of IT at international law firm Kennedys (www.kennedyslaw.com)