In 2003, a legal firm with offices in three locations around New Zealand needed connectivity, continuity, and consistency. Six years on, CommArc's still delivering for them.
In 2003, a medium sized law firm with three offices around New
Zealand approached CommArc for a computer system that would provide
them with connectivity and continuity. Their main list of
requirements included a system that would make it easier for people
to work from remote offices or home; updated software; faster, more
efficient communication and a two-to-five year plan to
include budget and capital costs. CommArc worked with the client to
develop a business plan incorporating their requirements and
assigned a Project Manager and technical team to implement the new
system.
The new system brought many business benefits-from savings in
ongoing technology costs to a cut in Telecom charges due to changed
office links, as well as a significant difference in the speed of
communications. Productivity improved, with very few delays or
downtime. Having the central Citrix servers gave the client
continuity and enabled their staff members to log on to any PC or
laptop with their user names and passwords to access their own
desktops. With offices being geographically separated, this benefit
alone made a huge difference.
Because of the strategic planning and budgeting that formed part
of the initial upgrade, CommArc was able to refresh (rather than
totally upgrade) the system three years later (in 2006). This
enabled the client to get the most value from their original
investment and take advantage of any new technology advances and
improvements since the installation of their new system.
Five years on, the client decided it was time to do a major
refresh of their old system. "We asked for a project plan,"
says the person responsible for IT at the client company.
"CommArc went through and did all that. We had a deadline we
wanted to achieve and it happened."
The client's servers-critical pieces of equipment-were coming
out of warranty and keeping them can be a risk. "Once equipment
comes out of warranty, manufacturers no longer hold the spare
parts. If it's in warranty it can usually be fixed within a
day but once out of warranty it could take a week-and that's far
too long. We retained the best of the existing servers and replaced
the others," adds Doug Thomson, CommArc's account manager for this
client, and technology had also moved a long way in five
years!"
CommArc also put in "traffic management equipment" to ensure
that priority was given to important communications and other less
urgent jobs, such as printing, were put behind them in a
queue. Refreshing the system resulted in a noticeable lift in
performance in the branch offices. It also made it simpler to
obtain "traffic reports" for the system and gave the client more
control and flexibility.
As with most installations the hardware went in on a Friday
night and CommArc worked through the weekend. When the staff
arrived at their desks on Monday morning, the system was up and
running. CommArc also had people at the other two locations
to reassure client staff on the day in case it was needed, although
everyone was comfortable with the new system.
Says the client, "I've worked with CommArc quite closely for 17
to 18 years and they're fabulous to work with. I have
complete faith in them. They provide absolutely the right
thing at the right time. When we installed the new system
everything went fine and all within budget. That's a bonus
isn't it?"