11th June 2010 - Virtualisation Sparks £125k Savings For Law Firm

Leading North East law firm Hay & Kilner is set to shave £125,000 from its IT infrastructure costs over the next five years and further its ‘green’ ambitions, after calling in technology experts ITPS to help it adopt the latest eco-friendly technology.

Gateshead-based ITPS, which won the contract against national competitors, has worked alongside the law firm’s in-house team to review and strengthen its IT infrastructure. Its experts used virtualisation technology to cut the number of servers from 16 to three, while boosting the overall efficiency and resilience of the IT platform.

The result will see Hay & Kilner save on the cost of new hardware and software, and benefit from lowered maintenance and support bills. It will also slash its carbon footprint through reduced energy and cooling requirements.

Hay & Kilner’s entire system is now replicated at ITPS’s secure data centre, strengthening its business continuity arrangements so that in the event of any disaster or interruption it would be business as usual for the 65-year-old legal firm.

The move comes as the business, which employs 160 staff including 24 partners, announces a re-brand as part of its push to consolidate its position as one of the region’s top five law firms.

“Tim Bennett, partnership secretary at Hay & Kilner, said: “Bringing in the top-level expertise of ITPS to support our in-house team and review how well our IT supports the business was a sound move. They presented a clear case for virtualisation as the best way to meet our aims for greater efficiency, higher resilience and lower costs.

“We now have an infrastructure based on innovative, proven technology that will suit our current and future needs, and give us a very healthy return on investment.

“Reducing our carbon footprint is an added benefit that supports our work in other areas to become a more ‘green-friendly’ business.”

ITPS consultant Nael Shahid added: “Virtualisation was far and away the better option for the business, rather than adding on more and more servers to a traditional network, which can be a costly and inefficient strategy.

“More servers require more space to house them, plus there is the cost of buying hardware, software and licences, and the associated running and maintenance costs. Servers are energy-hungry too, so you have all the costs associated with heating and cooling.

“Virtualisation works by pooling the capacity needs and condensing that requirement into a smaller number of more powerful servers. It then constantly monitors and adjusts demand, directing resources where they are needed.

“The result is to reduce potential points of failure and increase system stability, giving a very resilient and secure solution, not just for office-based staff but also for people working on the move. This is an essential consideration for a multi-faceted legal business running business critical applications such as case management systems.

“Virtualisation is a much smarter way to maximise the firm’s resources and we are delighted to have brought our skills to bear in helping Hay & Kilner achieve its aims.”

The contact is the latest in a series of legal sector wins for ITPS, which works with many leading law names in the North East and around the UK.