As law firms become increasingly global businesses, their IT infrastructures must change to accommodate the requirements of end-users. Adrian Polley explains

With budgets under closer scrutiny than ever before, the IT department in any law firm must be firmly focused on creating and maintaining an IT infrastructure that is equipped to meet the demands of its user base in the most effective and efficient manner possible. The right IT infrastructure can save time and money, increase productivity and deliver a competitive edge.

Getting it wrong, however, can seriously impact on business performance. History has shown that building an IT infrastructure, not to mention supporting it once it is in place, is an extremely challenging task.

These challenges are compounded further as companies become more fragmented and global. One common issue for international law firms is disparities in infrastructure when individual offices across the globe use different hardware and software. The resulting inconsistencies can make streamlined service delivery and reduced long-term costs seem like a pipe dream.

Recognising this, many firms are launching projects that promise to deliver wholesale changes to their IT along with cost savings. But what does this mean to the business and, more specifically, to the service received by users?

During the boom years, there was a dangerous precedent and enthusiasm for implementing 'best practice' in its many forms or adopting new, sometimes unproven, technologies of any sort without considering whether they were needed and would deliver tangible benefits. Conversely, perhaps the only positive our industry can take from the current economic climate is that most businesses are now forced to recognise how crucial it is to demonstrate return on investment for every IT project undertaken.

As a precursor to any project that is likely to involve major changes to IT delivery and support, evaluating the existing IT department and function is the first crucial step. Doing this properly will provide a clear view of the improvements needed and, equally, where IT is already doing its job well.

Simmons & Simmons IT director Abby Ewen recently undertook an in-house project that would go on to involve a full-scale refresh of the IT function. Too often with projects of this magnitude, implementations and changes are made with no real focus on business objectives and benefits. Recognising this, the firm not only started the project with clear goals already agreed, but also put a number of measures in place to ensure these were not lost should the project mutate or change direction as it went along.

Simmons recognised the importance of harnessing knowledge within the firm and getting buy-in at all levels. A series of workshops took place in the beginning to introduce staff to the changes and also to identify the specific needs and aspirations of the firm. Care was taken to ensure any existing working practices that did the job well remained in place and that a 'one size does NOT fit all' mantra was present through all elements of the project.

Too often with so-called 'best-practice' projects, a rigid, by-the-book implementation is followed that does not take into account the specifics and unique elements of the business in question. This is doubly damaging for law firms, given their unique issues and requirements paired with different practices and cultures across business units and geographic borders.

One such requirement became apparent during the project at Simmons when it sought a new, integrated service management software solution. One of the most important requirements for the firm was that the service desk was able to handle service level agreements across different time zones, since they have offices in Europe, Asia and America. The software solution, then, had to be designed to accommodate this.

In addition, the infrastructure had to accommodate the users' unusual working hours and take into account the pressured workload many of them face. When the fee earners need to work – be it at 12pm or 12am – the IT platform needs to be available. This meant IT support needed to be on hand immediately, wherever and whenever required.

Once the global infrastructure was standardised and fit for purpose, Ewen and her team drew up plans to support this new environment with a 24-hour IT support function worthy of the platform. Plan-Net was selected to provide a global service desk that now assists the IT department.

The new service desk at Simmons improves the user experience through a high level of response and a service attuned to the demands of a specialised user group. In addition, outsourcing this function  allows the existing IT resources at Simmons to invest more time in strategic activities and improvements, which in turn enables them to deliver the quality of service required by their users at all times of the day and night.

Adrian Polley is the CEO at Plan-Net.