Legal firm Hudson Gavin Martin was on the lookout for an IT services partner that would walk the talk and deliver great value on its IT investment. The firm found its IT partner in CodeBlue.

Armed with the results of an independent assessment of Hudson Gavin Martin’s IT costs and services, Partner Wayne Hudson knew what his
firm needed. He went to market to find an IT services partner that would:

• Deliver cost-effective, high quality IT infrastructure, backed up by proactive service and support and quick resolution of any issues
• Understand the needs of small to-medium sized businesses and effectively service those needs
• Deliver software and tools that would allow staff to work more efficiently and effectively, and maximise their productivity.

“Wayne Hudson was aware of CodeBlue’s brand and reputation and he quickly established that CodeBlue could deliver exactly what he was looking for.”

The engagement with CodeBlue began with a proposal to upgrade Hudson Gavin Martin’s existing IT infrastructure, concurrently migrating it from the external data-centre and bringing it in-house. There were huge timeframe constraints for the project and the partners were concerned that it could not be completed as required.

CodeBlue’s project plan, however, gave them the confidence to proceed. The well-managed transition was completed on schedule, over a long weekend, with minimal disruption to the staff.

CodeBlue implemented an all encompassing Gold ‘Sleep Easy’ Service Level Agreement to effectively cover all of Hudson Gavin Martin’s IT requirements for a fixed monthly price that is substantially less than what Hudson Gavin Martin had previously been paying.

The ‘all you can eat’ SLA includes access to CodeBlue’s helpdesk service and IT support during core business hours. Wayne Hudson says that CodeBlue’s ability to provide access to application support, in addition to infrastructure support, was an important consideration for the firm.

“It was imperative to have an IT provider on board that would provide the application support we needed, communicate with us, respond proactively to requests and get things done,” he says.

In addition Hudson Gavin Martin has a dedicated Trusted Advisor who works as part of the Hudson Gavin Martin team to understand the firm’s business needs and provide personalised support and assistance. When Wayne Hudson first heard of CodeBlue’s ‘Trusted Advisor’ philosophy, he was not convinced of it; now he says, “I didn’t believe it when I read it but it’s true – to us, our CodeBlue Trusted Advisor is just like an internal staff member.”

Enabling greater efficiencies

CodeBlue is not affiliated with any particular technology or brand, using whatever technology and working with whichever partner they need to bring customers the lowest costs and highest service levels possible to ensure customers can operate efficiently. CodeBlue’s ability and willingness to work directly with vendors to support Hudson Gavin Martin’s legal-industry standard applications (such as Infinity and Inprotech) was another plus for the firm.

Wayne Hudson says the ability to work remotely is vital. “Our people needed to be confident they could log in remotely to work if needed,” he says.

“Before engaging CodeBlue, we were limited to two or three concurrent remote workers at any time and remote access to applications was also limited. It was a key challenge for us because the impact on staff productivity was unacceptable.”

CodeBlue installed Microsoft Terminal Server 2008, to give staff remote desktop access. Staff can concurrently work remotely, whenever required. Users have access to office files and literature and selected business applications on the network. Productivity levels have further increased thanks to the speed of external access to the firm’s network.

CodeBlue also upgraded Hudson Gavin Martin’s existing firewall software and implemented the SMX mail filtering and scrubbing service to block spam and viruses while ensuring that business critical email reaches its destination without delay.

“Before engaging CodeBlue, we were limited to two or three concurrent remote workers at any time and remote access to applications was also limited. It was a key challenge for us because the impact on staff productivity was unacceptable.” says Wayne Hudson.

Tangible business benefits

The key business benefits are tangible. Hudson Gavin Martin now has its own robust HP infrastructure. Support is delivered via the Sleep Easy Gold Service Level Agreement. Systems and data are fully protected by CodeBlue’s Disaster Recovery and Online Backup services.

The significant percentage of IT costs saved allows for increased and valuable spend in other areas of the business. The greater levels of services and support have translated into increased productivity for staff.

“It makes a difference to have a service provider that delivers great service and support,” Wayne Hudson says. “CodeBlue has taken the hassle out of IT for us and allowed us to focus on the business.”

Hudson Gavin Martin’s staff members are delighted with their decision to move to CodeBlue. To them, good service means knowing they have the right people working alongside them, swift responses to service requests and great communication.

“In short, I’m glad we made the switch to CodeBlue. We like the service, we like the cost – and that’s the bottom line,” says Wayne Hudson.