Legal Technology Journal

04 November 2008: Simmons & Simmons, the world-class law firm with offices throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia has continued its long-standing relationship with NEC Philips by engaging with them to support with the deployment of Microsoft Office Communications Server (OCS) to improve and personalise communication between staff with a view to facilitating flexible working and challenging traditional working models. In addition, NEC Philips is to implement a self service password reset solution for the law firm, empowering users and improving security.

Renowned for the commercial astuteness and in-depth expertise of its staff throughout its international operations, Simmons & Simmons prides itself on its investment in people and the opportunities it presents them. As Abby Ewen, IT Director at Simmons & Simmons, explains “We have built our practice around local lawyers whose knowledge of the culture, business and language is unparalleled and pride ourselves on the level of service this enables us to deliver. With our staff at the centre of our success we are always keen to find new ways of improving their working environment and the supporting technology infrastructure they rely on to carry out their work.”

The OCS and self-service projects are the latest in a series of initiatives undertaken by the law firm designed to enhance its operations and the experience for users.  Previously, the company engaged the NEC Philips team in deploying Novell email technology and then a few years later to undertake an infrastructure refresh, which included the migration of its Novell eDirectory to Microsoft Active Directory, moving the mail services from Novell GroupWise to Microsoft Exchange, in a move to standardise its infrastructure through to the desktop builds.

The current ‘Smart Working’ project, which involves the deployment of OCS pilot is primarily aimed at improving the collaborative interactions between its 2000 plus staff and global customer base. However, the investments also deliver a series of additional benefits in the areas of flexible working, staff retention and security, plus provides a foundation for further developments in the areas of Unified Communications and Identity Management.

As Abby outlines, “Flexible working has been a hot topic for the last decade, but it is only now that we are able to deploy a feasible solution that meets the demands of our business. Through a combination of the implementation of OCS, home working and hot desking we expect to see dramatic savings both in terms of the amount of space we use in our London office and the number of employees having to commute to work on a daily basis which also has environmental benefits. The fact that the solution offers us the ability to reduce costs in this manner whilst re-addressing the work-life balance and improving customer service is a huge benefit.”

Abby continues, “Attracting good people is a challenge for any organisation, but retaining them can be equally as hard. We strongly believe that by improving working conditions of your people, retention will increase - as well as productivity levels. Our investment in OCS follows that strategy, as does our decision to introduce the self service password reset solution, which will provide users with 24/7 support and ensures that no matter where they are in the world, they will be able to access the tools and information they require. In addition, it adds to the security of our infrastructure by protecting from fraudulent reset claims and written passwords reminders left lying around – not to mention reducing the support costs. As a future development, we can extend this solution to a wider identity management solution, which will enable us to streamline the process of provisioning of users and further improve the user experience in a cost effective and secure manner.”

Abby concludes, “Given the international reach of Simmons & Simmons it was pivotal that we found a provider who could not only deliver but also help us meet our compliance requirements. We have a good relationship with NEC Philips and feel that through their offering we can ensure that both our customers and staff are not only getting the best possible service but the best possible experience as well. Their ability to tailor their expertise to our specific needs and provide a robust but flexible solution was key to our decision to work with them and we look forward to continuing this relationship.”