Nildram lays down the law at Simpson & Marwick
Aim
To secure online data transfers and integrate its corporate communications, Scottish law firm Simpson & Marwick called on Nildram to provide a complete Broadband solution.
Effective communication is key
Fighting a legal battle can be an emotive process involving airing often sensitive information in a public forum. The role of the lawyer is pivotal. Representing their clients, the lawyer is responsible for presenting the best possible case, encapsulating compelling legal arguments and countering those of the opposition. Effective communication is key to this process.
For legal firms the significance of good communication extends far beyond the courtroom. Providing an ever-widening range of services, large firms are increasingly achieving greater competitive advantages by introducing the latest Broadband solutions that connect disparate parts of the organisation in a secure and efficient way.
Fully Managed Broadband ADSL
Simpson & Marwick Solicitors, for example, recently acquired a number of Broadband services from Nildram, one of the UK's fastest growing providers of specialised telecommunications services. The Fully Managed services connect the company's regional offices in Aberdeen, Dundee and Glasgow with its head office in Edinburgh. The move delivered immediate business advantages as Bill Oliver, IT manager at Simpson & Marwick, explains.
The services from Nildram enable us to react faster and share data more efficiently between different parts of the company. This has given us a clear competitive advantage that we can pass on to our clients.
The Fully Managed Broadband services rely on Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) technologies that split existing telephone line signals into two - one for voice and the other for data. The services include Nildram's dslPro2000, which connects the company's centralised router at speeds of up to 2Mbps, and two dslPro500s, which create a Virtual Private Network (VPN) between its Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee offices. The Glasgow branch is also incorporated into this set-up via a second dslPro2000 connection.
"The whole Broadband network is behind one router," Bill says, "so it doesn't go to the public Internet - it's all internal. That's important because we're using it to route data from the main office in Edinburgh via a central router firewall to three remote sites. It has to be secure because we're accessing our exchange server for e-mails and retrieving important customer data from our CRM system. It's a central resource providing secure information."
Previously, the company had only limited connectivity. Edinburgh and Glasgow were connected through a 64Kbps-Leased Line, while Aberdeen and Dundee remained isolated. The recent upgrade from Nildram gave Simpson & Marwick a basic network speed of 256Kbps at roughly a quarter of the price. It also gave Bill peace of mind.
Substantial Savings
"The new network provides us with substantial savings and includes the remote sites. That would have been uneconomical on leased lines," he says. "Nildram also handles the entire network so we don't have to worry about how the connections are made and we don't need specialist knowledge in-house. If we have a problem, we call Nildram."
Simpson & Marwick's VPN went live in March 2003. Since then, the company has enjoyed faster data transfers and a truly integrated network connecting its offices throughout Scotland. Bill believes that Nildram's unrivalled experience in telecommunications has improved data sharing at the Scottish law firm and strengthened its security.
"At the time, Nildram was one of the few Internet service providers to offer an end-to-end solution that included Broadband connectivity, Cisco routers and a Fully Managed VPN. Their experience has ensured the delivery of a cost-effective network that has centralised our data resources. As a result, our business efficiencies have improved and our online security has been significantly enhanced."