Partner Article

Green IT plan saves £125,000

A LAW firm expects to shave £125,000 from its IT infrastructure costs over the next five years after adopting new eco-friendly technology.

North East firm Hay & Kilner called in Gateshead-based technology experts ITPS to review its IT set-up.

ITPS used virtualisation technology to cut the number of servers its uses 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.

The move comes as the business, which employs 160 people, 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 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.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .