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A publication of A COMPLETE GUIDE TO MANAGED NETWORK SERVICES FOR LAW FIRMS
A publication of
A COMPLETE GUIDE TO MANAGED NETWORK SERVICES FOR LAW FIRMS
Table of Contents
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Core IT Challenges for Law Firms………………..3 What is Managed Network Services?……………9 8 Steps of Implementing Managed Services in a Law Firm…………………14 Translating Managed Services into Measurable Business Value………………….24 Tips for Selecting the Right Managed Services Provider…………………………28 About the Author…………………………………….…33
CHAPTER 1: Core IT Challenges for Law Firms
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Bottlenecks Often there are places at a law firm where workflow grinds to a halt - internal bottlenecks that are the fault of no one individual but rather the fault of an inefficient IT architecture. You need a partner that can identify these operational weaknesses and make meaningful and cost-effective improvements.
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What are some of your bottlenecks?
• Does it take you longer than a few seconds to find a client’s phone number?
• How about that paper case-file? If it’s not in the filing cabinet, can you access it immediately?
• Do you experience untimely network failures, not knowing what will fail and when?
If your data isn’t safe and secure today then it could be gone tomorrow, and that totally undermines the purpose of your investment into IT.
Your practice management system, for instance, isn’t necessarily all that valuable on day one. It becomes valuable over time. That’s because it’s an information system which is reliant on what you put into it: calendar entries, contacts, cases, documents, phone calls, emails. The more you use it, the more valuable it becomes.
If you lose that data, then you lose it’s value – not to mention many other repercussions, which can be staggering.
Lack of Security
Most small to midsized businesses fail in less than 12 months after experiencing complete data loss.
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Talent Retention
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of employees under the age of 30 prioritize social media freedom, device flexibility, and work mobility over salary in accepting a job offer.” Source: CISCO
33%
This number is bound to increase significantly. So when it comes time to add talent to your workforce, you need IT solutions that attract young innovators, not repel them.
This doesn’t mean you need flat screen televisions on every wall, but it does mean that you need IT solutions that blend well with your employees’ personal and professional lifestyles.
Waste
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Did you know one of the black holes in your office could be all of your PC monitors? Here, money just pours out of the windows. Why not automate your environment to turn these monitors off at nighttime? This is just the start…
Think about real estate. Are you providing warm and cozy office space to your library of documents? What if you could digitize this library, increase accessibility and safety, and allow you to put that room to good use?
You need an IT partner that understands your needs and provides creative solutions that allow you to
work smarter, not harder.
• Downtime
• Exposure to malpractice
• Chronic IT issues
• Short hardware lifecycle
• 3rd Party integration issues
• Too many work-arounds
• Misaligned objectives
• Network vulnerability
• Internal collaboration
• Reactive buying habits
• Untimely failures
• No IT partnership
• Lack of urgency
• Finger pointing
• Complexity
Other Common IT Problems in Law Firms:
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CHAPTER 2: What is Managed Network Services?
Imagine being able to diagnose a problem that is about to happen and resolve it before it turns into a monumental issue.
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Managed Network Services (MNS) is an IT management program delivering proactive monitoring, maintenance, and management of your software and hardware. Simply put, a Managed Services Provider (MSP) performs regular, proactive maintenance on your computers, laptops, servers and IT equipment. They also collect and analyze performance data for every key component of your network and watch for signs of trouble.
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As a result, network issues are often resolved BEFORE you even know about them…before they affect your firm’s productivity.
Benefits of Managed Network Services Increase uptime
Faster network performance
Predictable IT costs
Increase staff productivity
Reduce labor costs
Reduce exposure to security risks
Focus on your business
Access to a wealth of IT knowledge
Extend life of existing equipment
Adds measurable business value
A regularly maintained network means fewer failures, yielding higher productivity and savings on support costs for you. MNS reduces your exposure to security risks and frustration from unstable IT resources. It allows you to focus on your core business functions by taking the worry out of maintaining your computer network.
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Types of Managed Services
Managed Network Services A full-service solution that includes 24/7/365 monitoring, maintenance, and management of your entire IT network. Includes preventative maintenance, onsite and help desk support, asset-discovery, monthly reporting, IT health assessment, and more. Managed Endpoint Security Fully integrated anti-virus, anti-malware, personal firewall, content-filtering, and host intrusion prevention. Protects your desktops and laptops against the ongoing threat of viruses, malware and malicious attacks.
Some MSPs offer a full range of Managed Services – providing 100% coverage across all assets.
Managed Spam Services Prevents unwanted viruses, malware and junk mail from filling up your inbox. Includes anti-spam, virus protection, updates and security alerts. Managed Backup Services Data backup and disaster recovery that keeps all firm data, including files, databases and system state, backed up and secure. Mobile Device Management Manage, secure and monitor all of your firm's mobile devices in real time. Remotely lock or wipe lost devices.
CHAPTER 3: 8 Steps of Implementing Managed Network Services in a Law Firm This methodology sets up the backbone of your IT management program.
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STEP 1: Onboarding This step involves deploying a monitoring and reporting management console. This serves as a window into your environment from which your Managed Services Provider (MSP) can see and accumulate aggregate performance, security, connectivity and availability metrics, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
This centralized knowledge center allows the MSP to monitor and manage all hardware and software IT assets from anywhere in the world at any time.
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STEP 2: Monitoring
An MSP sets up defined thresholds for all devices and configure real-time alerts, notifications, and receipts. These alerts notify them of current issues (often before you even know), the status of ongoing issue remediation, and things that will turn into future issues if not dealt with immediately – all in real-time.
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Think about it this way… Consider approaching a busy intersection on foot in NYC and deciding to cross based solely off of a picture you snapped a few days ago. Obviously, the preferred method of travel is to use your eyes and ears which allow you to interpret data and manage risk - in real-time. It’s no different when it comes to managing your business or your technology assets.
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After a short period of time, the MSP takes the aggregated data, interprets it, and makes recommendations to align your technology with your current needs.
This often includes closing security vulnerabilities, optimizing your machines for better performance, ensuring proper configuration of hardware and software, or notifying you of any licensing, regulatory, or compliance issues. This assessment phase serves as your primary alignment with proactive services and provides valuable insight into the current state of technology at your firm - including a full audit of all hard and soft assets.
STEP 3: Assessment
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STEP 4: Management The day-to-day management of your technology environment can be delivered three ways…
Onsite Support
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Some activities may or may not require a physical onsite presence. Regardless, many clients just don’t have time to call in about smaller issues, but are glad to stop a technician that is inside their office.
Onsite support results in less issues being swept under the rug and a better client-vendor partnership.
Automation
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Many activities can be automated, such as scheduled preventative maintenance, data backups, virus scans, and other application-specific hot-fixes, updates, and version releases.
Automation lowers your costs and allows the MSP to schedule downtime or resource consumption outside peak business hours.
Help Desk
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Anytime a technician doesn’t have to get in their car, sit in traffic, pay for parking, and find your office, remediation has been streamlined and your problems get solved more quickly
Your staff should have the ability to pick up the phone and get immediate support from a technician….because let’s face it, you want your staff practicing law and billing hours, not scratching their head.
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STEP 5: Protection At this point your network, software, and all related processes and integrations are stabilized.
MNS ensures continued stabilization, peak performance, and minimal stoppages by delivering security services that prevent viruses, malware, spam and other malicious content.
This includes hardware and software firewall management, uniform antivirus, external anti-spam, and more. From end-to-end all of your valuable IT-assets, hard and soft, are safe, secure, and protected 24/7/365.
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STEP 6: Optimize
MSPs perform system, equipment, bandwidth and traffic optimization to ensure that you get the fastest speeds, best performance, and most comprehensive security during all working hours.
The goal is to give you 24 hour access to all of your mission-critical tools.
To aid in this endeavor, MSPs perform maintenance after-hours, while continually monitoring performance and heartbeat data. If something fails, they are alerted immediately.
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STEP 7: Backup
In the event of data loss, a comprehensive backup solution will minimize damage, allowing data to be restored individually at the file-level.
In other words, why restore your whole system when you just need an email? For sizeable security breaches, incremental daily backups minimize losses and ensure your most recent data is safe.
Finally, an MSP will work to develop a custom disaster recovery plan for instances of Acts of God - with a priority being to have you fully operational within 24 hours (depending on severity).
MNS ensures your entire network (including all settings, profiles, policies, configurations, and data), are backed up and rotated offsite. If a single file fails to be backed up properly, the MSP is immediately notified.
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STEP 8: Reporting
Finally, because it’s not good enough to simply tell what the MSP is doing for you, they should prove it by delivering monthly performance reports, written in language you can understand. These reports include performance and security metrics, giving you unparalleled insight into your environment. They help determine equipment refresh cycles, allowing them to pinpoint problem areas. They also help to realign IT needs with changing landscapes, and to strategically plan your next 12, 36, and 60 months.
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CHAPTER 4: Translating Managed Services into Measurable Business Value
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Reduction of IT Issues
As a result you’ll begin to see a reduction of service calls and issues after a few months.
So the common issues we discussed at the beginning of this eBook are being eliminated, opening up your employees to pursue more revenue-generating activities.
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Computer Issues by Month
When a new MNS client comes aboard, and MSP should work quickly to resolve any lingering IT issues that have not been properly addressed.
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Calculating Your Break-Even Point Another way to measure the value Managed Services delivers is to examine your break-even point.
For Example: Take this sample 10-member law firm, where the average billable rate is $175 per hour; next, let’s say on average only 20 hours are billed for every 40 hours worked. The aggregate value for every hour worked at this law firm is now $87.50 per hour per member. Collectively, for all 10 members, each hour is worth $875 in revenue to this firm. MNS for a firm of this size costs about $750 for the month – that includes all onsite, remote, and Help Desk support.
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$500
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Monthly Costfor ReactiveIT Mgmt
Total Cost ofMNS (Month)
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In this example, the firm is break-even if just 52 minutes of downtime per month is eliminated.
Just six minutes saved per month per user and the firm is already in the green from a cost versus production gain standpoint.
You need a solution that treats the disease, not the symptoms.
Things like downtime, poor performance, lack of planning, and so on, are all symptoms. The disease is the improper management model. For most firms, this usually boils down to being reactive vs. proactive.
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CHAPTER 5: Tips for Selecting the Right Managed Services Provider
A Managed Services Provider will protect your IT environment and stabilize your budget. But not all MSPs are created equal. Remember that while many say they are a true MSP, some are not.
Some MSPs only monitor your network during business hours, increasing the chances of a security breach or system failure when no one is there to stop it. Choose an MSP with 24 x 7 x 365 remote monitoring. A true MSP will have invested in dedicated monitoring systems that can identify problems BEFORE they shut down your PC or network. Some MSPs will use the tools included in the Microsoft systems which are limited and not customizable to your specific needs. If someone says they use Microsoft for notifications, odds are you’re not getting what you’re paying for. Make sure you have access to afterhours support. You should be able to speak to someone immediately in case of an emergency.
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Select a provider that provides monthly reporting. This keeps you knowledgeable and aware of how your IT environment is performing throughout the year. These reports should show you which areas of your network are performing well and which areas need improvement. It should also provide the means to better budget for your IT expenditures.
Knowing that certain systems are starting to fail allows you more time to shop for better pricing on IT purchases. An MSP should offer remote AND onsite support. While remote support helps resolve small issues quickly, there is no replacement for face-to-face time with your technician. Onsite visits are essential to ensure your equipment is running correctly and to resolve issues that may have not been called in. Use a provider that offers both unlimited support plans and/or bundled hours. Unlimited plans offer the best cost predictability, however, bundled hour plans usually offer the lowest overall rates. The caveat is with a variable plan, your firm shoulders the risk, should there be an unexpected issue that requires an increase in the amount of monthly services you normally require. Unlimited plans shift that risk to the MSP, meaning your price stays the same whether or not Hurricane Katrina wipes out your facilities.
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Choose an MSP with a depth of experience in your industry. A knowledgeable MSP will make recommendations for improvements beyond your hardware. They should provide insight for improved workflow for your hardware and software systems. Having industry-specific insights as to what can work well and what might not can be invaluable when trying to run a profitable business. The MSP should offer you a plan tailored to the needs of your company. For instance, a 50 person firm may benefit from 10 hours a month of support while a 5 person firm may only require 2 hours a month. A good MSP offers rates and plans that scale to the size and needs of any firm, from a sole practitioner to a hundred attorney firm.
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The legal industry is inundated with technology created specifically for law firms. Make sure your MSP knows the ins and outs of how to keep those systems running at peak performance.
How much extra productivity can be injected into your law firm?
The first step to finding the answer is performing a technology audit. An IT audit will provide invaluable insight into your infrastructure - which can be used to plan your future IT direction, make changes to improve security, performance, help minimize risk, and to create new efficiencies. At a minimum, you’ll receive key takeaways that result in immediate and measurable business value for your firm, even if you don’t end up using us.
Sign up for a free IT audit here >
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CHAPTER 6: About the Author
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…………………………………………………………… Accellis Technology Group specializes in delivering technology services and solutions that help streamline the flow of information, create new efficiencies, and reduce waste in law firms. We are one of very few companies, nationwide, that specializes in enterprise hardware and software IT-management specifically for the legal industry. Accellis is also member of Lawtopia LLC, a nationwide network of legal-specific technology consultants with 10 field locations across the United States.
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This document is designed to give users a fundamental understanding of the basic features of a Managed Network Services program. The topics that are covered were selected based on experience in the field and the features that are most commonly provided by Accellis Technology Group, Inc. and used by law firms and legal departments. © Copyright 2013, Accellis Technology Group, Inc. This publication, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or otherwise, including photocopying. You may not resell, nor reproduce this manual or the content within for any reason without written consent from Accellis Technology Group, Inc. This document prepared and distributed by: Accellis Technology Group, Inc. 9000 Sweet Valley Drive, Suite 4 Cleveland, OH 44125 216-662-3200 www.accellis.com
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