Advanced Legal: Hosted MLC delivered business continuity to Atlantic Chambers
Members now benefit from efficient remote working, cost savings, improved security and IT support
Atlantic Chambers can trace its history to the very beginnings of the Liverpool bar. Today, we are situated at the heart of this vibrant, connected, international city, a stone’s throw from the Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts and the world famous iconic waterfront.
We work hard to meet both the needs and expectations of our clients in every aspect. We’re a multi-disciplinary set with 55+ members, several of whom are ranked in the national excellence benchmarks, Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners UK.
Time for a change
In 2019, we had reached a point where we knew we had to consider an upgrade to our technical infrastructure. Our primary aims were twofold. In the first instance, we wanted to ensure that our systems would be able to easily meet our requirements far into the future.
Secondly, we wanted to remove the difficulties and expense that were related to the support of our own internal infrastructure. Initially, we had considered replacing our on-site servers but the cost was prohibitive, and we’d still have been left with the issues related to managing them.
Finding the right solution
It was not clear that we would gain anything by moving to another product. When we discovered that Advanced could also offer a fully managed hosted Cloud environment it appeared to be the solution we were looking for.
Our Chambers Administrator, Julie Evans, explains: “We had been using MLC as our chambers management system for some time and had no real interest in changing that because it has always worked so well for us.”
Smooth implementation
The implementation process was very easy. We signed up in December 2019 and system testing took place throughout January 2020.
We were allocated a single project manager who stayed with us throughout the migration process. This ensured that any issues were dealt with, and resolved, very quickly.
Completion was achieved over a relatively short period of time and the project actually went live in the third week of February 2020… just before the first lockdown of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Immediate benefits
The timings for our adoption of MLC Hosted turned out to be very auspicious. Julie comments: “The immediate need to work from home that came about as a result of the pandemic simply meant a shift from chambers to remote working, and then business as usual. Using MLC Mobile, Case Collaboration, Hosted Desktop and email services meant we were able to continue working without disruption. That was an obvious benefit to us, but the additional advantages delivered by a hosted service reached far beyond remote efficiency.”
A financial advantage
The Advanced Hosted Service was a cost effective option for us. We did need to replace some of our hardware, but the total cost of the project was small compared to what it would have been if we had decided to replace our locally installed servers.
That saving, combined with the ability to switch to home working so efficiently, significantly reduced the potential risks that lockdown presented.
Julie adds: “We’ve also moved to paperless working. This had been on our agenda for some time, but we thought it would take longer to fully achieve. Lockdown forced an immediate move into a full, paperless environment.”
A smaller environmental footprint is something we feel very positive about and the additional cost savings are an additional benefit.
Trusted support
The on-premise support package provided by Advanced is excellent. We now have a support network of people we can turn to and trust. Regardless of what the problem is, even when it’s not an Advanced issue, they will help us find a solution.
Having a single number to call has been much more efficient than having to deal with third parties to get a problem sorted. We always know that help is at hand whenever it’s required.
Guaranteed security
Another benefit for us was the increased level of security, available as standard, with the Advanced Hosted Service. Prior to the move, we had system back-up tapes that were taken home by an allocated person each evening. It was a huge ask to expect individuals to be responsible for those tapes and letting Advanced pick up data security and back-ups has removed that pressure.
Ready for the future
Julie concludes: “We can’t praise the advantages of Hosted MLC highly enough. We are now protected against any further lockdowns that may be imposed and have no concerns about business disruption. We’ll just shut the office doors and continue working at full capacity from home. It’s an option we would recommend to any business that is looking for a more efficient, future-proof technical solution.”
“We are now protected against any further lockdowns that may be imposed and have no concerns about business disruption. We’ll just shut the office doors and continue working at full capacity from home.” Julie Evans, Chambers Administrator, Atlantic Chambers.
