LAWFUEL – The Law Firm Newswire – Manchester, United Kingdom, 10/25/2007 – Comunica considers whether one of the most pressing MiFID compliance issues to overcome is not policy or IT solutions, but basic IT infrastructure problems.
One of the UK’s leading law firms, Mills & Reeve, has appointed leading IP solutions provider, Redstone Converged Solutions, to revolutionise the firm’s ICT infrastructure, and to improve client service and business efficiency in a five year converged IP and telephony contract worth over £600k.
The implementation, which includes the provision of Local Area Networks and IP telephony equipment from Cisco, and intelligent business communications software from IPFX, will automate call management and improve the responsiveness of Mills & Reeve’s 770 employees across the firm’s four offices. Provision of a converged voice and data network will reduce the cost of ICT ownership.
A top 50 law firm, Mills & Reeve competes internationally from the UK and achieved 50 per cent organic growth in the last two years. With similar growth planned, improving customer experience and productivity while managing costs are its key business goals.
With its existing network infrastructure and telephony systems reaching end-of-life and incapable of supporting efficient IP, Mills & Reeve employed independent IT consultancy, Xantus Consulting, to shortlist vendors and solution providers. A rigorous tender process narrowed six down to three and Redstone was selected over competitors including Affiniti, ATC and Echo TTML.
“We selected Redstone for its combined benefits of innovation and low risk,” said Graeme Low, Head of IS/IT, Mills & Reeve. “The Cisco platform provides market leading quality assurance and IPFX gives us tremendous scope to make the business more productive and efficient. We have also recognised that moving to a converged voice and data network will provide long term cost savings, particularly by reducing inter-office telephone charges.”
IPFX is intelligent IP communications software which not only controls incoming calls efficiently on the network, but also increases user productivity through advanced features, such as rich presence management and unified messaging. Particular benefits expected by Mills & Reeve are improved client service via the integration of voicemail with MS Outlook Calendar, and improved time management through access to voicemails via the user’s email inbox.
User groups involving both partners and support staff were heavily involved in the final selection process, and tested both hardware and IPFX software through demonstrations. “Our users have been particularly impressed by the benefits provided by IPFX and can see huge scope for improvement in day-to-day productivity as a result,” commented Nick Findlayson-Brown, Partner, Mills & Reeve.
Mills & Reeve purchased from Redstone in July. The initial pilot project will be implemented in its London offices between October and December, with full rollout planned in early 2008.
“Increasingly firms like Mills & Reeve are realising the cost and efficiency benefits of moving to a converged IP infrastructure,” said Paul Kennedy, Managing Director, Redstone Converged Solutions “Our combination of senior consulting services and IP solutions based on market leading products will enable Redstone to gain significant market share in these situations.”
About Redstone Converged Solutions
Redstone Converged Solutions is a leading provider of converged IP solutions, with expertise in contact centres, unified communications, IP networks, Intelligent Building (OneNET) and security. It is a division of Redstone plc, which has over 850 staff, a turnover in excess of £150 million, offices throughout the UK and Ireland and is committed to becoming a leading provider of telecoms and IT solutions for business and public sector organisations.
Redstone Converged Solutions has numerous accreditations including Avaya gold, BT premier, Cisco gold, Microsoft gold and Mitel platinum among others. Redstone Converged Solutions takes pride in providing leading edge, innovative solutions to businesses and organisations in the health, education, local government, retail and finance sectors.
About Mills & Reeve LLP
Mills & Reeve is a top 50 national law firm with 79 partners and a total staff of over 770, operating from offices in Birmingham, Cambridge, London and Norwich.
Mills & Reeve is a full service firm with practice specialisms including corporate and commercial, banking and finance, technology, insurance, real estate, healthcare, local authorities, education and private client.
Clients include commercial organisations – from PLCs to start-ups – high net worth individuals and landowners, more than 70 universities and colleges, over 100 healthcare trusts and NHS bodies, and more than 65 local government institutions.
