IT systems are so central to transacting business to the extent that, operationally, IT starts to be the business. This is particularly true for service-based professions, which rely on uninterrupted systems availability to fulfill a time-based business model.

So, when top New Zealand legal services firm Harkness Henry decided to upgrade its technology platform, there was a lot at stake. The business would not accept any systems disruption and the new platform had to be flexible enough to accommodate growth and new technologies.

Harkness Henry began investigating a complete IT upgrade in early 2003. Having chosen Fujitsu as its technology partner, the project team began planning and designing a hybrid thin and thick client architecture to take advantage of Microsoft technologies due out later that year.

Future platform
The goal was the establishment of an IT platform for the future. Key elements included reliability, connectivity, predictability and capacity for growth.

Glenis Liddall, practice manager, says the company had to have the technology systems to match its people.

"With very high calibre talent at Harkness Henry, we wanted to be sure the technology was of the same quality so that we could make greater use of our talent and deliver even better client service."

The company’s four-year-old IT infrastructure was not keeping up, says Liddall. "The business needed to be confident that IT was able to support maximum performance in a totally predictable fashion. So, we needed a partner who could design and build a platform for the business to take advantage of technology now and in the future." Underlying issues associated with aging IT infrastructure – including intermittent network go-slows, reboots, backup and capacity issues – also had to be resolved.

Specific sticking points included running Microsoft Exchange and Windows File and Print on a single server, which was a major inhibitor of network performance, and a requirement for Terminal Server technology to seamlessly deliver IT functionality to a satellite Paeroa office.

Out with the old and in with the new
Harkness Henry’s new platform includes Microsoft Office Professional, Microsoft Windows Server and Terminal Server, and Microsoft Exchange Server.

Two-thirds of the company’s 55 desktops were replaced, and the rest were upgraded. New underlying server and switching infrastructure replaced Windows NT4 servers for File and Print, Exchange, Terminal Server and Fujitsu law, Harkness Henry’s practice management system. An existing server was upgraded to Windows 2003 and deployed for archive storage.

Rapid non-disruptive deployment
Months of planning and design led to a changeover that took place literally over a weekend.

"Fujitsu offered valuable strategic direction from the beginning, including systems design and project management, within a tight time-frame," says Liddall. "To avoid downtime for partners, staff, and clients, we decided to initiate the upgrade all at once. We ‘bit the bullet’ and did it over a weekend without any interruptions or disruptions to client service, which was the ultimate goal."

IT that looks after itself
Fujitsus’ ongoing support contract, called SmartSupport, provides Harkness Henry with another layer of reliability and business confidence. A modular programme, spanning server care, server response and backup management, Fujitsu remotely monitors Harkness Henry’s IT systems.

"Post-implementation we have taken advantage of Fujitsu SmartSupport to ensure continued trouble-free operation of our IT systems. As an early adopter of Microsoft's new technologies there was minimal time for testing prior to deployment. So, it was important that we had a readily available and competent support team with a sound knowledge of our systems, Microsoft products and the hardware."

Designed to pre-empt systems issues before they impact on business performance, SmartSupport modules track and manage server performance, disk usage, service patches and hot fixes, backups and restores.

"It means the system looks after itself," says Liddall. "Fujitsu does the big stuff and monitors the systems in the background, and we keep an eye on day-to-day stuff. So, we end up doing very little at all, whereas previously we could eat up half a day, no problem at all. It also gives us the peace of mind knowing that our systems are being monitored and support is available when our IT staff are absent from the office."

"Fujitsu offered valuable strategic direction from the beginning, including systems design and project management, within a tight time-frame."

Less visible, more useable
A key outcome for Harkness Henry is predictability; its IT systems and supporting infrastructure are always available and perform in a consistent manner. Consequently IT is now less visible, which means it is now much less distracting.

"It’s taken a lot of frustration out of the business," says Liddall. "We are now able to operate at a faster pace and do our jobs better. You don’t really see IT when it is working well."