Ogletree Deakins, an international law firm with thousands of employees, was using a “hodge-podge” of communications solutions to service 60+ locations around the globe, according to Ken Schultz, Chief Information Officer. Each location had a different system, and frequent outages left Ogletree Deakins struggling to recover. Ken said, “it was once or twice a day we had an outage somewhere in the world.”
Reliability, Reliability, Reliability
This was a major impediment to client relations and the handling of time-sensitive issues. When Ken started as CIO of Ogletree Deakins, he recognized that “the #1 problem was the reliability of the communications and contact center. For a law firm to be losing calls, that is a really big problem.”
While Ogletree Deakins had exceptional resources and expertise to serve their clients, communication difficulties directly impacted their ability to do so successfully. Not only did their external communications suffer, but internal collaboration also become impaired as well. As Ken noted, ”people tended to be a lot more sliced.”
Recognizing the impact of these issues, Ogletree Deakins underwent a vigorous process to replace their disparate systems with an integrated IP phone and contact center solution.
They ultimately chose to deploy the Evolve IP OneCloud™, which runs on the world’s largest, most stable, and scalable communications platform from Cisco and provided the firm with multiple cloud computing options as well.
Worldwide Improvements
Ogletree Deakins deployed Evolve IPs unified phone and contact center across 60 locations, including London, Berlin, Toronto, Paris, Mexico City, and St. Thomas, and saw immediate improvements.
“We went with Evolve IP because of their stability and reliability. We knew we wanted a hosted solution, and Evolve IP was the perfect fit.”: said Ken.
Today, in addition to the security provided by having their phones and contact center running in the cloud, each location is implementing redundancies to provide a backup network.
All employees also have a unified communications application on their mobile phones. In this way, even in a blackout, Ogletree Deakins’ lawyers are able to take calls wherever they’re located.
“We thought about hosting a solution ourselves, but we didn’t have the stomach to do it right. We would need a lot of infrastructure and the right hires. Even then, we wouldn’t be able to match the reliability of Evolve IP,” said Schultz.
Immediate Results
- Financial Savings – Ogletree Deakins not only received one of the world’s leading IP phone systems and contact centers, but they also saved over $300,000 annually. “It makes it easy to sell to the board,” noted Schultz.
- Stability – Since switching to Evolve IP, Ogletree Deakins has gone from experiencing daily system outages to none at all. “We haven’t had any system outages and can forward calls from the main number to another location if there’s a disaster or business continuity issue.”
- Mobile Access – Thanks to the Evolve IP collaboration and unified communications mobile application Ogletree Deakins attorneys can receive office calls out of pocket, anytime. “Single number follow has been great. The attorneys all have the app on their phone, so they can see any call coming in no matter where they are.”
- More Collaboration – Internal connectivity between locations has become easier and more reliable. Schultz noted, “we are able to do a better job collaborating, and we feel more connected, more a part of the same organization.”
Ken Schultz CIO of Ogletree Deakins
“That’s the type of proposition I like to bring to a Board of Directors. When I can say, ’we can get everything new, be completely redundant, it can meet all of our needs, and oh, by the way, we are going to save over $300,000 a year.’ It makes it easy for me to sell it!”
LOCATION:
Headquartered in San Diego, California, with multiple locations around the world
INDUSTRY:
Ogletree Deakins specializes in labor and employment counsel. No matter the company size, their pledge is to understand their client’s business and objectives.
POSITIVE FEEDBACK:
Client feedback has earned the firm multiple accolades in publications such as U.S. News-Best Lawyers, Chambers and Partners, Legal 500, and many others.
GLOBAL COVERAGE:
Access lawyers who are admitted to practice in all 50 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, England, France, Germany, Mexico, and Canada.
CLIENT-FOCUSED PLEDGE:
Our attorneys pledge to provide our clients with value, innovation, quality, collaboration, and effective communication.
BUSINESS SITUATION:
• Ogletree Deakins had an unreliable phone system and contact center and experienced regular outages. With thousands of employees and 60+ locations, they needed a reliable, unified system that promoted stability and connectivity.
SOLUTION:
• Ogletree Deakins deployed Evolve IP’s integrated IP phone system, collaboration service, and contact center across their worldwide locations.
BENEFITS:
• Financial Savings – In addition to gaining a world-class IP phone system, unified communications, and collaboration tool, and Gartner- noted contact Center, Ogletree Deakins is saving $300,000/ year.
• Stability – Since switching to Evolve IP, Ogletree Deakins has gone from experiencing frequent outages to none at all.
• Mobile Access – Thanks to the Evolve IP mobile unified communications app, Ogletree Deakins attorneys can receive office calls out of pocket, virtually anywhere, anytime.
• More Collaboration – Internal connectivity between locations has become easy and reliable.
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The Cloud is no longer about buying individual services. It’s now about building a strategy around multiple cloud services and integrating them together to make IT more efficient. Evolve IP delivers customized strategies and integrated services for both cloud computing and communications. Solutions that are designed to work together with your current infrastructure and with the applications you already use in your business. Disaster Recovery, Contact Center, Unified Communications, Desktops, and Infrastructure
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