In order to achieve these goals, Quorum provided expertise and experience in designing, implementing, testing and handing over the new desktop environment, thus equipping Brodies with the modern workplace capabilities it needed to support the business through the next evolution of its IT strategy.

The Customer

Brodies LLP is a top 50 UK law firm, headquartered in Scotland. It is the largest law firm in Scotland measured by income, directory rankings, and lawyer numbers.

The Brodies approach to business today is influenced by its history, which dates back nearly 300 years to the time of the Scottish Enlightenment. That approach recognises the individual knowledge and expertise of its colleagues and the Enlightened Thinking that they deliver. That thought has a reach extending to all corners of the Scottish economy, and globally.

In order to drive this modern firm forward, Brodies wanted not just to leave behind the legacy Windows 7 operating system, but to create a solid technology platform for the future on Windows 10. To help to build this new desktop and to manage the migration process, Brodies enlisted the help of Quorum, whose in-depth knowledge of the issues at play and its insight into solving them proved instrumental in ensuring that all the firm’s objectives were achieved.

Brodie’s Challenges

While the Windows 7 phase-out provided the impetus for the project, Brodies was also keen to resolve a number of issues it had been experiencing with its current set-up. The firm relished the opportunity to improve and automate application delivery and updates and to standardise across more than 800 devices in use across the organisation.

The Windows 7 desktop environment had been in place for some time and was showing signs of aging such as slowing performance and Office applications crashing unexpectedly. Brodies wished to further increase the security of the operating system and simplify management of its estate. The imminent introduction of Aderant (Brodies’ new Practice Management System) in January 2020 added further pressure to complete the project in on time, so that it would not clash with or delay that major undertaking.

Quorum’s Solution

Quorum’s team worked alongside Brodies’ IT team to undertake a comprehensive application discovery sweep, which allowed them to identify the list of applications to be managed, the desktop’s security requirements and the corporate branding appropriate to the project. Complaints and requests were recorded and itemised to ensure that each of these was addressed and resolved into a single, unified design for a new desktop experience. Once this design was finalised, Quorum implemented the Systems Centre infrastructure, new Group Policy structure, desktop branding and application packaging.

Testing and analysis formed a core part of the project, ensuring that all frustrations around login time, reliability and user experience were dealt with and resolved satisfactorily before the final handover. Automation was also introduced, ensuring that each desktop was fully provisioned right from the first log-in, thus enhancing security and contributing to a smoother user experience. Throughout the entire process, Quorum was assiduous in documenting all solutions implemented and a full report was handed over to Brodies’ IT team at the project’s close, along with comprehensive training in supporting and managing the solutions going forwards.