Niall O'Dowd, head of IT, Mason Hayes & Curran; Philip Nolan, partner, Mason Hayes & Curran; with David Kirby, general manager of technology partner Datapac
Mason Hayes & Curran has completed a major €500,000 investment in upgrading its infrastructure to the cloud in a move that will improve operational efficiencies and IT security.
The development of the private cloud infrastructure with their technology partner, Datapac, will see about 85pc of the firm’s server moving to a VMware platform.
This technology brings Mason Hayes & Curran in line with best IT industry practice globally, maximising hardware potential, improving overall energy management and reducing its cost base and expenditure. A further added advantage is that servers can now be backed up and restored in a fraction of the time it took using traditional hardware.
According to a recent study by IBM, where cloud computing has been used around the world, IT labour costs have been reduced by 50pc and improved capital utilisation by 75pc.
“This infrastructure upgrade is part of a long-term strategic development programme to support Mason Hayes & Curran’s increasing client base, which includes some of the leading technology companies in Ireland,” explained Philip Nolan, partner, Mason Hayes & Curran, who leads the legal technology team.
“It is important that we use the technology to its maximum to streamline our operation. The level of sophistication and flexibility the new infrastructure will provide gives us the confidence that we are making the right long-term decision.”
The IT upgrade is part of a long-term strategic expansion of the firm with staff now numbering more than 280, including 57 partners and consultants across areas such as technology, financial services, taxation and commercial litigation.
Lawyers take to the cloud
The dedicated infrastructure package has seen Mason Hayes & Curran upgrade its email system to a redundant Microsoft Exchange 2010 platform to cope with the ever-increasing volumes of email.
In conjunction with this, Mason Hayes & Curran has rolled out Office 2010, an upgraded email filing and document management system and an electronic search and retrieval system for documents.
This enables lawyers to have immediate access to information and files, allowing Mason Hayes & Curran to respond to clients faster and more cost effectively.
“Mason Hayes & Curran is an innovative and forward-thinking law firm and could see at an early stage the benefits cloud computing can bring to its business,” David Kirby, general manager, Datapac, explained.
“The firm has experienced significant growth over the last numbers of years and wanted to upgrade its entire IT infrastructure. We worked closely with the firm to develop a private-cloud solution that ensures the security of all its critical and confidential data and allows them to easily scale its IT infrastructure as they continue to grow.”
