A Lincoln solicitors firm came to IT Support Lincoln after repeated system outages had begun affecting client meetings and document filing deadlines.
The Challenge
The firm had grown to 18 staff across two offices and was running on ageing Windows 7 workstations connected to an on-site server that had not been serviced in over three years. Staff were losing work due to unplanned restarts, the remote access VPN dropped connections regularly, and there was no documented backup process in place. The practice manager had raised the issue with their previous IT supplier twice, but received no concrete plan.
Their biggest concern was a data breach. Solicitors handle deeply sensitive client information, and a ransomware attack or accidental data exposure could trigger regulatory penalties under SRA guidelines as well as damage the firm's reputation irreparably.
The Solution
IT Support Lincoln conducted a full audit of both offices before recommending a phased migration. Rather than a disruptive overnight switch, the team replaced workstations in batches of four, running the old and new environments in parallel during the transition.
The ageing server was replaced with a hybrid setup: a modern NAS device for local file access paired with Microsoft 365 SharePoint for cloud-based document management. This gave staff fast local access while ensuring all files were backed up automatically to two separate locations every hour.
Remote access was rebuilt using Microsoft Azure AD with multi-factor authentication. Every member of staff received a 45-minute onboarding session, and the IT Support Lincoln team was on-site for the first two weeks after go-live to handle queries and catch any edge cases.
Cyber security was addressed through Microsoft Defender for Business, email filtering via Defender for Office 365, and a written security policy the firm could present to clients and insurers.
The Results
The migration was completed in six weeks with zero loss of billable time during court or client sessions. System downtime in the three months following the project was under 20 minutes total, compared to an estimated 14 hours lost in the six months prior.
The firm passed its next Cyber Essentials assessment without remediation work. Staff reported that document retrieval was faster than before, and the practice manager noted that remote working for fee earners was now genuinely reliable.
- Downtime reduced from approximately 14 hours over six months to under 20 minutes in three months post-migration
- Zero data incidents since go-live
- Cyber Essentials certified within eight weeks of project completion
What the Client Said
"We had put off dealing with our IT for too long. The team at IT Support Lincoln made the whole process straightforward and were honest about what we actually needed rather than overselling us on technology we did not require."
Want Similar Results?
If your practice is running on ageing infrastructure or has outstanding IT concerns you have been putting off, we can carry out a no-obligation audit and give you a clear picture of where the risks are and what it would cost to fix them. Contact IT Support Lincoln to arrange a visit.