Hedges Law
Hedges Law go Google with Cobry and Google Workspace
Organisation Profile
Since 1789, Hedges Law have been providing legal services to their customers. Based in Oxford, they’ve been a mainstay in their local community, constantly adapting to meet the changing legal landscape.
Project Scoping
Existing Circumstances
Before going Google, Hedges Law was using a cloud environment that was proving costly and lacking security. In order to keep their data secure they were finding themselves having to use supplementary antivirus protection and desktop management.
Their setup with Microsoft Office was proving to be unreliable, costly and not worth the difficulties it was creating, not to mention that users were struggling to work well together.
Their email service was under threat from phishing attacks which their expensive setup still couldn’t deal with. It became apparent they needed to make a change.
Project Delivery
At Cobry, we always look to meet our customers’ specific needs as no business is the same and are of the belief that our customers’ IT setup should match that. After conversations with Hedges Law and gaining an understanding of the situation they found themselves in, we could create a project which would mitigate the problems they were facing. This project included the implementation of Google Workspace (formerly G Suite), Chrome, and a cloud-based practice management solution – Actionstep.
Operations
Operationally, we guided Hedges Law through their transition to Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) – migrating all email and file data, while providing consultancy and best practices every step of the way. Additionally, we set up automatic cloud-to-cloud data backups with support for restoring any deleted files. This switch greatly aided Hedges Law in creating company-wide constants. A key example was the work we did in helping them to create document templates, improve internal processes with Forms and implement default policies in Chrome which ensured all users had the same standardised experience with access to the most relevant apps and sites.
Change Management
Whilst implementing the transition to Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) with Hedges Law, it was vital for the switch to be as seamless as possible. One way we ensured that was the case was through various change management techniques. One of the techniques used was the training of ‘Google Guides’. Google guides are particularly tech-savvy workers who adopt the change early and act as figureheads in the organisation. Google Guides received our training package of Productivity and Communications sessions, allowing them to champion the benefits of changing to Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) and becoming the first point of contact for colleagues who were unsure about certain elements of the change.
Security
We carried out a Google Workspace Security Review, in effect an audit of Hedges Law’s security infrastructure. From this, we were able to provide recommendations and implement security best practices. We also enforced Gmail warnings for end-users when suspicious emails appear as well as company-wide 2FA and Security Keys – the strongest method of protection against phishing attempts – making certain that Hedges Law’s new security setup was impenetrable.
In addition to this Hedges Law took advantage of Change Impact sessions – where we were able to assess users' current workflows and how their previously existing tools were used. By doing this, it allowed us to analyse how their workflows could be better managed and done differently in anticipation of the switch to Google. This solidified the fact that there would be no downtime by making the shift and the transition would in turn be seamless.
Productivity & Collaboration
By making the change to Google Workspace (formerly G Suite), Hedges Law was able to take advantage of some of its flagship benefits. One was real-time collaboration on Docs, Sheets & Slides, meaning colleagues can work better together. Another was cloud-based calendars, allowing users to check the availability of all people within the organisation rendering the process of booking meetings easier. Overall, the productivity and collaboration benefits of Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) are plentiful, with each tool deeply integrated with the next, making workflows far more efficient.
Hardware
Hedges Law’s hardware situation was greatly improved through the adoption of ChromeOS. This was done through the purchasing of new Chromebooks and also the use of a software solution called CloudReady, which repurposes old devices by wiping them clean and converting them into Chromebooks. This in turn saved Hedges Law huge amounts of money by saving them from replacing their fleet of ageing devices and simultaneously made them quicker and more secure.
Actionstep
Actionstep is a complete legal practice management system, built in the cloud, with workflow at its heart. Actionstep gets rid of law firm administrivia and simplifies how you work. So lawyers always have the headspace and time to serve their clients well.
James Shorey, Vice President (UK) at Actionstep said “We love the opportunity to help firms who are looking to modernise, not only by upgrading from desktop to the cloud, but by enabling them to rethink their processes, workflows and data capture within their firm. Hedges Law laid out their aggressive plans for new software, hardware and security all based around the Google product suite and Actionstep was the final, compatible piece in the puzzle. While the Hedges team are already seeing the benefits, this is a constant process of innovative thinking and improvement which our teams at Actionstep & Cobry will be working together to enable.”
The Results
The project was incredibly beneficial for Hedges Law. Not only did they save thousands of pounds per month on total running costs, but their day-to-day operations improved tenfold with improved collaboration and productivity.
In addition to this, their security setup was elevated which has given Hedges Law the ability to focus on what they do best, while knowing their data is secure in Google’s cloud, with multi-layered protection and features such as Two Factor Authentication and Data Loss Prevention keeping it safe.
85% of users confirmed increased productivity
100% of users said collaborating with colleagues is now easier
100% of users said Google Meet helped them continue services during lockdown
User feedback on working with Cobry & Workspace
“We have been particularly impressed with their knowledge, passion and enthusiasm. On a day to day basis, Cobry has impressed us. They have been so easy to work with, utilising all the cloud tools to get things done with ease.”
“The transition over and support for the users if they had any questions was just taken care of.”
“Being able to set up a meeting with just one link and one click is huge.”
“For me, why would you use anything else?”
“I’m so glad I said ‘please do it guys’.”
End Result
Switching to a cloud-based system helped Hedges Law achieve their goals of enabling their team to work better together with new collaboration tools, while also increasing security and reducing their overall costs by switching to Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) with Cobry.
If you’re interested in a similar project for your organisation, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team to discuss how we can help. Book a discovery call here or send us a message using the form below.
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