Case Study: Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman
At a Glance
Situation:
- A shared cloud system was leading to serious concerns and problems related to security, performance, and data access.
- Excessive downtime and poor functionality was resulting in lost billing hours and poor client experiences.
- Lack of assistance and communication from the MSP meant problems were going unsolved, and the law office was billed for every interaction. As a result, issues compounded while IT costs remained high.
Solution:
- OWG’s Parallax Private Cloud Desktop
Results:
- After OWG’s preparation, the client was able to seamlessly transition all of their data and their entire system to a new cloud desktop in eight hours. Employee system onboarding took just four additional hours.
- The law firm experienced less downtime, enhanced performance, secure remote access, lower IT costs, and
better overall efficiency. - With ongoing and responsive support, the law firm is able to get any IT- and cloud-related issues resolved
quickly, further enhancing productivity and lowering downtime. It has also led to significant employee satisfaction.
Summary
Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman, a law firm in New Jersey, was dealing with a host of IT issues with their previous MSP, including poor security, limited storage, performance and scaling issues, dropped connections, little to no assistance, and more. As it began to impact their bottom line and clients, they sought a new private cloud solution with OWG and Brandon, the managing partner for OWG’s New Jersey office.
Challenge
Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman was facing a number of IT problems with their previous MSP, Mindcore Technologies, and their supplied cloud platform, CloudNation. When it came to the cloud, the law office was on a shared environment. Data storage and credentials were held in the same back-end systems. This in turn led to severe security concerns and limited storage capacity. When a change was made to the system for one of the MSP’s clients, it would affect all clients on the shared platform, including Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman. They were unable to even get access to some standard security features, such as multifactor authentication.
Due to a lack of resources, the law office was also facing significant performance and scaling issues. User desktop environments were slow, and network connections were often dropping, resulting in missed meetings during remote access. Documents and emails were hard to find on the shared platform and printers were regularly down, which further hurt their workflow and efficiency.
In the midst of these issues, many help desk tickets weren’t being resolved. Those that were resolved took significant time and communication was lackluster at best. Because of the limitations with the shared cloud,
some issues simply couldn’t be fixed. In addition, the MSP was nickel and diming Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman. Problems would be solved one at a time, if they were solved at all, so the MSP could charge more per hour.
All told, this MSP and their cloud solution was costing Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman money. They were charged so much for the fixes, that the law office simply started living with the IT issues rather than contacting the MSP. With the loss of efficiency, lawyers also were losing money when billing their clients for their time.
Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman felt they were being held hostage and wasn’t sure about the path forward.
Discovery
In the face of the need for remote work capabilities in 2020, it became clear that a new solution would be needed. Four years ago, a copy vendor led Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman to OWG. OWG, with their Parallax Private Cloud Desktop, seemed as if it could fix all of the issues they were facing, including the security concerns, connection issues, ticket resolutions, and performance problems.
Solution
Working with Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman, OWG got to work to implement the Parallax Private Cloud Desktop to help support their team and facilitate remote work. Data was migrated and enhancements were made for security measures and system performance. Steps were taken to ensure a smooth transition, for both the data and the system as a whole.
When it was time to make the move, the data and system transition took just eight hours and was done completely overnight. In the morning, OWG worked to get employees set up and up to speed in four hours.
Outcome
Thanks to OWG’s private cloud solution, Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman saw efficiency, productivity, and workflow improvements overnight. Documents were easier than ever to access, and they were no longer regularly facing network disconnections. Tracy, the firm administrator, stated that the entire move was “seamless” and that it’s easier than ever to log in and use the system, from the office or from home.
As a result of the Parallax Private Cloud Desktop, Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman was able to reduce downtime, increase billable hours, and cut IT costs.
Reflections
In the face of the need for remote work capabilities in 2020, it became clear that a new solution would be needed. Four years ago, a copy vendor led Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman to OWG. OWG, with their Parallax Private Cloud Desktop, seemed as if it could fix all of the issues they were facing, including the security concerns, connection issues, ticket resolutions, and performance problems.
Reflections
“Nobody likes change. Everyone was leery in the beginning, but it’s seamless and people just have to make the leap.” – Tracy, Firm Administrator, Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman regarding the move to OWG’s Parallax Private Cloud Desktop
When law firms and other organizations work with MSPs, change can be hard – even in the face of mounting issues and costs. Getting employees on board with change can be an uphill battle. In addition, it can often feel like the organization is held hostage by the IT provider or that this is the experience, no matter the vendor. However, that’s not the case.
No matter how trapped an organization feels, there are paths forward and it doesn’t have to be painful. OWG was able to help Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman move on from their previous MSP that simply wasn’t working for them, their clients, or their bottom line. OWG assisted before, during, and after the transition to ensure a seamless move for everyone involved. Although the law firm’s employees were hesitant about change, it quickly became apparent that this new solution would benefit everyone, from the lawyers to their clients.
Conclusion
Choosing the right IT solutions is essential for business efficiency. Working with the wrong MSP and cloud solutions can result in serious concerns with security, data, remote access, performance, efficiency, and other problems.
Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman was able to quickly see tangible results from the transition to OWG’s Parallax Private Cloud Desktop. With ongoing support, they continue to enjoy enhanced efficiency, improved performance, better security, and more, today.