Openshaw & Co

Openshaw & Co. is a growing firm of experienced patent attorneys, based in Farnham, Surrey. It has a wide client base, including large corporates, and assists them across the entire range of Intellectual Property services.

The business must have a secure IT system at all times, to meet the stringent requirements of its clients’ compliance teams. Its existing set-up, whilst “coping”, was nevertheless reaching its limitations, and needed improving and updating to accommodate future requirements. Pro Drive IT achieved this by moving the firm from a server-based operation to the cloud, enabling Openshaw & Co. to access fully the benefits and functions.

The result has been that the business now has an IT set-up and service that is responsive and agile. The firm also has a system that allows the team to be proactive when remote working – which has proved crucial since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, Pro Drive IT has handled onerous corporate compliance forms with complex technical questions as part of the cloud transition.

THE CHALLENGES

Openshaw & Co. conducts highly-confidential patent application processing for all kinds of clients, including major blue-chip firms; it’s therefore vital that it can demonstrate to them that its IT systems – and their data – are highly secure. This was expected to become increasingly difficult to do within the limitations of the server-based network.

THE APPROACH

Pro Drive IT and Openshaw & Co. discussed making the improvements without causing major disruption to the business. As it happened, the project was agreed just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020.

A robust plan of action ensured the work was carried out smoothly:

• File services were moved to Microsoft SharePoint and OneDrive cloud.
• Management of the PCs was migrated from the old server to Microsoft Azure AD and Intune.
• Email security was increased through deploying Mimecast Advanced Email Security.
• A business-class Watchguard firewall was installed, along with intrusion prevention, to protect the office network.

THE RESULTS

Pro Drive IT’s work has ensured that Openshaw & Co. has a future-proofed secure, multi-functional cloud system with the features and options to allow it to continue to provide a professional and compliant service to its clients.

Disruption during the global COVID-19 pandemic was reduced as the cloud package has provided a flexible working environment for the team, enabling them to work proactively and be productive.

“We commissioned Pro Drive IT to move us to the latest cloud technologies and implement appropriate additional and easier-to-implement security measures. This had to be carried out with careful observation of Best Practice and compliance with regulations – and with our clients’ needs in mind at all times.” – Paul Openshaw, Director, Openshaw & Co.