Blackadders LLP

About the customer

Blackadders LLP is a prominent Scottish law firm with over 230 employees and offices in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, and Glasgow. They offer a wide range of legal services for both individuals and businesses, including corporate law, commercial real estate, dispute resolution, and regulatory law.  

Blackadders is known for its innovative, people-first approach, aiming to break traditional barriers in the legal sector while maintaining a strong commitment to client satisfaction. 

The Challenge

Meeting demand for new modern applications and services was proving to be a challenge for Blackadders. Their legacy network infrastructures relied on outdated technology and a inflexible architecture. The network relied on manual configuration processes and proprietary protocols, making them inflexible and difficult to scale. Their legacy technology suffered from security vulnerabilities and high maintenance costs, and this was impeding business growth and innovation; the lack of programmability and inefficient use of the network resources further exacerbated these issues. 

The Solution

Kyocera's expertise in network architecture, design, implementation, and management ensured Blackadders received a service tailored to meet their specific requirements.

Kyocera approached the problem with an agnostic perspective. We conducted a comprehensive Kyodo Consulting Assessment - we analysed the legacy infrastructure, examined the risks, the prioritises, and business needs. We consulted on the latest innovations and market trends, before reviewing and recommending a modern network powered by Fortinet. 

Migrating to a modern Fortinet network has been highly beneficial for Blackadders due to its integrated approach to security and networking. The solution includes FortiGate Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs), FortiSwitch and FortiWAP, woven into the Fortinet Security Fabric, most notably FortiManager and FortiAnalyzer, providing comprehensive visibility and control across the entire network. 

Fortinet's use of custom-built ASIC technology in their NGFWs delivers unparalleled performance and efficiency. FortiSwitch provides scalable Ethernet switching while FortiWAP provides high performance and secure wireless access supporting agile working practices. This technology not only improves user experience but also reduces the physical footprint and power requirements of network infrastructure.  

By adopting Fortinet's modern network solutions, Blackadders can achieve greater scalability, flexibility, and cost savings, enabling them to better support their digital transformation initiatives and maintain a competitive edge in the market.  

Ultimately, Kyocera helped Blackadders make an informed but easy decision by recommending a solution that best aligned to deliver the right outcome

Why Kyocera?

Blackadders chose Kyocera for this project due to several compelling reasons. Kyocera provides a comprehensive range of networking solutions, including secure wired and wireless networks, cloud-based networks, and SD-WAN services.  but they approached the problem agnostically and following a comprehensive network audit reviewed a handful of solutions that best aligned with the business need.  

Kyocera ensured Blackadders were granted access to the latest innovations, informing them on market trends to make the most informed decision, and we have helped to build a reliable and efficient network infrastructure. 

The Results

The modern network leverages advanced technologies such as software-defined networking (SDN) and cloud-based solutions to provide greater flexibility, scalability, and automation. Now Blackadders can quickly adapt to changing market conditions and customer needs, ensuring seamless access to critical resources and applications. Enhanced security features help protect data and ensure compliance with industry regulations. 

Since deployment Blackadders has seen several benefits:

• Retired legacy vulnerable hardware. 
• Reduced security risks.
• Radically simplified network topology. 
• Enhanced wired, wireless, and remote network performance to improve end user experience. 
• Adopted a Software Defined approach that enables quicker and easier change. 
• Enhanced security mechanisms. 
• Adopted a 24/7 managed service to ensure efficient ongoing network management and performance. 

Kyocera negotiated a package that delivers the network ‘as-a-service’ with predictable monthly fees, broad technology support, for example integrating with the firms existing connectivity services, wrapped with 24/7 managed support service, ensuring a solution that is proactively managed and can scale as the business grows.