Building the case for WAN optimization
19
1-2-1 DA
Global law firm turns to Silver Peak Systems for real-time information haring
and desktop virtualisation. By David Bennett – Linklaters LLP.
As associate director at ensure that information can be experienced enormous growth
Linklaters, David Bennett is accessed by our employees in the sheer volume and size
VID BENNET
responsible for the ongoing anywhere in the world with of documents that were being
development of Linklaters IT consistent performance and created and shared. Our
strategy and reports into the reliability. For security, cost document management
CIO as the head of (ISS) and management reasons, all system current stores around 9
Information Systems and of our information is housed in million documents with 30
Strategy development. The four data centers located in million versions. With the
T
following case study details Atlanta, Hong Kong and two in increase of about 10,000
the firm’s recent WAN revamp. the UK. documents or versions a day,
it’s extremely difficult to keep
Situation analysis Linklaters determined that a pace with the volume of data
Linklaters, one of the world’s thin-client desktop architecture that must be stored and
largest law firms, has to was the best way to minimise shared using a variety of core
support lawyers in 23 expenditures while maximising business applications,
countries, working on 9 million application performance to all including EMC Documentum,
documents with about 30 of our offices. With SAP, and Microsoft Office
million versions. To keep pace virtualization, we can product suite.
with the torrent of data being guarantee consistent global
shared via core business apps, support while reducing overall Compounding our challenges
the company had to make over desktop and maintenance was a shift in the type of data
its WAN. costs. About a decade ago, we being sent across the WAN,
therefore embarked on a major with an increased emphasis on
Linklaters is one of the largest rollout of Citrix (formerly real-time traffic. Our lawyers
law firms in the world, presentation server, now began using video and
operating in more than 26 XenAPP) to all Linklaters multimedia increasingly more,
locations in 19 countries, employees. which placed increasing
advising companies, financial demands on our network
institutions, and governments. Citrix’ performance in offices is infrastructure. We saw a
The firm has over 500 partners directly impacted by the constant increase in Internet
and 2,000 lawyers who cover performance of the WAN. As usage as our employees
19 core practice areas, the size of each office grows, used more “rich media” sites
including capital markets, so has the cost involved in such as MSN, CNN and Lexis-
competition and antitrust, tax, delivering consistent and Nexis.
mergers and acquisitions, reliable performance to users.
intellectual property and The firm is also gradually
technology. This has been particularly migrating from a mixed PBX
difficult in those locations in environment to one built
As a global company with Asia and Latin America where around Cisco’s IP telephony
global clients, Linklaters’ IT WAN links are the longest and offering. The above trends
department was tasked with the worst quality. made it extremely difficult to
an enormous objective - to Over time, Linklaters has implement a successful
WWW.SNS-UK.CO.UK MAR/APR 09
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