8el win right to supply legal firm’s data network Clarke Willmott upgrade WAN

Reading, UK, May, 2006 --- 8el has won a 3 year contract worth £265,000 to supply top UK law firm, Clarke Willmott, with a new Wide Area Network (WAN).

Clarke Willmott’s major driver to change their existing network strategy was to bring it more in-line with their overall goal of becoming one of the UK’s top 50 law firms. More specifically, it required a more scalable network that could deliver immediate as well as longer term cost benefits to help increase profitability. Furthermore, an improved ‘end user’ experience across the network was part of the plan to increase productivity.

Due to go live in June, 8el will provide Clarke Willmott with a fully managed, increased capacity, Wide Area Network (WAN) to support their 4 UK offices. 8el will work in conjunction with Clarke Willmott’s existing technology partners, including Expand Networks* and Interquad Systems Ltd*, to incorporate Expand Accelerator units into the network. In addition, 8el will collaborate with Silversands*, who manage Clarke Willmott’s outsourced IT support function.

The new 8el network is designed to give Clarke Willmott greater flexibility for future growth. Additionally, applications such as intra-site voice communications, centralised Internet access and video conferencing can now be easily implemented. The 8el solution also, for the first time, delivers a ‘Quality of Service’ (QoS) enabled network for Clarke Willmott giving them the ability to prioritise business critical or time sensitive traffic such as VoIP and Video over their network.

Said Iain Hepburn, IT Manager at Clarke Willmott, “As well as a more technically able network, 8el is supplying increased security and resilience, further helping to protect information and business continuity also an area we have been keen to address. Another focus has been the end user experience, and the new 8el network will provide dedicated bandwidth and service availability into centralised case management and finance applications.”

8el supply accredited project managers to oversee the installation and ensure a seamless transition to the new solution. Once installed, Clarke Willmott has access to 24/7 professional assistance from 8el’s pro-active customer support team, should they require it. This includes a dedicated single point of contact for all queries related to data services. 8el’s first class customer support is backed up by a comprehensive Service Level Agreement (SLA) guaranteeing availability of service.

* These names are all registered trademarks of their respective corporations.

Clarke Willmott is a Top 65 UK law firm with offices in Bristol, Birmingham, Southampton and Taunton. They act for businesses, for intermediaries and for private clients across the UK. In the last four years they have more than doubled in size and in turnover.

Facts and Figures:

The quality that distinguishes Clarke Willmott from other mid-sized firms, and accounts for its growth, is market focus. The firm is building enduring relationships with commercial sectors such as real estate & construction, sport & media, and food & drink by investing time in clients and understanding the challenges and opportunities they face. Clarke Willmott lawyers act as an extension of clients’ legal teams, using technology and innovation to match procedures and capture know-how. Clarke Willmott invest non-chargeable hours by spending time with clients at their premises; offer benefits and the flexibility that clients want, and regularly review their service and financial performance with them. As a result, they are regularly winning work in their chosen industry sectors and practice areas.

To learn more, visit www.clarkewillmott.com

8el is one of Britain’s fastest growing technology companies and was recently recognised in the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 report. With leading UK corporates such as ADP, MORI and Centaur Communications as customers, 8el is and established and trusted supplier delivering voice, data and converged network services to over 35,000 users.

Pronounced ‘A-Tel’, the company is an innovative, specialist network operator providing a comprehensive range of voice, data and ISP services to the corporate market. 8el offers UK businesses a one-stop-shop approach; delivering complete solutions that satisfy the communication challenges presented by their office, home and remote worker communities.

8el’s focus is on listening to customers and providing tailored solutions that match exact requirements, better enabling strategic, financial and quality benefits to be realised.

Building on an established reputation for providing high quality networks backed by first class support, 8el’s next goal is to deliver the benefits of Next Generation Networks. This includes providing Voice over IP (VoIP), data and media rich services over a single more efficient and cost effective infrastructure.

www.8el.com

For more information on 8el's converged solutions contact Chris Sayer on 0845 33 000 93 or email [email protected]