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Case Study
Business Operations Setup with Azure, Office 365 & DevOps
Industry: Law
Solution: Cloud Enablement
The Client
Throughout Florida & New Jersey, Ged Lawyers, LLP and its staff of professionals help victims of personal injury and natural disaster recover compensation for harm caused by negligence, misconduct or an insurance company’s unreasonable behavior. As a full-service law firm, it helps its clients and their legal needs, with proficiency in a broad range of fields.
Business Challenge
Ged Lawyers, operating across Florida and New Jersey with multiple offices, faced the challenge of managing a large workforce and a custom-built core business application called Inspire. With frequent updates required to stay compliant with evolving laws and regulations, they needed to keep IT costs down while ensuring data security and maintaining efficient operations. The complexity was further amplified by the involvement of PHI (Protected Health Information) data, requiring adherence to strict regulatory requirements.
Tools & Technologies
- Azure Infrastructure as Service (IaaS)
- Microsoft RDS Services
- Microsoft Azure SQL Database
- Microsoft Azure Storage
- Backup and Site Recovery
- AD, ADFS and Azure AD
- Microsoft SQL Server(SSAS,SSRS,SSIS)
- Microsoft Team Services
- Microsoft .NET (MVC, EF6, Visual Studio 2018)
Realized Benefits
- Enhanced flexibility and scalability
- Full compliance with HIPAA requirements
- Low capital investment and operational costs
- On demand scalability
- Secure communication via TLS encryption
Out of the box tracking and monitoring - Better business insight with real time reporting
Solution & Approach
To address these challenges, our team conducted a comprehensive evaluation of various solutions and proposed Microsoft Azure Cloud and Office 365 as the ideal platforms. These solutions not only aligned with the client’s budget and time-to-market needs but also met HIPAA compliance requirements.
Our solution involved setting up remote desktop services to provide consistent user experiences from any location. We implemented ADFS (Active Directory Federation Services) and AD (Active Directory) for secure single sign-on and corporate authentication/authorization. Azure Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) was utilized to deploy essential services such as print services, update services, antivirus services, web applications, and databases. For email and office productivity, we leveraged Office 365 with ADFS configuration to enable single sign-on and enforce group policies.
We set up VPN connectivity using high-throughput firewalls to establish secure communication between offices and Azure. This facilitated the seamless integration of desktops, printers, scanners, file servers, and local domain controllers with Azure.
Regarding DevOps, we implemented Team Services TFS (Team Foundation Server) as the version control system for the core business applications. Auto builds with continuous integration and make verification through MS Test and unit testing were established, enabling efficient DevOps operations.
Results
HazenTech’s technical experts completed the implementation within 1.5 months, adhering to the client’s budget and deadline. The solution proved to be highly efficient and adaptive, meeting the client’s business agility requirements. The streamlined infrastructure reduced the need for extensive IT support, while the integrated delivery pipeline ensured seamless source control, testing, and delivery of updates to the Inspire application. By leveraging Azure IaaS, the initial investment and recurring operational costs were kept at a minimum.
Overall, the implemented solution empowered Ged Lawyers with faster updates to the Inspire application, cost optimization, and improved data security. It consolidated all necessary tools under one umbrella, fostering effective DevOps practices and enabling the client to focus on their core business competencies.
Conclusion
By leveraging Microsoft Azure Cloud and Office 365, Ged Lawyers successfully tackled their business challenges related to managing IT operations, ensuring data security, and maintaining efficient processes. The implemented solution provided a cost-effective and scalable infrastructure that met the client’s budget and time-to-market requirements. With remote desktop services, ADFS, and AD for single sign-on, employees experienced consistent access to resources. By utilizing Azure IaaS for essential services and Office 365 for productivity tools, operations were streamlined while adhering to regulatory requirements. The establishment of VPN connectivity and the implementation of DevOps practices further enhanced security and operational efficiency. The collaboration between Ged Lawyers and HazenTech demonstrates the transformative power of cloud solutions in driving business success.
