The threat posed by natural disasters and violent deeds, coupled with an ever increasing demand for storage, has led international law firm Norton Rose to select BT to provide a total business continuity and disaster recovery solution for the next decade.
The deal, worth over £5 million, sees Norton Rose using BT to provision its data storage and remote data centre facilities, including related security and high speed network links between centres around the world.
As part of its strategy, the law firm is consolidating six separate offices into one central London location and must ensure business continuity throughout the process. Currently, its primary and secondary data sites are located just half a mile apart within the City in London. Both sites would be difficult to access if central London were closed off following a major security alert, for example.
Legal practices in particular face hugely challenging security and regulatory pressures with regards to the volume of information they generate and are required to keep. Given that current legislation demands firms hold relevant data for 12-15 years, Norton Rose predicts its storage requirements will grow at 40% per annum.
Norton Rose Chief Operating Officer Kevin Mortell said: "Our business generates enormous volumes of data on a daily basis. Security threats and natural disasters are a real and present danger to paper records, and with today's regulatory environment demanding an ever-increasing volume of data be stored, it is critical that our storage is completely secure. This was the right solution - cost-effective, secure, fully managed and future-proof.
BT's Locate Solutions provides purpose-built, dedicated data centre facilities within the M25 ring around London, managed by BT and accessible only by approved Norton Rose personnel. Its network topology is managed as part of the Norton Rose network outsource arrangement, which is also managed by BT. As part of the deal, 21 Norton Rose employees will be based at the centre. BT is also ensuring that all technical designs are produced with a long-term view of Norton Rose's overall strategy.