Slater and Gordon, which has an office in Manchester, has become one of the world’s first companies to deploy Microsoft Managed Desktop, a new service that modernises workplace computing with Microsoft-backed security.
The agreement is part of a wider investment by Slater and Gordon in new technology intended to transform how it provides consumer legal services. Last year, the company announced plans to spend £30 million broadening and digitising its work.
With Microsoft Managed Desktop, colleagues at Slater and Gordon can now bring consumer-focused legal services directly to customers and immediately access key information on Surface laptops that Microsoft manages, updates and protects.
Many organisations struggle to stay up to date with Microsoft security and feature updates to Windows and Office, leaving their systems exposed to wilful or accidental data breaches through known vulnerabilities.
Microsoft Managed Desktop solves this problem by updating the desktop management environment and giving user devices the latest versions of Microsoft 365, a suite of industry-leading security, productivity and collaboration tools. Microsoft manages and protects the devices directly over the internet, while streamlining the device user experience for reliability, security, and performance.
For Slater and Gordon, the system leverages Microsoft’s global security infrastructure, artificial intelligence and automation tools to maintain and proactively protect the desktop environment. As a result, customers have the most convenient access to legal services, as well as confidence in the privacy and security of their information, backed by Microsoft.
Chris Gibbons, Slater and Gordon’s Head of Architecture and Security, said: “Data security has rightly become a top priority for all companies – particularly those in the legal sector. We take it incredibly seriously here at Slater and Gordon. Microsoft Managed Desktop gives us industry-leading security, plus an adaptable and flexible platform that suits our agile working culture.”
The new service is also enabling Slater and Gordon to push ahead with efforts to introduce agile ways of working for staff. The company recently relocated its London office to 90 High Holborn – a modern and flexible workspace, designed to cater for agile and collaborative working.
David Whitmore, Slater and Gordon’s Chief Executive, said: “If legal service providers are to meet the demands of consumers in the years to come, we have to continually look for ways of being more flexible and innovative. That way of thinking also applies to how we as organisations work. That’s why we are looking to harness new technology, such as Microsoft Managed Desktop, to enable us to work smarter and more efficiently for our customers.
“This new technology allows us to produce services that better suit our clients’ needs and, importantly, also create the best working environment our colleagues want in a modern company.”
Bill Karagounis, General Manager, Microsoft Managed Desktop, said: “Slater and Gordon have a clear vision about how getting modern will drive their core business, and that’s exactly what we’re looking for among early adopters of Microsoft Managed Desktop. We have transformed desktop maintenance into a commodity function that frees up overburdened IT teams so they can better innovate and help users stay productive.”
