Secure collaboration

A platform for matter management and secure client collaboration provides scope for expansion

As a leading global law firm, our client is an adviser to financial institutions, commercial enterprises, and state and regulatory bodies on complex and critical legal issues.

We have worked in partnership with the firm since 2000, providing a range of consulting, project and support services that have grown in scope as the client’s trust in our ability to deliver has continually been reaffirmed.

Our relationship began with a short consulting engagement to advise the client on project issues such as systems architecture and application hosting services. The client needed to provide a highly secure, robust and scalable solution to a global user base comprising both the firm’s staff and its clients. The solution is a business-critical, web-based collaboration tool for matter management and internal project collaboration. The advice we provided the client to meet an aggressive timetable for the delivery of a robust and scalable enterprise solution to both its clients and the internal user base.

Aptus subsequently worked with the client to design the solution, which Aptus then architected and developed. This solution was based on Documentum as the core server component with web pages developed using Java and JSP. The application provides a complete custom interface to the underlying Documentum repository both for normal users of the system and administrators.

Building on the success of the system as a matter management tool and the inherent flexibility and scalability of the Documentum platform on which it was built, the application has been extended by Aptus to embrace client relationship management and knowledge management functions.

The power of the system proved itself again when the client faced the challenge of dramatically cutting its hard-copy documentation as part of the move of its London offices. Aptus developed a set of custom tools with which to capture, upload and index this paper mountain and deliver it to the business electronically.

In order to drive down the running costs of the system Aptus recently worked with the client to move the hosting of the service in-house. Aptus designed and built a new infrastructure, working with the client’s own IT teams and then migrated the service from its externally hosted servers to the new in-house environment.

Aptus currently provides project services and support services for the client. These bespoke support services comprise a one-stop-shop from front-line helpdesk, through application support to the infrastructure support (Oracle DBA, Documentum DBA, Unix system administration) over extended business hours.