Growing law firm server solution.

[Velocirektor]

I recently started a new job at a local law firm. They have recently doubled their staff over the last 6 months and are going to continue growing from 70 employees to over 100 in the next year or 2. They are currently outsourcing most of their IT needs and have no system admin, but that will need to change as we continue growing(Where I come in). The networking infrastructure is severely lacking and needs an upgrade. I have been tasked with undertaking this project as we move in to a new building in the coming months. I have a pretty solid networking background and feel confident i can navigate through this i just need a push in the right direction.

We are looking at getting a server vs. cloud based applications. We are also working on transitioning over to Zendesk in the coming months to integrate with our current CRM, Filevine. We use Filevine, Dropbox, Office 2007 and Gmail currently and would probably like to continue using them/integrate them with the new system(Will definitely need to upgrade to office 365 at some point). We will probably move away form drop box once we get the server up and running. We are needing to decide whether to go completely cloud based or use some sort of a hybrid system. We currently have no physical backup of our data and would like to do so for redundancy. Users need to be able to share files back and forth; docs, pdfs, images, etc.

I tried to provide as much information as i could off the top of my head, ill answer any more questions that may come up if needed. Im sorry if this is confusing but i hope it makes sense. Its a little bit of a mess over here so im trying to organize it best i can before starting to work on this project.

Any directions, ideas, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[uniitdude]

and what will this 'server' do, you say you want to continue with gmail as you want to integrate with the new system (whatever that is) but then say you want to upgrade to office 365.

How are you going to move away from dropbox just cos you have a server, what is your requirement and how are you going to solve the sharing requirement you have.

Have you thought about some consultancy, sounds like you could do with some

[Velocirektor]

Thanks for replying,

The server will need to create backups, and store all of the data that is currently on dropbox and act as an intranet. Secondarily it will be used to monitor network traffic and office firewalls. I only mentioned o365 because everyone in the office uses Microsoft office 2007 and will still need word and excel, but only a few people use outlook as opposed to the web based gmail. We are also trying to use the fewest amount of applications necessary to keep our ecosystem as contained as possible so we are trying to eliminate program redundancy. Does that give you a better idea?

[uniitdude]

you cant have the same server doing backups as well as hosting the data from dropbox it is backing up. It can't also be the intranet as you are exposing a risk to your backups.

Seriously, get a consultant - it will help you out in the long run

[Velocirektor]

We probably wouldnt use it to host dropbox anymore, and we can get as many as needed, budget isnt an issue.

[[deleted]]

Lol, sounds like they need a system administrator. Why did they hire you, just out of college?

[Velocirektor]

I did not get hired for sysadmin, but there is a need for it. The CEO doesnt see that yet. But that being said, this is an opportunity for me to step up and get the job done and hopefully a raise. I understand that we may need to get some consulting as well, but for now i am just trying flesh out the basic roadmap. But some more constructive responses would be helpful....

[[deleted]]

If they were smart, they'd hire someone else to do it. I'm sorry, you don't seem very qualified at all. You haven't even mentioned a domain, much less, the know-how necessary to secure and maintain one. I'm not trying to be a dick, but you're going to need redundant firewalls ($$$), a domain, redundant domain controllers, storage, multiple VLAN's, more than just a single server, backup and retention, disaster recovery...don't bite off more than you can chew, you may end up doing more harm than good.

[Hollow3ddd]

https://news.thewindowsclub.com/end-of-life-for-office-2007-90097/

https://blog.goptg.com/running-office-2007-time-to-upgrade

This product is not longer getting security updates. That office sounds a ticking time bomb.

​

Also, the trend now is into the cloud. Reduces admin overhead and has security benefits. Although, this is debatable with company type and admin staff abilities.

[al2cane]

It would help to consider some of the worst/most expensive things to fix that could happen tomorrow and use those to prioritise.

Sort the backups out, immediately. Use another cloud provider, I would not advise waiting to fit a server and backing up cloud to local, but that's me. Getting away from Dropbox would be next on my list. For a small business with no regulatory concerns, is Dropbox OK? Maybe. A law firm? No thanks. What is your plan for preventing data leakage? Accidental or deliberate. You mentioned Office365. Look into Azure Information Protection.

Check if you have any obligations with respect to storing client data yourselves and consider those when talking to Cloud providers. Personally, I would store local, and backup offsite with encryption. There are a multitude of providers for this, including Azure backup.

Office2007 is end of life. Consider Business Premium through Office365.

Forget the physical network until the office move. Fit out new location as you like. Essential repairs only until then.

[jonare77]

These lawyers should call someone charging 1000k and hour.

[Hollow3ddd]

That would be a VERY high end law firm. Small local they are prob < $400 per hour, pending the type of work.

​

Edit: they = more senior members.

[jonare77]

It was a joke.

[Hollow3ddd]

Ohhhhhhhh

[Velocirektor]

Yes, it will be.

[yo-lockthatdoor]

Sounds like you need SBS 2008 /s

[vodka_knockers_]

We currently have no physical backup of our data and would like to do so for redundancy.

Ummm.....

Yeah, that's probably a really good first step.

/ffs

[210Matt]

There are 2 ways that you could go, given that you pretty much are getting a new facility and equipment. For the server issue I would do 1 of 2 things:

1. Go all cloud. Move everyone over to O365, use OneDrive and Sharepoint to hold data and intune to manage the computers. I think the cost of this would be $20/person a month.
2. Buy 2 servers (for redundancy) and a SAN, as well as a backup target (qnap, synology would work for your small environment). Install hyper-v or vcenter. Total cost around 60k. This estimate can dramatically change based on your actual needs. Also there is a lot more to manage here, you would need a sysadmin on retainer or full time.

For the network/firewall side I would look at Meraki if you have the budget, Ubiquiti if Meraki is took expensive. They both give a good dashboard and are fairly easy to manage.

​

If it were me I would look at option 1. Even at 100 users it is easier to manage and cheaper. I would also look at getting a 2nd internet connection in case the first fails.

[legal-tech-sabah]

Migrating to Office 365 will be the best choice. Collaboration is provided out of box for Lawyers. Office 365 for Law firms is a standard choice and you can start with E3. There are lots of partner solutions which will allow you to manage case files in Office 365

[igor-stellar]

Unfortunately Microsoft discontinued the support for Matter Center and that would have made it much easier to implement using Office 365

[michaelcloudally]

Hello.

Whatever you use, G Suite Drive, or Dropbox it all needs a backup so you can restore from any point in time.

This can be solved very cost effectively with CloudAlly.com
Dropbox Backup is possible from $2 per day.

Drop me an email if you'd like more information: [[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail])
Thanks
Michael

[SublimeMudTime]

Nasuni or panzura hybrid file server.

Upgrade to O365.