John W Pinkerton finds dedicated IT partner

John W Pinkerton & Son, Solicitors

The firm of John W Pinkerton & Son Solicitors is based in Ballymoney, County Antrim and was established in 1904 by the grandfather of the present John Pinkerton. It is very much a family firm and has served the people of North Antrim continuously for over 100 years. Details of the firm can be found on www.pinkerton-law.com.

The firm has always been a keen advocate of technology in the workplace and was a pioneer in the use of dictation machines (in the 1940’s) and photocopiers (in the 1950’s). It was one of the first firms in Northern Ireland to apply IT to the practice of law, with the introduction of a word processor in 1969. It has continued to keep pace with developments in IT and every member of staff, both professional and clerical (some 10 in all), has concurrent access to an impressive IT infrastructure.

As a result of its involvement in IT over a great many years, John W Pinkerton & Son has had a lot of experience of various IT support providers. Prior to engaging with Outsource, Pinkertons felt that their IT provider was not delivering a service that took into account all the needs of their business. They believed that the size of their business was not taken on board and they were being provided with a generic service that did not tally with the nature their business.

Five years ago, on the recommendation of an existing Outsource customer, Pinkertons approached Outsource to put together a quote for work. At this point they had a requirement for the installation of a new network. They had outgrown their existing IT infrastructure and sought advice on the best way forward for their business. Outsource carried out a full site audit and put a proposal in place for the work that they concluded was necessary to be carried out. The proposal was completely bespoke to Pinkerton’s business and fully took on board the existing infrastructure that was already in place. In this instance Outsource were able to adapt and integrate much of the existing hardware into the new network that was to be created.

In deciding which IT partner to go with, Pinkertons felt that Outsource had fully engaged with their business, understood their needs and had taken all elements of their practice into account when compiling a quote. The proposal from Outsource was wholly targeted at improving the efficiency of this firm of solicitors and they fully understood what they were getting and why.

The firm of John W Pinkerton & Son, Solicitors, has been an Outsource customer for over 8 years. Outsource have continued to support the infrastructure that they put in place in 2002 and to date have had no need for any major changes to the network. Outsource have ensured that all IT needs were taken care of with the greatest of ease to the customer and with maximum efficiency.

Pinkertons have recently moved forward with new technology and have commissioned Outsource to put in place a new backup/disaster recovery system. This will ensure business continuity and the safety of their invaluable data in the event of a disaster.

John W D Pinkerton, Senior Partner in the firm, said:

“We are delighted with the service we have received from Outsource over the years. It is very comforting to know that our IT is in safe hands and that we have a constant source of expertise to call upon when we require it. We have an excellent working relationship with Outsource as a company and I believe that their staff understand our business and make a real effort to meet our needs when we ask for help. I would be more than happy to recommend Outsource to any fellow practitioners”