McDermott Smith Law

Having worked with etiCloud several years ago when we were just a small firm of 15 and then moving wholly to Proclaim, we made the decision to switch back to etiCloud earlier this year.

Over the last 18 months, we’ve experienced massive growth here at McDermott Smith Law and we needed an IT company that could support this continued expansion. We had absolutely no hesitation to return to etiCloud for this technical support.

etiCloud’s bespoke Cloud platform is fast and highly efficient and is enabling us to successfully manage our growth. The etiCloud team is both approachable and reliable. What’s more, the Helpdesk staff are extremely knowledgeable and always on hand to answer any questions or resolve any issues we may have.

From both an operations and IT perspective, it made complete business sense for us to work with etiCloud once again as they afford us every opportunity to succeed and grow in a very competitive sector.

Storrar Cowdry

Chester-based Storrar Cowdry was founded in 1983 and is one of the North West’s most prestigious legal practices. After meeting Jonathan Ashley and Tom Speddings at Chester Races, Freddie Storrar, Solicitor and Director wanted to find out more about etiCloud’s offering.

When I met Jonathan and Tom I wasn’t very impressed with the service we were getting from our existing IT provider. I could never get a straight answer from them. We were constantly being passed from pillar to post if we had any issues. It actually felt like we were a burden. As such, I got in touch with Jonathan and asked if he could provide us with an alternative solution.

We had a discussion and he clearly and concisely outlined exactly what etiCloud could do for us. We made the decision to switch there and then. It was an easy decision to make!

During the switchover, David Janssen and the technical team worked tirelessly to make things as easy as possible for us. They took great care and attention and nothing was ever too much trouble. They also worked with our incumbent IT provider to get all the information they wanted for the migration. If something needed chasing, David would do it. This made the whole handover even easier as we could just get on with our day job and not have to worry. If we had any questions or issues, they always made time for us. It was also very easy to get in touch at any time. We were never, ever kept waiting.

Furthermore, the whole process was completely transparent. No hidden extras or surprise costs at any stage. We could (and indeed still can!) talk with Jonathan and any of his fellow directors whenever we wish. The hands-on approach they take to business is very refreshing and we really feel like we work in partnership together rather than we’re simply another client.

There are many benefits to using etiCloud for our Hosted Desktop. One key element is how easy and efficient it is to add users. We currently have 42 users and it’s so easy to get new people added when they join the firm. We simply drop etiCloud an email and it’s sorted. Also, if we ever need any hardware, I get in touch with Chris Truby and he gives me a quote almost instantly and the kit arrives within a few days.

Our overall experience of working with etiCloud is hugely positive. There’s zero jargon, the Helpdesk is always available to assist if we ever do have a problem and everyone in the company is really friendly and a pleasure to work with. We’re very happy that we switched to etiCloud!

Price Slater Gawne

My background is IT – I’ve worked for both dealers and as a customer – and not just in the legal sector so I have an in-depth understanding of what makes a solid, fit-for-purpose IT and Cloud infrastructure. Plus, I’ve overseen several migration and live system projects and witnessed several examples of how not to deliver. Good IT should make everyone’s life easier, not be something to be tolerated.

We have always been cloud-based. We are a paperless firm. So having a robust infrastructure that grows with us is essential to the ongoing success of the business. Choosing to change hosting provider is not a decision taken lightly. We need a provider that works with us, finds solutions and understands our needs.

I am very pleased to report that our experience with etiCloud has been all of this.

When we moved to etiCloud, from day one, they allowed us to engage with their technical team on whatever level we choose. They continue to extend this service engagement to us and it’s a joy. We can talk to them about top level, highly technical matters or we can ask them to simply fix something for us. We get to choose, and they are always on hand to assist.

When it came to the actual switching build-up and process, etiCloud were happy to work with us and our incumbent provider to overcome any issues that arose. More importantly, they came up with effective solutions. This process was different to anything I’ve previously encountered. For example, there was no limit to how many times we could test various elements of the system. There was no limit to the amount of time and resource etiCloud were prepared to put in to ensure the migration was a success. What’s more, we worked hand-in-hand throughout the migration period; the mark of a true partnership.

The week before we went live, we were able to ensure that everyone was able to login to the new system. As part of the go live I was able to log into the new system as each of our 70 users to check the platform was functioning as it should. No mean feat but it gave me the utmost confidence on the Monday morning to say to my colleagues: “Go for it, it all works!”

The collective preparation that etiCloud and I put in during the early stages to build the system ensured that our go live date was a success – every user in the firm was indeed able to log in quickly, without issue and get on with their tasks. They just carried on from where they’d left off on the Friday evening. From a user perspective, the system was exactly the same, but from my perspective it was totally different.

Comparatively, once we’d gone live, we had an issue with a piece of software we’d moved over. We went through the error messages and informed the software provider what the problem was. Despite this, it took them three months to resolve as they kept going