Holland & Knight Makes the Case with Information Security, Availability, and Data Protection Solutions from Symantec

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1 Holland & Knight Makes the Case with Information Security, Availability, and Data Protection Solutions from Symantec A growing international law firm, Holland & Knight depends on information. The firm turned to Symantec and VERITAS to help ensure the integrity of critical information assets. Symantec provides effective, proactive information security while VERITAS offers the gold standard in data protection. By using these combined solutions to reduce the complexity and cost of managing its IT operations, Holland & Knight is realizing a host of savings: $84,000 a year by eliminating tape backups at branch offices; $90,000 annually by reimaging rather than troubleshooting malfunctioning PCs; and $40,000 annually by avoiding the need for additional IT staff to manage security. Company Profile Holland & Knight is one of the world s largest law firms, with 26 offices in the United States as well as offices in China, Finland, Israel, Japan, Mexico, and Venezuela. Industry Legal Solution Data Protection Information Security Information Availability DISPERSED WORKFORCE UNIFIED BY IT INFRASTRUCTURE The rationale behind the Symantec-VERITAS merger is solidly in line with Holland & Knight s focus on information integrity, that is, the importance of an integrated approach to security and availability. Travis Abrams IT Systems Manager is one of the world s largest law firms, with 26 offices in the United States and international operations in China, Finland, Israel, Japan, Mexico, and Venezuela. Despite this dispersed workforce, the firm operates as a single entity, giving clients access to a full range of expertise represented by a staff of 1,250 attorneys and 2,250 other professionals. Supporting this vision requires sophisticated information technology and a unified, flexible infrastructure. The responsibility for managing that infrastructure falls on the shoulders of Ralph Barber, chief information officer. Holland and Knight runs on information, Barber explains. Making sure that information is both secure and available to our users is what my group is all about. We have to defend against malicious code viruses, worms, Trojan horses any of which could seriously compromise our information. We have to provide the data needed to certify compliance with regulations such as HIPAA, SB1386, and Sarbanes-Oxley. And with our primary data center located in Hurricane Alley, ensuring business continuity is paramount. Holland & Knight s infrastructure revolves around its major data center near Tampa, Florida, which provides centralized services to the firm s branch offices for , Web services, ERP, accounting, and document management. A second smaller site in Denver, Colorado functions primarily as a disaster recovery site. The firm has deployed over 450 Hewlett Packard ProLiant servers, including 75 in a blade configuration. Holland & Knight relies primarily on the Microsoft Server 2003 server operating system. Application software includes Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 for , Microsoft SQL Server 2000 for database, and Microsoft Systems

2 Synthetic backups have streamlined the data protection process at Holland & Knight, with a 96 percent reduction in the backup window and 87 percent faster restores for electronic documents. Holland & Knight uses the Backup Exec Central Admin Server Option of VERITAS to streamline the monitoring of our remote backup jobs. By cutting the time our technician spends monitoring backups in half, we recouped our investment in one month. Rich Van Baalen Senior IT Manager Management Server 2003 for server and desktop configuration management. The firm uses an HP StorageWorks Enterprise Virtual Array (EVA) 5000 storage system for its primary data center and an HP StorageWorks Modular Smart Array (MSA) 1500 for the secondary center. A StorageTek SL500 tape library using LTO tape drives provides off-line data protection/backup. The user environment also has a mixture of HP and Microsoft technologies: HP Deskpro 2000 and HP EVO 1500 desktops and notebooks running Microsoft Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2. Primary user applications include Microsoft Office 2003 for personal productivity tools, Smart Solutions imanage WorkSite for document management, and Microsoft Outlook for messaging and calendaring. , ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS KEY TO PRODUCTIVITY Holland & Knight s attorneys and other professionals rely on electronic communications for much of their work. has steadily replaced much of the phone and mail correspondence, so it s not surprising that volume has been steadily growing, reaching 165,000 messages and 35,000 attachments a day in Electronic documents are equally important. The firm has an extensive collection of legal documents, the vast majority of which are stored electronically using Smart Solutions imanage WorkSite software. Holland & Knight catalogs, organizes, and tracks changes in more than 15 million documents contained within the firm s library. Together, Holland & Knight s , legal documents, and other organizational information adds up to seven terabytes of data, a number that is growing at a rate of 30 percent a year. DATA PROTECTION, ANTIVIRUS FOR INFORMATION INTEGRITY Ensuring the integrity of Holland & Knight s electronic information requires tools for both data protection and security management. In 1995, Holland & Knight replaced its Computer Associates ARCServe system with VERITAS Backup Exec software. It selected Backup Exec software because it is the leading Windows data protection solution, and for VERITAS reputation for excellent service. In addition to providing reliable backups and restores, Backup Exec software helped the firm reduce the complexity of managing its IT infrastructure by centralizing the management of remote backups. Holland & Knight uses the Backup Exec Central Admin Server Option to streamline the monitoring of our remote backup jobs, explains Rich Van Baalen, senior manager, Holland & Knight LLP. If a tape breaks in Tallahassee and the backup fails, our IT technician can see it instantly from her desk using the Backup Exec console. By cutting in half the time our technician spends monitoring backups, we recouped our investment in one month. On the information security front, Holland & Knight relies on Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition software, which was chosen in 2000 in a competitive evaluation that included McAfee, Inc. and Trend Micro, Inc. Holland & Knight chose Symantec because it provided the most effective and easiest means to manage solution. As it allows IT staff to configure, monitor, and update the firm s antivirus protection from a single centralized console, Symantec is saving Holland & Knight $40,000 annually by eliminating the need for additional IT staff to manage security. In particular, the centralized administration features of Symantec

3 HOLLAND & KNIGHT LLP are saving the IT group 40 hours per week. When all the savings are taken into account, Holland & Knight achieved 100 percent return on investment (ROI) on its Symantec investment within the first 12 months of use. EARLY THREAT ALERTING PROACTIVE SECURITY MANAGEMENT To establish a more proactive approach for security threats, Holland & Knight relies on Symantec DeepSight Alert Services. With Symantec DeepSight Alert Services, I can specify exactly which platforms I want to monitor, explains Travis Abrams, IT Systems Manager,. It sends me just the vulnerability information that s relevant to my environment. I previously spent as much as 15 percent of my time researching new and potential threats. Thanks to the rapid delivery of the DeepSight personalized and actionable security information, Holland & Knight is now better positioned to dedicate more time on supporting the needs of its internal clients and developing core business initiatives. Abrams also uses DeepSight software to help identify needed security patches, and not just in the company s computing environment. For example, his team recently received an alert notice about a security vulnerability with the company s phone system using DeepSight Alert Services. Phones are the lifeblood of a law firm, so we downloaded that patch right away so that our system would be protected, recalls Abrams. SYNTHETICS SPEED BACKUP AND RECOVERY Holland & Knight has stayed on the VERITAS upgrade roadmap, quickly adopting each new release. That strategy has paid off, enabling Holland & Knight to make continual improvements in its data protection system. The most recent release of SOLUTION AT A GLANCE Business Drivers Security Protect proprietary client and firm information from malicious agents, thereby helping to ensure the integrity of the firm s reputation Increase productivity by reducing time spent managing security Data Protection Support compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA, SB1386, and other regulations Control costs for backup and restore, PC troubleshooting, and security management Enable high productivity for 1,250 attorneys and other professionals Ensure availability of key systems and information to help keep firm up, running, and growing Technology Challenges Security Centralize management of enterprise security Deliver early warnings about security threats, thus enabling proactive responses Data Protection Resolve PC problems quickly to minimize nonproductive user downtime and IT costs Provide centralized data storage, management, and retrieval and replication from remote offices Solution Combined information integrity solution based on Symantec security management and VERITAS data protection products and services Products VERITAS Backup Exec 10 for Windows Server, with Advanced Disk-based Backup and Central Admin Server Options VERITAS Replication Exec Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition Symantec Ghost Solutions Suite Symantec DeepSight Alert Services Symantec Elite Program (Enterprise Licensing Agreement) Services VERITAS Extended Support Symantec Platinum Support Technology Environment Applications: imanage document management, Microsoft Office 2003 Personal Computers: HP Deskpro 2000 desktops and HP EVO 1500 notebooks running Microsoft Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2 Server Hardware: 450 HP ProLiant servers, including 75 HP ProLiant BL blades Server Software: Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, Microsoft SQL Server 2000, Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 Storage: HP StorageWorks Enterprise Virtual Array (EVA) 5000 and HP StorageWorks Modular Smart Array (MSA) 1500

4 BUSINESS VALUE AND TECHNICAL BENEFITS Return on Investment 100% ROI in one month for initial Backup Exec deployment 100% ROI in 12 months for enterprise security solution 100% ROI in six months for remote office data protection solution (projected) Scalability 30% annual growth in backup data accommodated with no increase in staffing 70% annual increase in volume of malicious code blocked Operational Efficiency 96% faster backups and 87% faster restores for electronic documents 15% reduction in time spent by department manager in researching threats because of customized, actionable early warning security alerts The synthetic backups made possible by the Backup Exec Advanced Disk-Based Backup Option have shortened Holland & Knight s document restore time to 20 minutes, compared to two hours with the old method. Rich Van Baalen Senior IT Manager Cost Savings Up to $84,000 saved annually in tape media costs, shipping, and technician time by eliminating tape backups in branch offices $90,000 saved annually on troubleshooting PCs by reimaging operating system and applications 50% decrease in backup administration costs Secure Computing Greatly enhanced computing operations posture, thanks to combined Symantec-VERITAS information security and information availability solutions Backup Exec software solved a longtime problem with document backups and restores. Document repositories are challenging to back up because the file structure is so deep and complex, explains Van Baalen. The backup program spends an enormous amount of time traversing the hierarchy and relatively little time actually copying files. If I fire up a backup of our complete library of 15 million documents on Friday, the job would finish on Monday. Using the Backup Exec Advanced Diskbased Backup Option, the firm has significantly reduced both the backup window and the retrieval time through synthetic backups. By using Synthetic backups, part of the Advanced Diskbased Backup Option, Holland & Knight now runs daily incremental backups, which take only four hours compared to the three days for a full backup, a 96 percent reduction in the backup time window. Backup Exec software uses the incremental backups to synthesize an exact image of the current state of the document repository. The synthesized image greatly speeds the process of restoring a lost or damaged file. Before synthetic backups, we might have to dig through three or four days of backup tapes to locate the document, Van Baalen remarks. Now we just look it up in the directory and restore it. As a result, document restore time has been reduced to 20 minutes, compared to two hours with the old method. That s an 83 percent improvement in access time. FASTER TROUBLESHOOTING WITH SYMANTEC GHOST SOLUTION SUITE While restoring files is important to productivity, so is troubleshooting, or more accurately, avoiding troubleshooting. That s where Symantec Ghost Solutions Suite software, in use at the firm since 1997, has proven to be a lifesaver. We don t have time to troubleshoot a sick PC, Abrams explains. When one of our users complains that his machine isn t working properly, we use Symantec Ghost Solutions Suite to reimage it from our library of standard desktop and laptop images. It takes a full day to rebuild a machine the traditional way. With staff time savings of $300 per PC, reimaging saves Holland & Knight over $90,000 annually. Holland & Knight also uses Symantec Ghost Solutions Suite for server provisioning, allowing it to deploy a new HP ProLiant servers in less than one hour compared to a four-hour build using more traditional methods. INCREASING NETWORK RESOURCES WITH REPLICATION As a further step in consolidation, Holland & Knight is looking at the current practice in which each office backs up its own data to tape and then cycles the tapes to an off-site location for safe storage. Abrams sees both excessive costs and unnecessary risks in the process: This process involves significant expense in media, staff time, and shipping, Abrams relates. And the firm could be liable to criminal and civil penalties if a tape fell into the wrong hands. After consulting with VERITAS, he launched a pilot program to explore the potential of replicating branch office data using VERITAS Replication Exec software. With four offices already successfully replicating data back to the main

5 HOLLAND & KNIGHT LLP data center for backup, Holland & Knight is moving ahead to standardize on Replication Exec software for as many as 20 of its branch offices. Because Replication Exec software only sends the changed blocks, not the entire file, it greatly reduces the drain on network resources, while allowing us to make complete backups of remote data, explains Van Baalen. He projects that, once the deployment is completed, Holland & Knight will save over $84,000 annually in media and shipping costs alone. When coupled with additional soft costs associated with the elimination of manual backups in each remote location, the replication solution is projected to achieve 100 percent ROI in less than six months. HIGHLY RESPONSIVE SUPPORT KEEPS STAFF LEAN Because Holland & Knight wants to keep its IT staffing lean, highly effective technical support is vitally important for both Symantec and VERITAS products. That s why the firm has purchased, and makes extensive use of Symantec Platinum Support and VERITAS Extended Support. We love the self-service support tools on the VERITAS Technical Support Web site, says Van Baalen. Also, DirectAssist makes it easy to solve problems related to VERITAS Backup Exec. We get an answer within 30 minutes of submitting our question online, and then our VERITAS support engineer stays in touch with us until we verify that the case is resolved. Symantec Platinum Support features around-the-clock telephone support, important in combating threats when they occur. If we are working on threat management in the middle of the night and need help, we know that Symantec is easy to reach, says Abrams. We never have to wait long for a technician. Thanks to the rapid delivery of DeepSight s personalized and actionable security information, Holland & Knight is now better positioned to dedicate more time on supporting the needs of its internal clients to accomplish Holland & Knight s core business initiatives. Travis Abrams IT Systems Manager Holland & Knight Data Protection and Information Security and Availability Architecture A single security management console provides centralized control for all instances of Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition at Holland & Knight. Symantec DeepSight Alert Services sends personalized notifications about vulnerabilities and malicious code and locates possible patches and workarounds. Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition provides enterprise-wide security. Using VERITAS Backup Exec Central Admin Server Option, a single administration console monitors all backup jobs. 3,500+ Desktops/Laptops HP Proliant Servers VERITAS Backup Exec replaced Computer Associates ARCServe as Holland & Knight s data protection solution. Backup Servers HP StorageWorks Array StorageTek Tape Drive For data protection centralized backup and restore is handled by VERITAS Backup Exec, while reimaging desktop and laptops is accomplished using Symantec Ghost Solutions Suite. For information security Holland & Knight relies on Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition and Symantec DeepSight Alert Services.

6 HOLLAND & KNIGHT LLP FLEXIBLE LICENSING USING SYMANTEC ELITE PROGRAM The Symantec Elite Program, an enterprise licensing agreement, reduces IT complexity by streamlining the process of procuring new licenses for Symantec products. Holland & Knight has opted for the Commit option, a two-year up-front purchase commitment that provides deep discounts and constant pricing over the term of the contract. The biggest benefit of the Symantec Elite Program to my group is that we don t have to go through a purchasing cycle when we need a license for any of the Symantec products covered in our contract, says van Baalen. Beyond saving us money on discounts, it also saves time in the IT group. VERITAS AND SYMANTEC: SAFEGUARD- ING CRITICAL INFORMATION ASSETS Holland & Knight sees the Symantec- VERITAS merger as beneficial to the firm. From a business standpoint, information is the lifeblood of our organization, and we are tasked with ensuring that our critical information assets are secure yet available to the appropriate stakeholders whenever and wherever the need dictates, says Abrams. The rationale behind the Symantec-VERITAS merger is solidly in line with Holland & Knight s focus on ensuring the integrity of our information, that is, the importance of an integrated approach to security and availability. We look forward to having a single vendor that can provide the full range of products and services we need for enterprisewide information integrity, while hopefully driving down cost and complexity issues. We are particularly excited about the prospect of further centralization of the administration and being able to monitor the full spectrum of information integrity from a single console. With the merger of Symantec and VERITAS, it s just a matter of time. Travis Abrams IT Systems Manager The intertwining of information security and information availability is becoming important for issues of compliance. Part of compliance is ensuring the integrity of our information, explains Abrams. Symantec and VERITAS are essential in helping us comply with Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA, and many other regulations. Holland & Knight is enthusiastic about possible new directions coming out of the Symantec-VERITAS merger as well. We are looking forward to integrated products that combine security and protection, says Abrams. We are particularly excited about the prospect of further centralization of the administration and being able to monitor the full spectrum of information integrity from a single console. With the merger of Symantec and VERITAS, it s just a matter of time. Copyright 2005 Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved. Symantec, the Symantec Logo, Backup Exec, DeepSight, Ghost, Replication Exec, Symantec AntiVirus, and VERITAS are trademarks or registered trademarks of Symantec Corporation or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.