West Northamptonshire Council
Consolidating Legal Processes Amid Change
West Northamptonshire Council faced a larger caseload and data migration challenges. To modernise operations, they transitioned to Iken Cloud, streamlining legal processes with scalable, secure, cloud-based management.
Learn How West Northamptonshire Council’s Transition to Iken Cloud Consolidated Legal Processes
West Northamptonshire Council’s Success with Iken Cloud
Seamless Data Migration
West Northamptonshire Council needed to successfully consolidate legal data from three predecessor councils into a single, centralised system. Iken’s migration process ensured minimal downtime, allowing uninterrupted access to vital case files and much needed management information.
Improved Productivity and Service Delivery
Iken Cloud’s intuitive interface and cloud accessibility enables staff to respond to urgent legal matters swiftly and confidently, with the team benefitting from faster case processing, time recording and a reduced reliance on their colleagues in IT for system management, enhancing service delivery and responsiveness to urgent legal matters.
Reduced IT Dependency
With Iken Cloud’s self-service capabilities, the legal team can manage their user accounts, system settings and updates without IT involvement. This independence has lightened the load on the Council’s IT department, enabling the team to make user management adjustments quickly and operate far more efficiently.
Business Continuity
Iken Cloud’s cloud-based infrastructure ensures legal work can continue without disruption caused by on-premise server maintenance. This reliability allows the Council’s legal team to maintain uninterrupted service delivery, particularly important for time-sensitive case work and court deadlines.
Scalability and Cloud Adoption
As West Northamptonshire Council became a unitary authority, the scale of its operations has expanded dramatically. The Council’s legal team is now responsible for managing a much larger volume of cases across a greater number of departments, all of which required modernising the team’s supporting technologies. Moving to Iken Cloud provided the flexibility and scalability needed to handle this increased workload without the limitations of traditional on-premise infrastructure.
Judy Goodman, Legal Practice Manager explains that the Council was looking for a system that would evolve alongside their team and provide long-term stability without requiring frequent upgrades or costly server maintenance.
By adopting Iken Cloud, the Council has embraced a modern, cloud-based approach that aligns with their broader IT strategy of moving away from managing physical servers. This decision not only reduces costs but also ensures that their legal team could work without interruption, even if server issues occurred elsewhere in the Council. This move to the cloud is seen as a crucial step forward in ensuring that the Council’s legal team remains adaptable to future growth.
“We’ve gone from being a small borough to a large unitary council, and we needed something that could keep up with the times. Iken Cloud allows us to do that without worrying about servers or upgrades.”
Judy Goodman
West Northamptonshire Council
Efficient Data Migration and Streamlined User Management
One of the biggest challenges for West Northamptonshire Council was consolidating legal data extracted from the previous systems of Northampton BC, South Northamptonshire and Daventry DC into one centralised database. Iken’s expertise in data migration ensured that this process was managed successfully and without disruption to the legal team’s day-to-day work. Judy noted that the migration was managed with clear communication and a well-structured project plan, making what could have been a difficult transition much easier to manage.
In addition to the data migration, Iken Cloud’s self-service capabilities have ****allowed the legal team to manage user accounts and system updates independently, freeing up IT resources. This is particularly important for a fast-growing council, as it has allowed the legal team to respond quickly to staffing changes without needing to wait for IT support.
This flexibility in user management is a prime example of how Iken Cloud empowers legal teams to be more productive and independent, enabling them to focus on legal matters without being delayed by technical issues.
“The migration from South Northants was really easy … considering the large number of files and documents, the downtime really wasn’t long … We can set up our own users now, which means we don’t have to involve IT at all. That’s been a huge help.”
Judy Goodman
West Northamptonshire Council
Training and User Adoption
For a legal team with many long-serving staff members, transitioning from their familiar desktop system to a new cloud-based one was a significant change. Iken recognised the importance of providing tailored support and training to ensure a smooth transition. Judy praised Iken’s approach to training, particularly the live training sessions and the ability for staff to ask questions in real time. This hands-on support helped staff quickly gain confidence in using the new system, making the transition far smoother than anticipated.
By recording these sessions, Iken ensured that new staff members could easily access training materials, which was invaluable as the Council’s legal team expanded. Judy noted that many of the new starters found Iken Cloud much easier to use than other systems they had encountered, which significantly reduced the time needed for onboarding and training.
This focus on user-friendly design and accessible support showcases Iken’s commitment to ensuring that its clients feel well-supported throughout the adoption process, helping legal teams work more effectively from day one.
“Roger was great at training — he didn’t rush it and made sure everyone understood. The virtual training room was also invaluable … We’ve had about 20 new starters since Iken Cloud was introduced and they’ve said this is one of the easiest systems they’ve ever used.”
Judy Goodman
West Northamptonshire Council
In conclusion
West Northamptonshire Council’s transition to Iken Cloud has been a transformative experience, providing the legal team with a modern, reliable, and scalable system to manage their growing caseload.
Iken Cloud has enabled the Council to consolidate legal data from multiple sources, improve productivity through self-service management, and maintain business continuity even in the face of technical challenges. With expert support and tailored training from Iken, the Council’s legal team is now well-equipped to handle the demands of their expanding operations while working more productively and securely.
“After evaluating our needs and reflecting on the strong performance of Iken in the past, we decided to continue with Iken. The transition to the cloud has been smooth, and we’ve seen huge benefits in terms of productivity, user management, and system reliability.”
Judy Goodman
West Northamptonshire Council