Case Study – Bird & Bird

Secure Email the Bird & Bird way

The Business

Bird & Bird is an international law firm with a focus on helping organisations being changed by technology and the digital world. With over 1,600 lawyers in 32 offices across Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, and the USA, they help many organisations, wherever they are in the world.

The Challenge

Today’s digital era demands convenience, compliance, security, and innovation like never before. To this end, Bird & Bird was recently challenged to re-imagine email encryption across its global operation including the specific technical requirements of its clients in northern Europe. With the advent of cloud technology and the increasing demand for remote-working accessibility and flexibility, the organisation needed to migrate its legacy encryption tools to the cloud.

Jon Spencer, Head of Infrastructure at Bird & Bird, picks up the story. “We were relying on an on-premise PGP cluster for our secure messaging, which required a significant amount of maintenance. We recognised that cloud-based email encryption would create a simple, compliant and secure platform in order to take Bird & Bird into the future.

Gradian was on Spencer’s speed-dial to execute this forward-thinking strategy. “Gradian is hardwired to anticipate and uncover the opportunities in change,” Spencer explains. “We have collaborated previously with Gradian on PGP email encryption and were exceptionally pleased with the results. Their technical knowledge, understanding of our business objectives, and can-do attitude made Gradian the ideal partner to execute this implementation.”

The Solution

Gradian recommended using the Echoworx email encryption platform. The Gradian team took the time to understand Bird & Bird’s business and technical needs, ultimately proposing a solution that precisely met the law firm’s needs. “We obviously undertook due diligence on Gradian’s recommendation, but we also trusted their judgement. They had deployed Echoworx before for other clients, including in the legal sector, and cut straight through the complexities of our environment.”

He adds, “Gradian’s ‘white glove’ methodology ensured complete stakeholder engagement. It assessed our needs, recommended the optimal solution, delivered a rapid, non-disruptive integration, and provided ongoing support.”

The Result

Innovation was a cornerstone of Gradian’s engagement with Bird & Bird. As part of the migration of Bird & Bird’s internal and external users, Gradian preserved all existing PGP encryption keys and migrated them seamlessly to the modern Echoworx cloud platform. “This was a masterstroke; Gradian’s re-use of the PGP keys enabled us to continue a transparent, uninterrupted service for users during the migration. It was business as usual for Bird & Bird,” says Spencer.

The benefits of moving to Echoworx were visible almost immediately: no on-site maintenance (Spencer estimates two hours per week are saved in email platform maintenance); standardised email controls and 100% uptime. “Security is paramount for Bird & Bird and our clients, and Echoworx underpins the security of our email communication.”

“The entire Gradian team acted as one throughout this important engagement: meticulous in their approach, flexible, and agile in delivery,” says the Head of Infrastructure. “Gradian also blends the best of both worlds – possessing the resources of a large consulting partner and then the agility of a smaller, nimbler player.”

Gradian was the catalyst for the success of this digital transformation initiative.  Spencer comments, “Make no mistake, Gradian is a trusted partner of Bird & Bird and this long-term partnership will help Bird & Bird discover new opportunities for innovation and business growth.”