TWM Solicitors moves desktop estate to 10ZiG and Azure Virtual Desktop

TWM Solicitors has rolled out about 240 10ZiG thin clients across three Surrey offices as part of a broader shift to Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop and Microsoft Azure. The change is meant to simplify IT operations, improve security and cut the time and cost of managing desktop hardware.

Why it matters: - TWM Solicitors is using cloud desktops and managed thin clients to reduce on-premise infrastructure, lower capital spending and shift to a more predictable operating-cost model. - The rollout supports a hybrid workforce that works both in-office and from home. - The move is designed to cut the time spent on endpoint support, patching and site visits across multiple offices.

What happened: - 10ZiG Technology said TWM Solicitors deployed 10ZiG modernized thin client devices across its offices as part of a cloud transformation program. - TWM Solicitors, one of Surrey’s largest legal practices, employs 240 staff across three sites, including its principal office in Guildford. - The firm completed a multi-part migration over several months, moving from Microsoft Remote Desktop Services to Azure Virtual Desktop, shifting backend infrastructure to Microsoft Azure, upgrading to Microsoft 365, installing new practice management software, rolling out dual monitors at every desk and deploying 10ZiG thin clients. - A four-person IT team delivered the program.

The details: - TWM Solicitors chose Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop because legal software vendors largely build for the Microsoft ecosystem. - The Azure Virtual Desktop environment uses session hosts from a single gold image, which gives the firm centralized patch management, stronger security and the ability to rebuild infrastructure from scratch if needed. - Nerdio manages session-host scaling through the day so TWM Solicitors pays only for the compute it uses. - TWM Solicitors required new desktop hardware that could drive dual 24-inch monitors at full resolution, support Windows drivers for SpeechWrite digital dictation software and provide centralized remote management. - The firm found 10ZiG through Softcat, a reseller it has worked with for more than a decade. - After a trial, TWM Solicitors bought about 240 10ZiG devices running Windows IoT LTSC, a locked-down version of Windows 10 with security support through February 2032. - The endpoints are configured to open only an Azure Virtual Desktop session and to optimize Teams and Zoom calls running in AVD using local thin client hardware. - TWM Solicitors and 10ZiG built a primary device image before shipment, so devices arrived pre-configured and ready to connect to the network. - At the firm’s largest office in Guildford, staff replaced more than 100 machines and monitors in a single day. - 10ZiG Manager now lets TWM Solicitors remotely power devices on and off, automate patch deployment and keep configurations consistent across offices. - The firm says centralized remote management has saved hundreds of hours of IT engineer time and significant travel costs. - Because the thin clients store no local user data, faulty devices can be swapped in minutes without data recovery or software reinstallations. - TWM Solicitors says the devices cost about £450 each and last eight or nine years, putting the annualized cost at about £50 per device, or roughly £1 a week.

Between the lines: - The project shows how legal firms are pairing cloud desktops with locked-down endpoints to reduce local device complexity while keeping security and continuity controls centralized. - The thin client model shifts the endpoint from a traditional PC role to a single-purpose access device, which lowers maintenance but makes the endpoint more important to daily work. - Barrett said 10ZiG has been the right answer because the devices are low-maintenance and have largely become invisible to users. - James Broughton said organizations moving to Microsoft AVD need secure, simple-to-manage endpoints that support operational efficiency.

What's next: - TWM Solicitors is expected to keep operating its desktop environment through Azure Virtual Desktop and 10ZiG Manager as it continues its cloud-based IT model. - 10ZiG says its broader ecosystem includes connection brokers such as Omnissa, Microsoft and Citrix. - The company directs customers to find a solution on its website.