Client Success: Maptician Replaces Legacy Technology and Transforms Workplace Management for Husch Blackwell

Husch Blackwell, a leading Am Law 100 firm with over 2,100 employees expanding across more than 20 brick and mortar locations, has long prioritized innovation and operational efficiency. With a commitment to staying ahead of industry trends, the firm sought to modernize its workplace management systems in 2024, especially as it transitioned into a hybrid work model.

Joni Andrews, Regional Director of Office Administration for the firm, comments, “Our firm has always been progressive, constantly changing and evolving. With a workforce that's increasingly hybrid, we needed a solution that could match the demands of today’s workplace.”

Challenge: Legacy Technology Not Meeting Modern Needs

For over a decade, Husch Blackwell relied on an outdated legacy system to manage conference rooms, seating, and other workplace logistics. The primary issues were significant inefficiencies, such as:

• Inability to generate real-time data or on-demand reports.
• No integration with tools like Outlook, creating difficulties in scheduling and reserving workspaces.
• A fragmented user experience, especially in managing office reservations and conference room bookings.
• A cumbersome process for maintaining and updating floorplans, vital for workspace planning.
• Conference room management required checking separate reports for AV setups, catering, and visual layouts, creating administrative burdens.
• PDF-based maps had to be manually created, uploaded, and synced across multiple platforms, making updates inefficient and error-prone.

"For more than a decade, we operated with an outdated and inefficient system for managing conference rooms and seating. It lacked real-time data, integration, and visibility—especially around who was in the office. Coordinating a single meeting meant checking multiple disconnected reports for AV setups, catering, and room layouts. Even identifying which visitors were onsite required a separate report, only accessible to administrators. We had no way to view space usage at a glance or generate meaningful reports to inform decisions. It created daily inefficiencies and constant frustration. We really struggled.”

For more than a decade, we relied on an outdated, inefficient conference room and seating system that lacked visibility, real-time data, and integration capabilities. We had to look at an AV and technical request report, a catering and hospitality report, and a visual report—just to manage one meeting. There were no active floorplans. We couldn’t pull statistical reports or make informed decisions about our office spaces. We really struggled,.”

Solution: Thorough Market Investigation

After a thorough review of market-available options, Husch Blackwell selected Maptician as the best equipped platform to support the firm’s transition to a hybrid work environment. The decision followed an in-depth evaluation of multiple workplace technologies, with key criteria including ease of implementation, ability to generate real-time data, user-friendly design, and proven success in the legal industry.

What set Maptician apart was its ability to consolidate multiple disconnected systems — including seat booking, conference room scheduling, and digital signage — into a single, cloud-based platform. Maptician demonstrated both technical flexibility and a deep understanding of the operational complexities within a law firm environment.

The firm also appreciated Maptician’s white-glove onboarding process, legal-specific capabilities, and its agile approach to feature development, including custom signage integration and seamless migration of conference room data. These strengths made Maptician the clear choice for a firm seeking to modernize quickly without compromising on quality or service.

“From our initial discussions to the negotiation phase, and now the launch of an innovative workplace solution, we have discovered an exceptional partner in Maptician,” said Joni Andrews, Regional Director of Office Administration at Husch Blackwell.

Maptician's platform consolidated multiple systems into one seamless solution, providing:

• Real-Time Data and Reporting: Maptician’s solution gave Husch Blackwell access to real-time insights on office occupancy, space utilization, and employee engagement.
• Conference Room Management: Maptician's conference room management features encompass a wide range of functionalities. These include handling service requests by location, floor, and room, as well as a two-way synchronization with calendar systems and customized signage solution across 200+ conference rooms.
• Digital Firm Directory: Maptician’s real-time digital firm personnel directory allows for live presence, office locations, contact information, and profile data to be accessed by end users.
• Interactive Floorplans: The firm could now use dynamic, real-time floorplans, simplifying the task of adjusting office layouts, from adding and removing walls to redesigning workspaces.

Real-time presence tracking enabled attorneys and staff to see when their colleagues would be in the office, leading to greater collaboration.

• Seamless Integration: The system integrated smoothly with Outlook and other essential tools, ensuring employees could easily book and manage workspaces.
• Streamlined Operations: Maptician enabled simplified seat management, conference room booking, and real-time workspace reservations, which improved overall efficiency.
• Imported Meetings: In typical legacy system upgrades, a significant amount of information often resides in the old system. To address this, Maptician developed a tool enabling companies to seamlessly transfer all meeting data from previous systems into Maptician, thereby eliminating the need for cumbersome manual data entry.

Joni reflected on the implementation process, saying, “What really impressed me was the rapid implementation. We transitioned from legacy systems to Maptician in just six months, and it was one of the most successful projects we’ve ever done. The transition was seamless, with the Maptician team offering top-notch support.”

Results: The Measurable Impact of Modernization

With implementation complete and adoption underway across more than 20 offices, the impact of Maptician’s platform quickly became clear. The following results illustrate how the solution transformed Husch Blackwell’s workplace operations—delivering value across efficiency, user experience, and strategic planning:

• Increased Efficiency and Flexibility: With real-time data on office occupancy and usage, the firm optimized its space utilization and supported its hybrid workforce more effectively.
• Satisfied Administrators: Husch Blackwell Regional Administrators now have a software solution that enhances their efficiency, enabling them to deliver top-notch conference room and office services.
• Improved User Experience: Employees now found it easier to reserve workspaces and conference rooms. “Our teams love the simplicity of booking spaces, and the interactive maps have been a game-changer,” said Joni.
• Optimized Space Utilization: The firm has been able to better align its office footprint with actual usage patterns, reducing wasted space. This has led to significant savings, particularly in real estate costs.
• Data-Driven Decisions: The ability to generate on-demand reports has given Husch Blackwell the insights it needs to evaluate space needs, plan for future growth, and optimize resource allocation. “We now have access to the data we need to make strategic decisions,” Joni emphasized.

Key takeaways: True Partnership

“Maptician exceeded our expectations at every stage, from initial implementation to ongoing support. Their system has become integral to how we manage office space and operations across all our locations. It’s not just a solution, it’s a true partnership.”

Husch Blackwell’s transition from legacy technology to Maptician has been a defining moment in the firm’s ongoing efforts to embrace flexibility, efficiency, and data-driven decision-making. The partnership with Maptician has enabled the firm to better manage its flexible and innovative work model, improve conference room management, optimize space utilization, and enhance overall workplace operations.

Joni summarized the impact of Maptician by saying, “Maptician has been a game-changer for us. It’s not just about the technology—it’s about how they’ve helped us transform our workplace strategy to meet the needs of the modern workforce.”