Non-Profit Education Organization Improves IT Support and Security

In today’s world, information technology plays a crucial role in every organization’s success, regardless of its size or nature. This is particularly true for non-profit organizations relying on technology to streamline operations and improve their community impact. In this case study, we’ll explore how a national social impact non-profit organization partnered with Framework IT to overcome its IT management challenges and implement a comprehensive solution that improved its security, efficiency, and productivity.

Introduction:

A growing national social impact non-profit organization focuses on creating thriving spaces for youth, adults, and communities through equity, wellness, and radical love. Their mission is to uplift healthy mindsets by promoting Diversity, Equality, and Inclusiveness in education centers. After separating from a larger organization, the non-profit struggled with an unsustainable IT management structure. Key operations managers were burdened with too many day-to-day IT responsibilities distracting from their core responsibilities and the organization’s mission. They needed a professional managed services provider to help clear these roadblocks.

Business Challenge:

The non-profit had an internal tech-savvy operating team and one external contractor managing its technology. However, the contractor was stretched too thin, and they needed more capacity and experience to drive the organization’s IT strategy and security proactively. As a result, key operations managers were trying to compensate for the poor responsiveness by addressing what they could and chasing him down for the rest. The overflow of IT responsibilities to key operations staff also stretched them too thin; as a result, they could not provide staff with the support they needed, which was inefficient. Even frontline staff members had to perform much of their troubleshooting to resolve issues or find workarounds. The shift to a primarily remote workforce further complicated the issue.

Framework IT Solution:

The non-profit partnered with Framework IT in May 2022 to improve its technology infrastructure. Framework IT’s consulting team understood their needs, issues, risks, and budget. They delivered a strategic technology roadmap that met budget constraints and put the client on a path to success in the near and long term.

Framework IT rebuilt the network to meet modern security requirements. It implemented foundational security tools, including next-generation anti-malware, endpoint detection and response, email security, security awareness training and mock phishing, and MFA, to protect the organization’s systems and data, including sensitive PII.

• Framework IT consultants and engineers implemented Azure Active Directory to streamline management, help clients better understand their inventory, and migrated legacy on-premises file systems and disparate cloud storage solutions to a centralized, secure cloud storage solution. Additionally, the Framework IT team helped the non-profit adopt a cloud-unified communications platform.

Results:

These changes significantly improved the client’s security posture, reduced the office infrastructure footprint, minimized future capital expenses, and facilitated more efficient remote work. Framework IT enabled critical operations leaders to focus on their core mission and responsibilities, freeing up valuable resources to help the organization expand its community impact. The client moved up to Level 3 Optimization managed services pricing and is close to advancing to Level 2 Optimization due to adopting best practices. The headcount grew 8% for the client, indicating the organization’s growth and success. The number of tickets per employee decreased by 19% from the start of the agreement to the most recent period, meaning employees are more focused on their core responsibilities and have better morale. The average time to resolution of issues improved by 89%, resulting in a more productive workforce. Support hours required per staff member per month have decreased by 63% since partnering with Framework IT, demonstrating the effectiveness of Framework IT’s Business Optimization Framework in reducing issues, enhancing productivity, and enabling cost-effective IT management.

Conclusion:

By partnering with Framework IT, the non-profit was able to address its IT management challenges and implement a comprehensive solution that improved security, efficiency, and productivity. The organization’s growth and success are evident through its Level 3 Optimization status, increased headcount, and decreased tickets and support hours. Framework IT’s expertise and support enabled the non-profit to focus on its core mission and expand its community impact, aligning with its equity, wellness, and radical love values.