A Growing Team Means Growing Pains

In late 2019, the Institute for Nonprofit Practice (INP) was preparing for an office move to accommodate an increase in their staff numbers. Their COO used this opportunity to get some help in fix their outdated phone systems, computers that required frequent repairs off-site, and spotty internet access throughout the building. The upcoming move provided a perfect opportunity to assess their overall needs and make important changes.

INP selected Tech Networks of Boston (TNB) because of TNB’s B-Corp mission, experience working with organizations like them, and their willingness to start on a project basis. In November, Tech Networks of Boston began by conduct an extensive IT assessment and started marking improvements on to INP’s infrastructure.

“The ability to tap in to expertise as we need it has been very helpful.” – Megan Bird, COO

Addressing Larger Needs

The leadership at the Institute for Nonprofit Practice knew there were larger improvements to be made when they began working with Tech Networks (TNB), but the move was the most pressing need.

Leveraging years of experience with office moves, the TNB team was able to ensure that the INP staff would be able to work efficiently as soon as they entered the new space. While the old office was being packed and prepared, TNB provided support with devices, set up wireless access points, installed firewalls, and set up the internet. During the office move, their Consultant purchased new computers with care packages, installed new wireless access points to help with connectivity, set up a firewall for increased security, and began using a new backup solution to better suit INP’s needs.

With the office move complete, the TNB IT Consultant interviewed multiple staff members to understand how technology was used in everyday operations. This feedback was coupled with the results from a technical audit. The TNB team made recommendations for file management and systems use, device management policies and support options, and provided a guiding document of recommended projects in order of importance, cost, and time that INP could pursue on their own.

INP has plans to continue making improvements, starting with a Salesforce integration which will allow them to better manage contact information and communication. With these changes and improvements, INP is no longer seeing frequent technology issues and they can spend more time focusing on their mission.

“Tech Networks…partnered with us so we would be in a position to be self-sufficient” – Megan Bird, COO

Result

The Institute for Nonprofit Practice is prepared to grow and adapt to new challenges without having to worry about their daily technology needs. By taking the time and energy to assess how systems are used, what is required of hardware, and how they can streamline and improve their existing software, TNB diagnosed the larger issues with INP’s infrastructure which resolved the more common problems. Their IT Consultant worked in partnership with the leadership and staff at INP to better understand what they needed and helped create a plan that will guide them through future upgrades and improvements.