A Critical Mission Undermined by IT
The Volunteer Center of North Texas makes a critical impact in the well-being of our local region: by recruiting volunteers to serve at more than 2,500 nonprofits throughout the North Texas area, VCNT has enabled 575,000 service hours each year, a value of more than $12 million annually. Many regional philanthropic organizations would not be able to function without VCNT’s efforts.
But an insidious and largely invisible problem was undercutting VCNT’s work. “When I took over at our company,” explains Bruce Harlan, IT Director at VCNT, “the servers had never been properly maintained, and there was no plan for growth. Best practices had not been employed, and the infrastructure was generally a mess. I had an immediate need for assistance.”
Discovering the Depth of the Problem
When he started, Bruce had nothing more than the key to the server room, the system password, and the knowledge of which machine was the primary domain controller. He found:
- An IT infrastructure that had gone years without regular maintenance
- Multiple pieces of server and PC equipment that had not been deployed
- A total lack of documentation about the IT environment
- No information about the network, server, or domain
Overwhelmed by the enormity of restoring VCNT’s IT operations, Harlan called GXA. GXA President George Makaye notes, “VCNT’s IT systems were in a state of disrepair, but GXA is practiced at providing business solutions that work within the constraints of the nonprofit world.”
Solutions Built for Nonprofit Success
Over the past six years, GXA has helped VCNT with server configuration, software and hardware best practices, networking upgrades, strategic planning, database work, and coordinating networking with VOIP.
Enabling Growth
- Clear technology roadmap recommended and implemented for the IT Director
- Upgraded servers and desktops with imaging solution deployment
- Robust, scalable network infrastructure designed for organizational growth
Increasing Long-Term Performance
- Application implementation improving VCNT’s ability to provide superb volunteer services
- 24/7 rapid response managed services minimizing technology problems
Reducing Capital Expenditures
Understanding that nonprofits must achieve high performance under limited resources, GXA designed nonprofit-friendly strategies:
- Elasticity and flexibility on a pay-as-you-consume basis
- Shifted IT risk to GXA with a flat monthly fee for all IT support
Mobilizing Service
Given that VCNT links 20,000 volunteers to more than 2,500 organizations across North Texas, they need connectivity regardless of location:
- Anywhere, anytime, any-device access to organizational resources
- Continuous communications with always-on email and business applications
- “Some work is now performed remotely, which was not even possible before GXA Network Solutions started work here,” notes Harlan
Protecting Against Disasters
GXA designed and implemented a comprehensive cloud backup and disaster recovery solution to ensure continuity of operations in case of a catastrophic event.
The Transformation
GXA’s approach to nonprofits worked with limited resources and cut costs, yet still created high-performing sustainable solutions that enabled VCNT to achieve more than they hoped. With IT systems optimized for long-term performance, GXA has helped turn VCNT’s IT department into a growth engine for the organization’s mission-critical services.
Says Harlan, “GXA’s onsite personnel are always professional, pleasant and experienced; response times are excellent; and service has remained excellent.”
About Volunteer Center of North Texas
Founded in 1971, the Volunteer Center of North Texas is one of the largest and most active volunteer centers in the country. A primary purpose of VCNT is to recruit volunteers—including individuals, corporations, and civic and faith-based groups—to serve at more than 2,500 nonprofits throughout the North Texas area.