Case study: Virginia nonprofit improves workflow and security with managed IT services

by Samantha Christensen
Content Designer, E-N Computers
20+ years providing IT support

For our nonprofit client, IT had become painful in so many ways. Imagine covering for your receptionist while she’s away but not being able to use a computer.

Or bringing on a new employee and not being able to give him access older documents.

Or sending an email on your phone, and then not having it show up in your sent items on your computer.

Or not being able to use your own organization’s name in your employee’s email addresses.

“A lot of stuff was really outdated,” said Kevin Griffith, technical account manager for E-N Computers.

Recently, we used Microsoft 365 to get a local housing authority away from a painfully redundant and insecure email system, and we are now helping them automate their user access and document management using tools they already have.

Not only did they save time wasted with IT awkwardness, they also saved money by getting rid of redundant software subscriptions.

“We love 365,” said Erin Weisgram, director of public housing and information systems for our client. “So much more efficient.”

Unlike many other IT services providers, we don’t just plug in some hardware and software and walk away. Knowing M365 is only half the job. The other half is explaining it, offering options, and changing plans when a client has a crazy limitation, Griffith said.

“Our slogan – ‘unexpected solutions’ – really means something,” Griffith said. “We’re a managed services provider but we really want to be your business partner. We tried to connect person to person, not just business to business.”

That means understanding the client’s goals and explaining how technology changes or improvements will affect real people, he said.

“The biggest thing is collaboration with the client, not just laying out ‘it’s going to cost this much and we do it this way,'” Griffith said. “Add some feeling to it. It’s not just a business. We have to connect with the people and the goals they are looking for.”

QUICK ANSWER:

Is M365 good for non-profit organizations?

Yes. We recommend M365 over other options. For one thing, you have far more control over the security of your email and your documents. If you are dealing with donor information or financial or personal information of clients, security should be a major concern.

M365 also keeps you in the Microsoft ecosystem, which can include your operating system and powerful security tools like Defender.

We also recommend partnering with an IT managed services provider for your setup, which can help you get tremendous value out of Microsoft tools you are already paying for like SharePoint.

Better email can change everything
The right systems make staff turnover easy
M365 and SharePoint brings security and automation
Cut your IT bills with expert use of what you already have
Behind-the-scenes changes improve IT management
What’s it like to work with us?
What can you do today?

Better email can change everything

The Waynesboro Redevelopment and Housing Authority (WRHA) is an award-winning public housing authority that serves 188 units on seven sites throughout the City of Waynesboro. E-N Computers is an entirely U.S.-based regional managed IT services provider with decades of experience serving nonprofits and businesses with compliance requirements. We primarily serve Virginia and Washington, D.C., but we also provide remote managed services from coast to coast. Our main office is in Waynesboro, Virginia.

WRHA previously relied on webmail provided by the regional ISP Lumos. This wasn’t a great system for an organization of several employees and hundreds of clients. This webmail system used outdated and insecure email protocols like POP3 and IMAP and didn’t allow WRHA to use their organization’s name as their email domain.

“We’re not a person on the phone who’s 3,000 miles away, We can actually help you.”

That type of email was also annoying and time-consuming for employees. The old POP3 protocol was like a PO box where you have to leave a copy of all the mail in the box and take another copy home with you.

POP3 breaks down when you have more than one device. Then it becomes like leaving a copy of all your mail at the post office, then having another copy on you smart phone, laptop, tablet and so forth and then paying extra storage fees to keep the copies. And each copy doesn’t synchronize with the others.

For example, if you send an email from your work computer, it won’t automatically be in your sent list on your phone. Also, users had to save emails in local archive folders, requiring manual backups for each device.

E-N Computers migrated WRHA to Microsoft 365 with immediate benefits. Emails now stay synchronized across all devices. Spam was greatly reduced with Microsoft’s advanced anti-spam protection. WRHA no longer had mailbox size limits on larger accounts. And they no longer needed local mail archives. Access was streamlined with a single password instead of a separate one just for email.

The right systems make staff turnover easy

With the switch to M365 and managed IT services, a new employee can easily get access to older documents used by their predecessor. Previously only some devices were on a domain. New users were added to old computers without wiping the computer before reassigning it, which is a security risk.

ENC made sure all devices and user accounts were joined to a domain. Also, they followed specific steps for adding new users or computers to keep data secure and to give employees access to the files they needed to do their jobs. (Get more details about the importance of securely onboarding and offboarding your employees and our processes for it in the article Onboarding employees when you have outsourced IT.)

OneDrive also allowed employees to securely access data across many devices. And computers were updated to Window 11 so they would continue to receive the latest security updates from Microsoft.

Right now, WRHA’s receptionist is on medical leave, and other employees take turns covering the front desk. In the past, replacements either had to bring their own laptop to the front desk, or if they didn’t have one, they had to sit there without a computer because they couldn’t log into hers.

“Having the ability to log on to the front desk desktop as themselves and access everything is fantastic,” Weisgram said. “We love 365 for the ability to move devices and still have access to our stuff.”

SharePoint brings automation and better access to data

The email accounts for WRHA are now integrated into an environment staged for SharePoint, which allows for data loss prevention and fine-tuned security.

One advantage of SharePoint is that it lets organizations control access to sensitive data at the user level.

Another is that SharePoint’s tight integration with Teams and the rest of 365 makes it a great tool for document management, knowledge management, collaboration, and workflows.

Griffith said WRHA did a lot of work to clean up old data so their documentation worked for them. ENC helped them set up role-based permissions so a new employee could be given access to documents based on what a previous employee had access to.

“We have pat them on the back for their work,” Griffith said. “They know where all the data is. We just make sure it’s available to them in any fashion necessary that meets their policies.”

Most small organizations don’t have the time or expertise to set up SharePoint to take advantage of all that it can do, but when they work with an IT managed services provider, SharePoint can provide tremendous bang for the buck. Here are a few examples of what SharePoint can do when you work with an expert:

You can build systems into SharePoint that allow you to put in a client or customer name once and have that flow to other places.
If you pair SharePoint with Microsoft Power Automate, you can set up workflows that have a trigger and actions that follow.
SharePoint can become a document store for your various systems, giving you a centralized hub for information.
When you create new records or documents, you probably have an approval process for them and reminders to follow up. You can map out that process and implement it in Microsoft 365 with SharePoint and Teams. Every time a record or document is added or changed, you can have notifications sent to the correct user or group for follow-up.
Instead of manually generating proposals, quotes, and other form-based documents, you can combine document templates with data from multiple lists like a proposal request list and pricing list. The automatically generated document can be funneled into your approvals workflow, with reminders set so that the document is reviewed and finalized before your deadline.

Cut your IT bills with expert use of what you already have

WHRA was particularly thrilled that they now save “a bunch of money” by fully using M365, Weisgram said. This is where managed services can offer tremendous cost savings. You could DIY your M365 setup or rely on basic IT support from a vendor. But you may not be getting what you’re paying for with your M365 license.

“365 comes with so many different aspects of the things we need and have had via multiple different vendors before,” Weisgram said. “It’s like, we’re already paying for it from 365, so why don’t we use this and not keep paying this over here?”

Plus, WHRA now has the advantage of simplifying their IT costs.

“[We are] able to contact one place and pay one bill for more of the various things we need for operating our organization as well as keeping sensitive data safe,” Weisgram said.

Behind-the-scenes changes improve IT management and security

ENC also moved WRHA’s close business partner South River Development Corp into the same Microsoft tenant, which gives both organizations a more organized IT environment. When they have problems, ENC can go to one place to quickly find and correct an issue.

Working with Microsoft products also keeps their operating system and office suite in the same environment. The Microsoft environment is flexible enough to support Android and Apple products but the reverse is not true. So WRHA has more options when it comes to devices they may want to support.

Security is continuely improved with monthly meetings where ENC and WRHA go over their Microsoft Secure Score.

“Security is definitely a living thing,” Griffith said. “We review their secure score consistently, plans during onsite visits and stay proactive.”

Other in-progress work includes moving to a serverless environment, which avoids the up-front cost of replacing their old server, Griffith said.

Collaborating closely with WRHA helps them work through the tough parts of transitioning their technology to see the eventual improvements. A tool like M365 is only as good as the trust and personal attention shared by the people using it, he said.

“We’re not a person on the phone who’s 3,000 miles away,” Griffith said. “We can actually help you.”

What’s it like to work with us?

If you choose to work with E-N Computers for your IT needs, here’s what to expect.

We’re transparent about our processes, and you can see them all on Our Process pages. Here’s a brief overview:

We like to start with a complimentary Business Improvement Review.
We follow with technical discovery and then offer a proposal. Onboarding can take two to four weeks and includes documentation, tool installation, training, stabilization and a handoff to support.
Ongoing support services include help desk (with a 15-minute response time), monitoring, maintenance and onsite services.
Ongoing optimization includes quarterly reviews, developing a technology roadmap, and budgeting. We also schedule out hardware and software upgrades.

Get answers to more common questions about working with us with our video Working with E-N Computers: Answers to 6 Big Questions

What can you do today?

Learn more about our Microsoft 365 services as part of our managed IT services. If you’re not sure about managed IT services, a great place to start is our free IT Maturity Self-Assessment. You’ll walk away with some pointers and, if you want, a free appointment to discuss your results.

You can also take advantage of free resources in our Learning Center that cover many common pain points of smaller businesses dealing with their IT needs like IT hiring, preparing for an IT transition, recovering from the loss of an IT manager, and evaluating the costs and benefits of different IT support models. See an expanded list below.