NT Small Business Server to Windows 2003 Small Business Server Migration

Organization Information:

Organization Name:
Goodwill BridgePointe Services, Inc.
City & State:
Clarksville, 
Indiana
Organization Website:
htt://www.bridgepointe.org
Organization's Mission Statement

The mission of Goodwill BridgePointe Services is to empower people with the skills, knowledge and opportunity to improve their quality of life.

Submission Information

Impact Essay

Goodwill BridgePointe Services, Inc is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to empower people with the skills, knowledge and opportunity to improve their quality of life. Services include an integrated childcare program serving children with disabilities and typical children, pediatric family support services for families with children with severe disabilities, and employment and training services for adults with disabilities in Southeastern Indiana. Goodwill BridgePointe is accredited by the Commission for Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) for its employment and training services. The early childhood program is licensed by the state of Indiana and accredited by the National Early Childhood Program Accreditation (NECPA). In addition, the agency’s services are supported by 11 Goodwill Stores in the Southern Indiana region. Goodwill BridgePointe has been a regional provider of services for over 75 years.

It became very important to stabilize the agency’s hardware and software infrastructure due to the age of the previous server and the variety of software programs in use throughout the agency. As a small non-profit organization funds have been and continue to be tight and the needed upgrades kept being pushed off year after year. The previous NT server was several years old and considered unstable. In addition, the antivirus software had not been updated in over three years. Staff were utilizing different versions of software, such as Microsoft Office, which at times hindered the ability to share documents and to utilize the tools effectively. The retail stores were sending and receiving email utilizing MS Outlook Express and many of the staff were using various versions of MS Outlook and Outlook Express. Due to the age of the antivirus software and the server experiencing problems indicating inevitable server crash, implementing Windows Small Business Server 2003 donated by Microsoft became a major goal of the organization for the current fiscal year.

Overall, the agency’s infrastructure project included migration to a new server and utilizing Microsoft Small Business Server. The newest version of Symantec antivirus was purchased through TechSoup, installed, and is automatically updating at the server level. All organization computers were upgraded to Micorsoft Outlook 2003 thanks to the Microsoft software donation.

Goodwill BridgePointe’s project encompassed in detail:

A.) Moving from an NT server to MS Small Business Server to enhance physical security of client and agency information the use of hardware and software, i.e. firewalls, system access control and other means. The operating system serves as a file server, application server and centralizes all of the agency’s network information.

B.) Implementing integrated email utilizing Microsoft Exchange Server. This has allowed the agency to set up and operate a secure email system on the agency’s network saving us fees associated with having our email hosted by an outside vendor. Utilizing Microsoft Outlook 2003, a group calendaring and scheduling package, Goodwill staff will have the ability to easily schedule meetings, share calendars, create global contacts for agency staff to use and improve task management. It will allow employees with cell phones and/or other internet access to log on to their email and calendar remotely when they are out of the office.

C.) Centralizing day to day administration to allow a designated in-house administrator to manage systems and become less reliant on the agency’s contracted Information Technology vendor. The agency administrator will be able to manage features of the agency’s server and in-house email system. For example, adding or deleting users, changing user information, and controlling spam.

D.) Upgrading all computers to the same operating system, Microsoft XP, to allow the use of the most current security and software. Updating vital software to address daily business activities, accounting, productivity, reporting, and documentation. All staff have Microsoft Office 2003 installed so all are operating on the same version.

E.) Upgrading to the newest version of Symantec due to the previous version being four years old with two year old antivirus definitions providing a more secure network environment.

F.) Utilizing MS Access or SQL, the next step will be to develop a sales database utilizing our existing server as a terminal server for the retail store managers to log into nightly to record daily sales information. The information will be reviewed by Retail District Managers and forwarded to the Accounting Department and Leadership team for use in making day to day financial planning.

G.) Improving website functionality to enhance and expand communications between the agency, staff, clients, and community. A properly implemented website with current content will be helpful in communicating to clients, donors, funders, volunteers, and staff. Improved website functionality will serve to benefit the efficiency of the organization with opportunities to electronically serve clients and donors utilizing less time and overhead of the organization.

This infrastructure project is viewed as the basis for us to continue to provide services in the most efficient manner, has stabilized the agency’s network environment and has become the foundation for us to build on for the future. Uniformity of Microsoft Office applications used daily reporting activities allows staff to work more efficiently. This allows staff to be more productive throughout the day and increase their ability to spend more time with adults and children with disabilities on a daily basis.

The up to date technology allows all direct service staff to utilize technology as part of the service delivery process. For example, staff can complete daily and monthly documentation, bill for services, and assist adults looking for employment by developing resumes, searching the internet for job openings, and applying for positions on-line. This project specifically addresses the needs of allowing staff to work more effectively and efficiently on a daily basis by providing them with the hardware and software they can use to perform their jobs daily, communicate with support staff, and have the most up to date software. Staff are not confined to their office knowing they can access their files, email and calendar from anywhere via their cell phone or the internet.

Goodwill BridgePointe reaches people with disabilities from birth through adulthood in the agency’s childcare and employment and training programs. In addition, other populations to be served include typically developing children in our childcare program, families on welfare, and/or families who are working but financially cannot afford to fully pay for many of the services they need based on their income.

Submission Category
Stable and Secure Technology