IT Support for Common Ground

A customer of NPower since 2001, Common Ground did not have a dedicated IT staff person in house. Instead, one employee with an interest in technology accepted IT responsibilities in addition to the staff member's regular, full time job.

As a monthly support customer, NPower consultants provided support to keep the aging IT infrastructure of Common Ground going as it neared the end of its useful life. Scheduled support grew increasingly more intensive as NPower staff had to perform frequent hands on server maintenance to keep Common Ground's decrepit system going. Nic outlined a plan to replace this tattered old system, and how to move all of Common Ground's current users to a new, improved and appropriate network server utilizing Microsoft's Small Business Server. The de facto on staff IT member meanwhile departed the agency, leaving an even greater need as it was not possible or financially feasible for NP support staff to install a new infrastructure, move everything over from the old structure and provide day to day support for desk top issues and the like. As a short term solution, NPower recommended a temporary staffing firm who could act as an in house IT support person during the infrastructure upgrade.

This temporary staff member proved to be such a great fit that Common Ground hired him on to a new fulltime position. Common Ground graduated in early 2008 with a current and appropriate infrastructure recommended, installed and transitioned by NPower support staff and in house tech savvy built by NPower staff's intensive coaching which built lasting institutional knowledge. Common Ground now has the right equipment, and they have the know how to use it effectively and maintain it through the work of NPower's Scheduled Support.