Office 365 Implementation for a Non-Profit Organization

Client Description 

The client is a non-profit, public health agency in the Northeast. They provide access to quality health care and health related services to a wide range of city residents focusing particularly on those who are the most vulnerable.  

Challenge 

With over 1,000 staff, the ability to maintain consistent versions of software to enable document sharing throughout the organization was a challenge. Keeping individual Microsoft Office licenses up-to-date across departments was inefficient, so the organization decided that upgrading to Office 365, the cloud-based version of Microsoft Office, would provide a more robust solution.  

Additional challenges presented themselves when the decision to upgrade was made. Not all computers were running the same operating system which was required to complete the Office 365 implementation. In addition, some computer hardware was insufficient to run the necessary OS and software. 

Technology 

The decision was made to implement Office 365 across the company and a project manager was required to ensure that the implementation process ran smoothly and was completed successfully. Not only did the Offices 365 implementation need to be managed, but upgrading the hardware and operating system also needed to be completed. Some pieces of the project were completed by a third-party vendor while others were addressed by internal staff. 

Ninestone’s Approach 

Ninestone was engaged after the project was started when the organization determined they needed additional project management expertise. We provided project management for the entire scope of the project. The project involved coordination between the internal IT team and an outside vendor for implementation, managing staff communications, testing using an Early Adopter program including feedback, and setting up various training sessions for all staff. 

The Ninestone Project Manager was the liaison to the third-party vendor by communicating issues between the vendor and the organization as well as managing deliverables and tasks with the vendor organization. The Project Manager coordinated training of staff and facilitated communication across the organization regarding implementation timing and coordination. 

During the project, some unforeseen compatibility issues were uncovered which needed to be resolved before the implementation could move forward which caused a delay in the schedule. The Project Manager worked with the organization and the third-party vendor to coordinate the necessary image software upgrade for the server. 

Results 

Staff is now running Office 365 providing a single solution across the organization. In spite of the delay caused by the incompatibility issues, the implementation was completed successfully in a timely manner and within budget.  

Based on the success of the Office 365 implementation project, the organization engaged Ninestone to provide project management for a second project to implement a new budget software solution.  

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