Automated PC Repair-Compliance Solution Helps a Nonprofit Profit by Maximizing Its IT Resources

 

Industry:	Nonprofit Sector
Number of PCs:	80
IT Challenge:	Cutting Down on Help Desk Calls & User Downloads
Solution:	Persystent Suite

 

Q&A Case study with Joel Alleger, Senior Network Engineer at MDRC
 

How large is your IT department?
In terms of IT support, we have a team of 2 frontline technicians based here in New York supporting 225 PC end users located in NYC and Oakland, CA. Plus, we’ve got 3 other technicians devoted to server management, the website, email, the phone system, etc.
 

What do you like most about working for MDRC?
For a nonprofit, I think we’re pretty sophisticated and understand how to do a lot with what we’ve got – both in terms of the policy research our associates do and the way we in IT provide support to them. Our overall mindset is “get more done more efficiently.” MDRC recruits a lot smart, motivate people, many recently out of college, who’ve got a lot of fresh ideas and plenty of energy.
 

Could you briefly summary your PC/IT setup?
Sure. At MDRC, we employ a full range of Microsoft Windows tools (Sharepoint and OneNote, for example). We run on a Cisco infrastructure. We’ve got our PC end users on HP desktops and Lenovo laptops (which we chose very carefully for their hard disk encryption / fingerprint security features). Plus, we’re managing about 15 applications.
 

Was there a compelling event that drove you to try Persystent Suite?
It was really a culmination of things. In the past, we were getting way too many support calls, a large part of which were application related. And given that we’re talking 15 or so application configurations, it was getting to be pretty time consuming. Add to that, we have only 2 IT people supporting 225 end users, many of whom are in CA, so we spent a lot of time and money shipping PCs back and forth for repair and re-imaging. The process just wasn’t that efficient.

Besides wanting to reduce your help desk calls, why else did you choose Persystent?
Well, as I mentioned before, MDRC recruits and attracts a large proportion of recent college graduates. And I’d have to say that this younger generation is very accustomed to customizing their PCs and downloading all kinds of so-called tools to help them stay informed. I’ve seen so many cases of freeware downloads, which have become a problem for us, not to mention malware, spyware and zombies, which they picked up however unintentionally. Employees may like using a free software download to assist them in their work, but often these programs offer no user support, so end users have called us for help desk support.

Really, though, our biggest concern is that many government agencies we serve expect us to follow encryption standards, which freeware doesn’t offer. Things end users consider totally innocuous can be a threat. Our employees may be research policy focused, but they’re not necessarily used to following PC policy. So we really had to get a lock on the situation.
 

Is there anything else you like about the product?
Definitely. The great support I got from day 1. I can’t say enough about the support I got to set the software up right in our environment. In our case, Persystent was able to do a remote installation (after we attended their 3-day, on-site training). I have to say, Persystent was there every step of the way to work out the kinks and smooth out any issues. I love so many features of the software – everything from building filters and base images to controlling Windows updates and scheduling tasks. It’s really a great product, and I really encourage any IT professional looking for an automated solution to PC repair and compliance to take a closer look.
 

Any words of advice to anyone considering the product?
Any IT department is going to run into hardware-specific issues when trying out the software in their own unique environment. As we all know, new configurations in Windows environments can be tricky -- but I have to say that from my experience, Persystent responds flawlessly. I’m particularly impressed with the WSUS Server integration. Keep in mind, new implementation of any software application requires thoughtful training for your IT support staff. But I think the payoff is well worth the effort.
 

About MDRC
Formed in 1974 by the Ford Foundation and a group of federal agencies, MDRC is a nonprofit, non-partisan education and social research policy organization headquartered in New York City.  MDRC is dedicated to learning what works to improve programs and policies that affect the poor. The organization designs and studies new approaches to the problems confronting public education; low-income children, families and communities; and people with barriers to employment (such as ex prisoners).

As a nonpartisan research organization, MDRC does not endorse any products. The information shared in the following case study is informational and should not be interpreted as a direct or indirect endorsement of the Persystent Suite or any other related product. 
 

About Persystent Software
Founded in 2002, Persystent Software has been instrumental to organizations in government, healthcare and education sectors with limited resources to support a high ratio of employees to IT staff and 24/7 business uptime. Persystent Software solutions ensure that end-user desktop and laptop computers are always available and fully functional – whether in the office or on the road. Persystent Software has developed the only automated PC recovery product on the market with unsurpassed speed – restoring application and operating system (O/S) files that are corrupted, changed or missing with just a simple reboot of the computer.

For more information on Persystent Software and its solutions, visit: www.persystent.com.