Executive Summary
St. Anne Institute is a nonprofit organization that relies on PCs and other devices to serve children, youth, and families at risk or in crisis. When choosing new devices, budget and need drove IT’s purchasing decisions. After discovering the stability, performance, and security benefits of devices powered by Intel vPro®, the IT team now plans to replace all PCs, laptops, and tablets with Intel vPro-enabled devices going forward.
Introduction
A small nonprofit organization with big goals has numerous challenges, including deciding how to use its limited funding strategically. Staying on budget and making every dollar count is much easier when you harness the power of technology. The right technology can help nonprofits become more productive and more efficient so they can better serve their clients while still reining in spending.
St. Anne Institute (SAI) was founded by four nuns of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd in 1887 to help troubled and homeless women. Today, the nonprofit organization serves more than 800 children and families annually from 40 counties throughout the state of New York. SAI’s staff includes social workers, therapists, counselors, healthcare professionals, administrators, and teachers. They work on-site at SAI’s five locations as well as in the field, visiting clients in their homes and schools and performing outreach to street youth.
“St. Anne Institute has helped tens of thousands of individuals in mental health crisis over the decades,” says Chief Development Officer Sandra Tarkleson. While SAI’s mission of loving, caring, and protecting its clients has remained the same, the organization’s programs have evolved to meet clients’ increasingly complex needs. Its technology has evolved too.
Challenge: Making the Most of a Limited Budget
“Technology has become essential for nearly all SAI staff to perform their duties,” says IT Director Tim O’Neill. As a nonprofit, however, SAI relies on a combination of federal, state, and private funding, which can ebb and flow. As a result, SAI doesn’t have the luxury of updating its entire PC fleet at once. Instead, the organization’s IT staff purchases what it can, when it can, as its budget allows.
SAI’s technology decision-making is typically need- and budget-driven, but recently the organization has become more proactive about security, O’Neill says. The IT staff is transitioning client electronic health records (EHRs) to the cloud; however, sensitive client information is still stored locally. Adding to the complexity of IT security, SAI must be compliant with not just one, but at least five compliance standards. That makes security a priority. As Assistant IT Director Tim Roberts explains, “[Our PCs] need to be able to stand up to actual malicious attacks, as well as checks like audits or penetration testing.”
Solution: PCs Powered by Intel vPro®
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020, SAI quickly adapted to continue carrying out its mission. The staff began working remotely, offering clients telehealth appointments, and holding meetings using Zoom and Microsoft Teams. The IT department had already begun purchasing tablets, but as the pandemic continued, “we bought more tablets so people could work from home and see clients remotely,” O’Neill says. Tablets also offer cost savings, enabling SAI to maximize its IT budget.
SAI’s IT team didn’t initially seek out PCs enabled with Intel vPro; instead, they simply focused on finding the most cost-effective devices. “Most people here don’t run heavy-duty apps, so in the past, we didn’t look too much at the processor,” explains O’Neill. “If we happened to get PCs with Intel vPro, it was a bonus.” But SAI quickly discovered that Intel vPro delivered better performance, stability, manageability, and security than their other PCs, ultimately resulting in greater ROI.
Today, SAI’s devices are a mix of desktops, laptops, and tablets, both Intel vPro and non-Intel vPro. The newer devices are primarily tablets, most of which are on the Intel vPro platform. These have been a particular boon for staff at SAI’s four satellite offices, since most of their work involves visiting clients in public schools.
Although most in-office staff still have desktop PCs, SAI is expanding into a greater use of laptops or tablets with docking stations, which staff can use both in and out of the office. “[After seeing] noticeable overall performance and productivity boosts with the tablets from staff to C-suite level,” says Roberts, “we’ve started swapping out desktops and replacing them with tablets and docking stations powered by Intel vPro.”
“Sticking with a consistently higher-grade platform like Intel vPro, which can stand the test of time more than non-Intel vPro platforms, means you get more ‘bang for the buck.’ The extra initial cost means better ROI with assets that last longer, perform better, and are more secure, benefiting both staff and clients.”—Tim Roberts, St. Anne Institute, Assistant IT Director
Results: Intel vPro Delivers “More Bang for the Buck”
SAI must comply with a complex web of regulations, including HIPAA, SOX, FERPA, HITECH, PCI, and New York SHIELD.1 Having staff scattered across multiple offices, working from home, or working remotely at client locations adds another layer of complication to data security. Intel vPro’s built-in security features help keep SAI’s PCs and data secure with hardware-enhanced protections to help detect and defend against multiple types of cyberattacks, providing peace of mind for the IT team as well as the people using the devices.
End users, from staff to C-suite, enjoy enhanced performance and productivity with Intel vPro, allowing them to serve clients better than with non-Intel vPro devices. SAI has found that devices powered by Intel vPro last significantly longer than those with standard processors. For example, Roberts says the PC in the residential art room, a Dell with Intel vPro that’s at least eight years old, is still going strong, despite running more demanding programs than most of SAI’s PCs.
SAI’s mobile devices must be able to withstand rugged conditions, and devices on Intel vPro deliver on that count as well. Tablets and laptops may get dropped or left in cars in temperatures that can range from -50°F in the winter to more than 100°F in the summer. “Even when subjected to harsher environmental situations in the field,” Roberts says, “systems on Intel vPro last significantly longer.”
Going forward, SAI plans to phase out its older hardware in favor of systems on Intel vPro. Roberts says they also intend to add Intel vPro management/access using Intel® Endpoint Management Assistant (Intel® EMA) through either on-premises or Azure-based central management and access to remote devices. With Intel EMA’s cloud-based functionality, SAI’s team will be able to remotely power up and access devices on Intel vPro Enterprise both inside and outside the firewall. IT staff will be able to diagnose, repair, patch, or update devices without disrupting employees’ work or requiring them to come into the office. Since SAI employees often work with clients in their homes or classrooms, this capability is critical to maintaining their PCs’ performance and security.
The greater ROI of devices on Intel vPro means SAI’s constrained budget can go toward fulfilling the organization’s mission rather than replacing or repairing PCs. “The extra stability of the Intel vPro platform, plus the security of it, helps both the staff and the clients they assist,” Roberts says. “These devices stand the test of time.”
Spotlight on St. Anne Institute
St. Anne Institute: Nonprofit health and human services agency providing therapeutic, residential, educational, and preventative services to children, adolescents, and families.
Number of employees: 270
Gross revenue: $14.9 million per year [2022]
Location: Based in Albany, New York, with satellite offices in Troy, Hudson Falls, Gloversville, and Schoharie, New York.
Programs include:
- Community-based clinical and care management services
- Education program for grades 7 through 12
- Early childhood education and universal pre-kindergarten
- Qualified residential treatment program
- Street outreach and runaway and homeless youth shelter