Yay Cloud!

1. Yay Cloud! ACHIEVA's Journey to Cloud Computing Steve McDonell Director of Information Technology

2. Agenda • Who is ACHIEVA • ACHIEVA's cloud computing timeline and what we learned along the way • What cloud computing has done for ACHIEVA and our IT function

3. Located in Pittsburgh, PA Chapter of The Arc founded in 1951 Annual Revenue of ~ $50,000,000 Serving over 12,000 individuals annually

4. Lifelong services and supports to individuals with Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities and their families

5. IT Staff of three including me Over 1,600 employees at over 100 different physical locations Approximately 350 computer users at these locations

6. Steve McDonell Director of Information Technology at ACHIEVA since 1998 Information Technology reports to the CFO

7. Quick Survey How many cloud systems are you currently using at your organization? • Zero • 1-2 • 3-5 • More than 5

8. Cloud computing timeline • It started as a way to solve a probelm • It turned into a way to potentially save money • It actually saved money • It worked better than expected • It turned into so much more • It started in...

9. 1998

10. Annual Revenue of ~ $15,000,000 IT staff of three including me Over 400 employees at nearly 40 different physical locations Approximately 100 computers and eight servers at these locations

11. Separate internal and external e-mail No website Recently moved from mainframe to LAN This Internet thing was catching on!!!

12. No website (1999/2000) Needed a web site Have it hosted at our ISP or at our place?

13. Separate internal and external e-mail (2001/2002) Wanted to combine these into one system We did what nonprofits always do... We called some consultants.

15. Research, Experimentation and Selling (2002 - 2006) • How to do this with other systems? • Survey Monkey • Intranet development • Demonstrated time and cost savings

16. Name Change (2005) Web Site Redesign Hosted CRM

17. Backup (2006) Multiple Servers at Multiple Locations(4) Software license expired and hardware warranty expired Referred to our tech plan developed by conulstants

18. Teleconferencing (2007/2008) Community Outreach and 24/7/365 Access to Subject Matter Experts We did what nonprofits always do... We called some consultants.

19. “Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.” “Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.”

21. Another quick survey Are you planning on moving any systems to the cloud or adding a new cloud-based system in the next calendar year? • Yes • No

22. Planning for the cloud • Stop talking to consultants • Put together a team that represents as much of the organization as possible • Identify problems • Find solutions that meet your needs • Anything over your needs is a bonus

23. Brush up your... • ...project management skills* • ...communications skills* • ...sales skills • ...financial skills • ...process improvement skills* • ...training skills* • ...negotiating skills • ...knowledge of the business

24. Picking a vendor • Decide what you need • Work with staff that will actually use the system • Find multiple vendors • Meet with vendors • Get references • Talk to the references • Ask for SSAE16 (formerly SAS70) audit • Don't worry about price; yet • Vendor = partner

25. Watch Tech Trends Bandwidth • Faster and less expensive • Dial-up to DSL to Cable Server virtualization • Vendor side Access devices and price drops • PCs and laptops • Wi-fi cards • Smart phones • Tablets

26. Case management, billing, EMR system (2009) Unicentric Replaced legacy MS Access database Internet-based was a mandatory vendor requirement

27. Pooled Trust Software (2009) Sungard Charlotte Investment Management Hosted solution (ASP) made available

28. Time & Attendance (2009) ADP TimeSaver

29. Accounting Package (2010) Sage Fund Accounting (RDP) Planned move to a hosted solution in 2011 August 12, 2011

30. Payroll & HR (2010) ADP HRAnytime

31. Donor Management Software (2010) Cadillac of donor management • High price • Next version required server upgrade • No hosted version available • Chevy worked fine for our needs • Found a hosted Chevy

32. Work Order Mgmt System for Facilities (2011) Landport

33. Fleet GPS Tracking System (2011) Orion GPS

34. Planning • Managed through the budget process not as a project-by-project request to boards • Look at servers remaining life • Management loved • Cost decreases • Productivity gains

35. Challenges • Internal staff buy in • Internal staff adoption • Internal resistance • Vendor management • Change from the mainstream setup • Executive sponsorship

36. What we learned along the way • Work with a good internal team • Get them interested & involved • Have open and honest discussions • Dump non-contributors • Find good vendors • Project management • Communicate • Make things better • You have to have IT involved from the start

37. What we learned along the way • Monitor adoption • Process audits • Reporting • All these benefits are true benefits • Cloud computing works extremely well when you combine organizations • No software to install • No servers to replace • Training and communication • Usually better than what folks had in place

38. Mergers Smaller chapter of the Arc July 1, 2002 Annual revenue ~ $1,000,000 Ten Employees/Users Tech • No tech staff • No network • No internet connection • No problem

39. Mergers A local provider of similar supports July 1, 2007 Annual Revenue ~ $5,000,000 Tech • One accidental techie • Small LAN • Donated or custom built PCs • Approximately 50 users

40. Mergers A local larger chapter of The Arc July 1, 2009 Annual Revenue ~ $10,000,000 Tech • One full time person • Four servers • Established systems • About 300 users

41. ACHIEVA Goes Google (2012) Mail Calendaring Sites Chat

42. ACHIEVA Goes Google 2.0 (2013) • Internet-based file sharing • Move to Google Docs • Groups Single signon (2013) Full on-line faxing(2013)

43. Changing Role of IT @ ACHIEVA • Went from five nines to a full participant in strategic planning • Went from using technology to support staff to introducing technology to support the individuals we serve • Went from being a line item in the budget to making sure we provide solutions to most effectively help ACHIEVA meet our mission

44. Changing Role of IT @ ACHIEVA

45. Changing Role of IT @ ACHIEVA Steve Heye: Achieving IT Alignment Five Stages of Managing Technology • Chaotic • Reactive • Proactive • Service • Value

46. Not really keeping things going No technology plan No technology budget Outdated equipment No inventory of technology exists No tech support/training available Data is not easily assembled or collected No defined data requirements Chaotic

47. Fire fighting mode Limited technology planning Informal technology budgeting No standard for new computer purchases Fixing/repairing things as they break Some training on software occurs Little or no documentation Minimal data requirements defined Reactive

48. Software and data needs analyzed and defined Technology budget planning IT staff supporting users Tech strategy serves overall strategic plan Tech staff interacts with operating departments Policies and procedures are in development Inventoried up-to-date standardized equipment Software documentation exists Data collected mainly for financial reasons Proactive

49. Data integration and process automation Computer systems support business processes IT becomes a part of the leadership team Technology tied directly to business needs Technology is an investment, not an expense Policies and procedures exist Super-users throughout the organization Technology skills are part of job descriptions Software documentation exists and is refined Reporting focuses on more than financial data Service

50. Technology staff is part of senior leadership Board and/or staff technology committee Tech policies implemented and enforced Training needs are assessed annually Metrics are used to measure program success IT closely collaborates with program areas IT budget as a percentage; not a dollar amount Technology drives business process improvement Value