How a 125-Year Iowa Nonprofit Modernized IT with Microsoft 365
Children & Families of Iowa partnered with Aureon to migrate from aging on-premise infrastructure to Microsoft 365, achieving nearly 100% uptime and freeing their team to focus on the families they serve.
Partnership Overview
Aging Infrastructure Holding a Mission-Driven Organization Back
Children & Families of Iowa operated across a network of urban and rural locations, each relying on aging on-premise servers, multiple operating systems, and fragmented IT infrastructure. The burden of maintaining dedicated hardware stretched limited resources and created reliability gaps that impacted staff and the people they served.
Rural sites were especially affected, experiencing frequent time-outs and connectivity issues that disrupted daily operations. CFI needed a modern, cloud-based foundation with stronger high availability, disaster recovery, and email security, without adding complexity or cost to a nonprofit budget.
Aging On-Premise Infrastructure
Outdated servers and multiple operating systems created maintenance overhead, reliability issues, and a fragmented technology environment across all CFI locations.
Rural Connectivity Limitations
Remote Iowa locations experienced regular time-outs and limited access due to slower Internet speeds combined with the limitations of on-premise systems.
A Consultative Path to the Microsoft 365 Cloud
Aureon took the time to understand CFI's mission, technology environment, and compliance obligations before recommending a solution. As a Microsoft Partner experienced with nonprofit licensing, Aureon navigated the approval processes, trial periods, and licensing requirements to secure Microsoft 365 at a deep nonprofit discount for CFI.
The migration was handled entirely in the background, with minimal disruption to daily operations. Aureon managed the full transition from aging on-premise infrastructure to a unified cloud platform, including email encryption, improved disaster recovery, and cloud-based access for staff across all locations.
Consultative Approach
Aureon sat down with CFI to navigate the full range of Microsoft 365 options, ensuring the right solution was selected for their specific needs, compliance requirements, and budget.
Nonprofit Microsoft Licensing
Aureon guided CFI through Microsoft's nonprofit approval process, securing Microsoft 365 at a deep discount and handling the licensing complexities so CFI didn't have to.
Seamless Cloud Migration
All systems were migrated to the Microsoft 365 cloud with minimal disruption. The transition happened in the background, allowing CFI staff to stay focused on daily operations.
Email Encryption & Disaster Recovery
The Microsoft 365 deployment included email encryption and strengthened disaster recovery capabilities, addressing two key security and compliance priorities for CFI.
A Modern Platform That Keeps the Focus on Families
The move to Microsoft 365 transformed how CFI operates day to day. Staff across rural and urban locations now access email, calendars, and applications reliably from any device. Time-out issues are gone, uptime is consistent, and IT management is simpler than ever, giving the organization more bandwidth to focus on the families they serve.
Anywhere Access for All Staff
CFI staff at urban and rural sites access email and calendars reliably from any device, at any time, with no time-outs or connectivity barriers limiting their work.
Predictable IT Budget
Eliminating dedicated servers, hardware maintenance, and unpredictable licensing costs replaced a variable IT budget with a consistent, manageable cloud-based model.
Key Results
Nearly 100% uptime since migrating to Microsoft 365, a dramatic improvement from the reliability issues experienced on aging on-premise infrastructure.
Dedicated servers and the ongoing cost, maintenance, and complexity they carried were eliminated entirely by moving to Microsoft 365 cloud services.
Rural Iowa locations no longer experience the time-outs and access issues that disrupted operations under the previous on-premise system.
The full migration to Microsoft 365 was completed in the background with no disruption to CFI staff or the daily delivery of family services.
Email encryption was implemented as part of the Microsoft 365 rollout, addressing a key compliance requirement for an organization handling sensitive client data.
Microsoft 365 ensures CFI always runs current software versions with automatic updates, eliminating the version sprawl and patching burden of on-premise management.
It saved us countless hours of migration and allowed us to focus on training and other daily operations. The end result is a predictable budget, current software versions, email encryption, and seamless connectivity. All of these keep our focus on the families we serve every day.
A Trusted Partner for a Mission-Driven Organization
Children & Families of Iowa has served Iowa families for more than 125 years. As one of the state's most established human services organizations, CFI delivers critical programs across a network of urban and rural locations. When aging technology began limiting efficiency and reliability, CFI's CFO Jennifer Pavlovec knew it was time to modernize.
CFI identified Microsoft 365 as the right path forward, but navigating nonprofit licensing, compliance requirements, and migration complexity required an experienced partner. Aureon stepped in to handle the full process, from licensing approvals and solution selection to cloud migration and ongoing support, ensuring CFI had the right technology foundation without the operational burden of managing it themselves.
The results speak for themselves. Nearly 100% uptime, seamless access for staff at every location, email encryption, and a predictable IT budget now give CFI's team more capacity to focus on what has always mattered most: the families they serve every day.
Frequently Asked Questions
CFI was operating on aging on-premise servers with multiple operating systems across a network of statewide locations. Rural sites in particular experienced frequent time-outs and connectivity issues due to the limitations of on-premise infrastructure combined with slower Internet speeds. CFI also needed stronger high availability, improved disaster recovery, and email encryption to meet growing compliance and operational demands.
CFI's leadership identified Microsoft 365 as the right platform, recognizing that nonprofits can access it at little to no cost through Microsoft's nonprofit licensing program. That search led them to Aureon, a Microsoft Partner with experience navigating nonprofit licensing, approval processes, and cloud migrations. Aureon's consultative approach, taking the time to understand CFI's specific needs before recommending a solution, made them the right fit for an organization with a complex, mission-driven environment.
Microsoft's nonprofit licensing program involves trial periods, approval requirements, and compliance checkpoints that can be difficult to navigate without an experienced partner. Aureon managed the full process, including vetting eligibility, completing required approvals, and selecting the right licensing tier for CFI's specific operational needs. This ensured CFI received the maximum benefit from Microsoft's nonprofit pricing without having to manage the complexity themselves.
CFI achieved nearly 100% uptime after the migration, a significant improvement from the reliability issues they experienced previously. Rural locations no longer experience the time-outs that disrupted operations, and all staff can now access email and calendars from any device at any location. The organization also gained email encryption, stronger disaster recovery, current software versions, and a predictable IT budget, all without the ongoing burden of managing on-premise hardware.
Aureon remains an active partner for CFI beyond the initial migration. The team provides ongoing consultation and as-needed support to ensure CFI continues to get maximum value from their Microsoft 365 environment. As CFI's needs evolve and Microsoft releases new capabilities, Aureon is there to help CFI evaluate, adopt, and benefit from the latest features, keeping their technology aligned with their mission.
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