Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center

Asian and Pacific-Islander Wellness Center is a community-based non-profit in San Francisco, California. Its mission is to educate, support, empower and advocate for Asian and Pacific Islander communities – particularly A&PIs living with, or at-risk for, HIV/AIDS. http://www.apiwellness.org

As the IT Specialist, my responsibility is to deliver technology tools to a staff of 50 in a robust, timely and secure environment where realities, even in a non-profit world, demand a 24/7 IT operation. Yet another non-profit reality is the budgetary constraints that pose a challenge for the IT department.

The challenge for me was:

• provide high availability AND support to IT resources
• provide consistent user experience whether at the office, remote locations, or mobile
• provide current software and hardware technologies
• ensure compliance with HIPPA regulations and confidentiality
• limited budget for upgrades and/or new equipment
• current hardware inventory range from new to 7 years old
• IT staffing limited to just me

In this environment, the majority of my time is spent troubleshooting hardware and software issues, Microsoft upgrades, and individual user problems. This was not a good use of my time or skills which should be more focused on enhancing the overall agency IT experience.

This is where 2X comes in and saves the day.

Using the Thin Client Server product, I have been able to provide a consistent, and in many cases – faster, end-user experience utilizing our current hardware. Users at our remote offices can now access the main office servers and services as if they were right there. I do less and less individual troubleshooting since users cannot use their local hard drives. Because of this, the need to purchase new PCs has been pushed way into the future. Besides, who wants to use Vista?

I also use the Application Server and Load Balancer. This provided redundancy and high availability at minimal cost. The App Server offered me a tool to manage the publishing of applications from a centralized location in a secure, quick and easy-to-use interface. I am now able to ‘lock-down’ the user experience so that the user gets only the IT tools that they need.

The ease of installation and use belie the robust and powerful engine of these 2X products. As user demands change and increase, I am confident that the 2X products have the strength and flexibility to adapt.

The 2X suite of products has freed up my time AND budget considerably. The cost savings just this year has turned a projected agency deficit into a surplus. I have more time to dedicate towards enhancing IT services and towards future developments.

Tommy Huie

IT Specialist

Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center

730 Polk St. 4th floor

San Francisco, CA 94109

tommy@apiwellness.org

(415) 292-3400 x343