Our Work
Modernizing the Alvis Technology Infrastructure
Alvis, Inc.
UpRys Provides Path to a More Efficient and Secure Operation
Alvis Inc. is a Columbus, Ohio based nonprofit organization focused on providing access to highly effective treatment programs such as behavioral health and substance abuse, recovery housing for women and children, and individuals with developmental disabilities.
Alvis serves nearly 8,000 individuals in Ohio each year with program reach exceeding tens of thousands more. Their mission: to innovate and deliver evidence-based human service programs that empower those Alvis serves to build successful, productive lives. The effect of Alvis’ services reaches beyond the individuals and families – it impacts entire communities.
UpRys is a true partner. Every step along the way no matter what we’ve done – they’ve been there. They took us in a whole other direction that I wasn’t comfortable with, but they coached us in all of the change. They bring in the right people and create a game plan for everything. UpRys has helped us focus on what we do best and they’ll do that for you.
– Denise Robinson, Alvis Inc. President & CEO
The Situation
Due to the growing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and increased community needs for Alvis’ services, the organization found itself struggling to keep up with growing demand.
“We grew very quickly and we noticed our infrastructure was crumbling,” commented Denise Robinson, Alvis President & CEO. “We were growing and didn’t want to turn our backs on anyone by saying “no”. The growth was quick.”
Denise explained that at that point in time Alvis had been trying to fly under the radar. The organization did not have a pressing need to build additional awareness since its services were so highly utilized and trying to keep up with community demand was more than enough.
UpRys Founder and CEO Keith Stevens was a seniored Alvis board member and noticed the struggles the organization was facing. He encouraged Denise to engage with UpRys to assess the current IT infrastructure to identify what gaps existed and what improvements UpRys could make. Then, a security breach pushed the need further.
“We had a significant cyber incident and prior to it happening, we had a JAaM [Join Analysis and Modeling] Session to evaluate and assess our technology,” Denise explained. “Because of this session, I knew who to call when this happened.”
UpRys collaborated with the organization’s remaining IT department and worked through a three-part process to improve Alvis’ security and overall efficiency.
The Goals
The goals for the project were to analyze Alvis’ current IT infrastructure and address obstacles, redundancies, and vulnerabilities in order to build a more stable environment.
The Results
Through Alvis’ collaboration with UpRys, the team created an environment where technology could be leveraged to its fullest potential to allow the organization to thrive and scale. By analyzing Alvis’ strengths and weaknesses, and combining them with the team’s wants and needs, UpRys was able to create a design that resulted in a more secure, personalized solution.
• Compiled current infrastructure files and assets to ensure there wasn’t any data loss.
• Tested and secured the design to confirm it was stable upon finalization.
• Implemented a modern IT Infrastructure that supported and promoted a high-productivity environment.
