HTG Peer Groups, along with our Hands That Give program, is committed to living out the Go-Giver attitude, so we were excited when presented the opportunity to partner with our friends at HP and Microsoft, through their Coffee Coaching program, enabling us to collectively put a plan in place and proactively make a big difference in a local organization. Then along came Intel, and together we all started the ball rolling on this special effort.

We were honored to be selected by Coffee Coaching, a joint program by HP and Microsoft, to help identify the next recipient of their Extreme IT Makeover for non-profits. Now HTG is proud to share the latest Extreme IT Makeover video.

HTG has long been involved in connecting its members with those in need. When Coffee Coaching approached HTG to partner on this opportunity, it was quickly agreed that a technology makeover was a natural fit between HTG’s philanthropic desire to serve and the passion of its members. We knew this was a perfect marriage of our key vendor partners, a great non-profit making a difference in their patch, and the passion we have as technology companies and leaders. HTG quickly made arrangements to help connect the right people with the right technology by leveraging the relationships it had with all involved.

You may recall that HTG worked with Mission Arlington in May 2011, during our annual HTG Summit, when we rolled out our Hands That Give program. They made an impact on us, and we knew we wanted to continue our support of their calling.

Tillie Burgin started Mission Arlington in 1986, after serving faithfully in South Korea as a missionary with her family for many years. Her heart was to create a mission right in the middle of Texas to serve the poor and needy. For the past 26 years, Mission Arlington has worked to bring hope to the people of Arlington, Texas. Over the decades, they have expanded, allowing people in the community to help each other and come together. Individuals, families, civic organizations, schools and businesses all work together to help Mission Arlington fulfill its mission of serving God and loving His people.

They provide different services to the people of Arlington including ministries for adults, children and youth, healthcare, spiritual help, crisis intervention, and many others.

Some details around the implementation…

To complete the efforts begun by Coffee Coaching, Intel joined the initiative; and all parties then worked with HTG to identify a solution provider partner to steer the implementation. Networking Results, a longtime member of HTG2, based in Arlington, TX, donated their time and services for the design and installation of the IT makeover. With all of these organizations working in lockstep, we were able to provide Mission Arlington the ideal IT architecture for their needs, allowing them to better serve their community.

In order to design the perfect IT solution for Mission Arlington, Networking Results worked hand in hand with Mission Arlington to determine their needs. After discussing Mission Arlington’s existing IT situation, the technology they currently had, and what their dreams were, Matthew Reid, Networking Results’ director of technical services, designed a solution and headed the implementation.

Before the Extreme IT Makeover, Mission Arlington had approximately 50 used workstations they had been given by different sources along with 8 desktop computers acting as servers; they had multiple tables of towers and computers taking up valuable space. Although they had multiple buildings with IT equipment, there was no wireless solution. Mission Arlington was doing the best they could with what they had, but connections were slow and resources were not being utilized to their best capabilities.

And the results…

As a direct result of the Extreme IT Makeover, Mission Arlington now has two HP ProLiant Gen8 DL360 servers, powered by Intel Xeon 5600 series processors. The first server has Microsoft Small Business Server 2011 Standard Edition and runs active directory, exchange, and the file and print services for Mission Arlington. The second server has Microsoft Small Business Server 2011 Premium Add-on and runs Windows Server 2008 R2, along with Microsoft Windows SQL server which will allow Mission Arlington to continue to grow their IT infrastructure as needed. Along with the servers, Mission Arlington received a new wireless infrastructure using HP ProCurve switches and wireless controllers, and new HP desktops and laptops running Microsoft Windows 7 Pro, and featuring Intel vPro Technology and two HP LaserJet printers.

This IT makeover allowed Mission Arlington to increase workspace efficiency and storage capacity, get rid of excess servers, towers and computers, and compress and consolidate their IT infrastructure. Darrell Phipps, systems administrator of Mission Arlington is enthusiastic about the IT makeover they received, saying, “The capacity for growth is fantastic, but I’m most impressed by the fact that my tables of towers and computers are consolidated down to two servers in a rack. On behalf of everyone at Mission Arlington, we are extremely grateful and blessed with all the equipment that was donated. Everything is wonderful and more than we expected.”

Again, if you haven’t taken a few minutes to watch the video, I encourage you to do so. How can you make a difference in your patch? While you may not have the time or resources to be involved in something as elaborate as this, we all have opportunities to make an impact and those small acts add up to make a big difference. It requires us to get involved and ask some questions, but it is well worth the effort to be Go-Givers right where we live and work every day.

Keep an eye on our friends at Coffee Coaching as they embark on their next Extreme IT Makeover and set out to transform the IT infrastructure at the Joplin Humane Society. You can keep up with Coffee Coaching by following them on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or LinkedIn.

HTG is thankful that we can share in fulfilling the go-giver vision with our friends at Intel, Microsoft, and HP and work side-by-side to enable the efforts of organizations like Mission Arlington as they help people in their patch which truly is what life is all about. Technology is our tool, but making a difference is our mission!