Case Study

Digital Transformation Drives Conservation

SUMMARY/OVERVIEW

Meeting the Demands of Modern Conservation

A global nonprofit renowned for its commitment to conserving nature and protecting wildlife recognized that it needed to improve its technological infrastructure. In response to increasing digital demands and the evolving landscape of its environmental work, the conservation group proactively sought a trusted advisor to help it modernize its IT posture.

Key Takeaways

Enhanced operational efficiency and reduced costs through a transition from on-site IT infrastructure to Microsoft Azure cloud and first-party services. 

Streamlined financial reporting and compliance by leveraging new, automated financial reporting tools, accelerating reporting timelines, improving accuracy, and strengthening IT practices through updated standardizations. 

Delivered greater flexibility and scalability through platform-as-a-service solutions in Azure, reducing organizational reliance on traditional infrastructure investments. 

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The Challenge

Enhancing IT Infrastructure for Global Conservation Efforts 

With conservation efforts spanning more than 100 countries, the organization needed to manage vast datasets, support remote teams, and maintain cybersecurity across a diverse digital ecosystem. Their existing IT environment, while robust, required an upgrade to better facilitate team collaboration, data-driven decision-making, enhanced fundraising, and operational efficiency. 

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The Approach

Driving IT Transformation for Enhanced Operational Efficiency and Resilience 

Our team of knowledgeable professionals worked with the client to guide them through a four-month IT transformation plan. Understanding the organization’s critical global mission, we focused on limiting any disruption to normal operations and downtime. This included the process of migrating servers to Microsoft Azure to provide the organization with improved reliability and more flexibility as future updates became available. 

Moving to Azure also came with additional efficiencies. With critical systems in one place, IT management existed in a centralized location and made for more simplified oversight. 

In addition:

  1. To help mitigate risks and offer greater operational resilience, a key component of our approach involved strategies to provide stronger governance and controls — capabilities better enabled through Azure. The Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) technologies enabled scalable options to the client, with new features more easily enabled when compared to on-premises server hosting. 

  2. Finally, we assisted the organization in working with Microsoft Tech for Social Impact, Microsoft’s division dedicated to empowering nonprofits around the world. Our professionals helped the client develop a compelling business case to present to Microsoft, bringing additional funding and resources to the project’s ambitious transformation goals.

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The Results

Empowering Conservation Efforts for a Better Future 

The overall impact of the cloud migration and IT transformation was significant, helping the nonprofit realize cost savings while enhancing their operational efficiencies.

Some of the specific issues they faced included:

  • Automated Compliance Solutions

    Our professionals implemented uniform processes and automation across the organization, providing more effective resource allocation, strengthening compliance, and improving IT expense forecasting.

  • Streamlined Operations

    By transitioning to PaaS technologies, the client saw a benefit in its day-to-day operations as well. Simplified management tasks and automations helped to reduce manual, labor-intensive processes so the client’s teams could focus on higher-value, knowledge-based work. At the same time, IT teams experienced a reduction in the work necessary to maintain traditional infrastructure, all while the organization saved on overhead costs. 

  • Impactful Analytics

    Adopting advanced Azure SQL solutions created a robust foundation for more detailed, insightful analytics and artificial intelligence efforts, empowering the organization to drive fundraising efforts with greater impact.

  • Improved Reporting

    Our work also helped the client to streamline its financial reporting through the integration and automation of reporting tools, delivering faster, more accurate financial forecasts and a more efficient process.

By proactively recognizing their needs, the client benefited from our knowledgeable professionals’ experience and Microsoft’s advanced IT solutions. We understood the conservation nonprofit’s vital work around the globe and worked with them to deploy Azure’s PaaS, providing an immediate impact to their daily operations while positioning them to scale their operations as they grow. 

Learn how we can help your organization enhance its operational efficiency while reducing overhead costs.

Modern IT challenges require solutions that can adapt quickly and empower the organizations that use them. Our skill in deploying Microsoft’s advanced cloud-based solutions, combined with BDO’s broad knowledge of the nonprofit operating environment, enables us to assist clients in executing their strategic vision while preparing them for future challenges.
Bob Pugh
Solution Sales Director

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