Ädelbrook had nearly 20 remote sites connected to its main campus through a site-to-site VPN. Computers at every location were part of the same domain and all users were included in the Active Directory and authenticated by the domain controller. 

Ädelbrook’s unreliable VPN connection to their main campus had a noticeable impact on staff productivity and data security. Staff behavior changed, developing workarounds such as saving data locally on desktop hard drives and thumb drives. This practice presented serious noncompliance and security risks that could have a serious impact on their business.

Additionally, Ädelbrook’s workflow processes were outdated, including printing client reports daily and storing the reports in physical binders. Instead of searchable records available to all employees, group home clinicians, nurses, and house managers had to physically locate each client’s binder to update and keep track of their progress. On a regular basis, clinicians had to drive to other Ädelbrook facilities to retrieve clients’ binders. Auditing the binders for completeness and accuracy was a labor-intensive process. These manual processes not only slowed down productivity but also impacted how they service their customers and the overall experience for their staff and clients. 

SNP Technologies recommended the Microsoft Cloud, migrating Ädelbrook’s legacy on-premise Exchange Server to Office 365 and moved their other servers and applications to the Microsoft Azure platform. 

To ensure higher reliability and uptime while supporting other Cloud initiatives, SNP deployed a domain controller on Azure and established Active Directory Sync with the on-premise domain controller. The remote sites have 2 VPN connections - one to the main campus and the second connection to Azure. 

In the event, the campus site goes down or the domain controller is not responding, users, have the ability to perform domain authentication and get DNS. 

SNP also deployed thin clients at a number of Group Homes and Learning Centers that provided connection to the Remote Desktop Servers on Azure, eliminating the need to configure the applications or the computer on each machine. This improved deployment, productivity, reduced IT support cost, and impacted overall user experience. Azure allowed SNP to deploy multiple Remote Desktop Servers for different departments as well as redundant servers. In addition, Ädelbrook also purchased a combination of Office 365 products to fully support their email migration needs.
 

Today, Ädelbrook can upload data and collaborate with other staff quickly, reliably and securely thanks to Azure and Sharepoint products. This has reduced audit times and changed Ädelbrook’s laborious workflow processes. Employees are now more efficient, records and files are more accurate and there is more transparency across the business when maintaining patient files. Administrative users are taking advantage of Office 365 mobile apps. This gives staff the ability to track their many facilities remotely with the click of a button and also allows them to communicate activities and updates via the SharePoint newsfeed.

Teachers have electronic access to all student binders through Azure, ensuring that teachers are viewing the most up to date version of each file. SharePoint automatically tracks who view binders and when providing insight and transparency Ädelbrook did not previously have access to. Almost immediately after the implementation, Ädelbrook experienced tangible cost savings. Additionally, the removal of their physical server decreased support and maintenance costs associated with physical hardware, ultimately reducing and eliminating electrical, environmental and maintenance costs. 
SNP 

“Our business is so much more efficient. We are able to focus on our students and patients and make a bigger impact in their lives.” Says Sara Gutis, Administrator, Ädelbrook