CASE STUDY

Pennsylvania Association for the Blind

Pennsylvania Association for the Blind (PAB) and its member agencies bring innovative programs and resources to communities across Pennsylvania to help people with vision impairment. The nonprofit organization serves over 4,000 adults and screens/educates over 75,000 preschool children in local communities throughout PA each year. PAB is the only statewide private nonprofit in the United States dedicated to helping the blind and visually impaired.

At-A-Glance Results

0
Downtime for System Updates
0
Centralized Data Hub for 25+ Agencies
0%
Cloud Capabilities with No Hardware Maintenance

Client Snapshot

Industry:

Healthcare

Business:

Nonprofit

Locations:

Pennsylvania

The Challenge

PAB struggled to support operations with an outdated, cumbersome legacy application.

Key Data Hidden in Legacy Databases

If PAB’s system users needed access to data from a previous fiscal year, they had to log out of one database and into another, a process that was time-consuming and limited visibility.

Annual Downtime

Due to the structure of PAB’s legacy software, the system was locked down from July through September so a programmer could set up a new database for the current fiscal year.

Manual Data Entry

PAB’s software users were required to manually enter data into the system—including two months’ worth after the annual database setup—which resulted in hours lost each week.

Costly Hardware Maintenance

Since PAB’s old solution was an on-premise application, PAB had to pay hardware and maintenance fees for on-site servers.

The Solution

PAB has eliminated costs, saved time, and streamlined reporting with Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM.

Data Accessibility and Real-Time Reporting

All historical data is available within one database to give a complete picture of business performance and enable up-to-the-minute reporting.

Zero Downtime

With all fiscal years consolidated on one platform, PAB no longer shuts down the system for annual maintenance, allowing them to stay running 24/7/365.

Data and Workflow Automation

Dynamics 365 CRM comes equipped with modern features like data synchronization and workflow automation to ensure reports are timely and redundant tasks can be completed with minimal oversight.

Zero Hardware Costs

Since PAB’s new CRM is cloud-based, it can be accessed from anywhere, and no servers are kept on-site—eliminating a significant maintenance cost.

Implementation

Cargas led a guided implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM for the Pennsylvania Association for the Blind, going live in 2019.

1: Discovery & Requirements Planning

One of PAB's member agencies recommended Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM and Cargas to them. 

According to John McInerney, interim CEO of PAB, "We spent some time with VisionCorps, which is a Cargas customer and a PAB Member agency. We saw that the Dynamics 365 CRM solution could do what we needed it to—and it's user-friendly. We liked that Cargas is local, had experience with the type of data we need to manage, offered a reasonable proposal, and came highly recommended by VisionCorps." 

2: Software Implementation and Go-Live

PAB went live with an XRM solution using Dynamics 365 CRM on July 1, 2019. "XRM" describes a customized solution built on the Dynamics 365 CRM development platform. The "X" in "XRM" represents a variable for relationship management beyond traditional customers. In the case of PAB, it stands for clients' activities and entities such as schools, doctors' offices, and member agencies. 

Dynamics 365 CRM gives PAB: 

  • A continuously available, cloud-based solution that requires no costly on-premise server 
  • Streamlined, flexible reporting capabilities 
  • An affordable solution, with Microsoft's special pricing for charitable organizations, that's ideal for budget-conscious nonprofits 

"All 25 of our member agencies have licenses to access our CRM," shared McInerney. "Most of them also use another database for the other aspects of their independent functions. Two of them have also implemented Dynamics 365 CRM for those purposes." 

McInerney said that several other member agencies are also looking at implementing Dynamics 365 CRM internally. 

Results & Impact

Improve efficiency and visibility with connected systems, automated workflows, and anytime access to critical business data.

Zero Downtime and Maintenance Fees

The system’s servers are maintained off-site, granting PAB seamless access to the software whenever it’s needed.

Time Savings for Time-Sensitive Activities

With all data available on one platform, PAB’s CRM users can quickly and confidently generate reports and submit funding requests.

Flexibility to Scale

The Dynamics 365 CRM solution is scalable, allowing PAB to add new agencies and users without the help (and cost) of a programmer.

“I’ve dealt with a lot of big software changes throughout my corporate career. Cargas’s process and their team’s knowledge and responsiveness are impressive. We’re very satisfied with the implementation and will continue to work with Cargas as we assess future capabilities.”

— John McInerney, Interim CEO, Pennsylvania Association for the Blind

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