Secure user access to O365 tools helps Helen Keller Intl collaborate to tackle global health issues

About the client

Helen Keller envisioned a world without barriers to human potential. Guided by her fierce optimism. Helen Keller International delivers life-changing health care to vulnerable families in places where the need is great, but access is limited. Proven, science-based programs empower people to create opportunities in their own lives.

The organization was co-founded by Helen Keller in 1915 to provide assistance to soldiers blinded during World War I. Today, expanded programs prioritize preventing and treating vision loss and blindness – as well as addressing major global health problems such as malnutrition and neglected diseases that threaten sight, productivity, and well-being.

Helen Keller currently has more than 120 programs in 21 countries around the world. In Africa, Asia, Europe, and the U.S., Helen Keller builds the capacity of local government, non-profit, and private sector systems and infrastructure. It promotes the development of sustained, large scale programs that deliver effective solutions to preventable vision loss and malnutrition.

The challenge

Operating an organization such as Helen Keller International comes with complex challenges. Its clearly articulated mission is to be “a global health organization dedicated to eliminating preventable vision loss, malnutrition, and diseases of poverty.” The complexity comes in how that gets accomplished in 21 countries across four continents. That’s why future-proof, reliable, and efficient information technology is critical to Helen Keller’s vital purpose.

As with any broad-based organization, IT systems provide Helen Keller with support for normal business activities. However, information systems are also critical to field research about health conditions and interventions that make a difference in people’s lives. The mobile collection captures data in remote places and moves it to central databases for the reporting, research, and analysis that leads to health interventions. Other types of IT systems are used for eye scans in remote areas of Asia, collecting data for transmission to regional hospitals for review and treatment recommendations.

This is why IT takes on a broader dimension of importance in research and treatment. For example, mobile IT is key to projects such as remote eye scan transmissions.

We pride ourselves on doing evidence-based work in the field, combating vision loss, and protecting health,

– said Ric Plaisance, Vice President Information and Operations Systems.

That's the true value of Helen Keller International.

The organization faced two IT challenges. It needed to decide on renewal or upgrade of its expiring license for Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) servers. The expense and operational requirements of the ADFS on-premises infrastructure had been demanding. So, on the advice of SoftwareOne, the team opted for a cloud-based alternative. Microsoft’s Azure cloud offered an attractive user authentication solution, and a better fit for operational business requirements. However, the project had to be accomplished in a short timeline, and stay within a tight budget.

The solution

Helen Keller International had four Active Directory Servers in use, two physical servers located in the New York City offices, and two in the Azure cloud. These provided the authentication security needed to keep research data flowing and maintain application access and secure communications with program staff globally.

With the license renewal deadline fast approaching,

we needed subject matter experts to help us understand our options. Also, because license renewal and upgrade are quite complex, we needed outside expertise to do it correctly,

– said Lesley Edinboro, Global Information Systems Manager.

Together with SoftwareOne, Helen Keller developed an Azure Identity Management strategy to better manage user authentication costs, deployment, and maintenance requirements for its future workplace environment. Using Microsoft 365, the plan also takes advantage of additional features such as Microsoft Power BI for research analytics, and Microsoft Power Automate to improve productivity using automated workflows. Most importantly, taking advantage of existing Microsoft 365 licensing, the cloud identity solution Azure AD Seamless Single Sign-On replaced the four ADFS servers for identity management. This allows users to enjoy a fast, simple, and reliable Single Sign-On experience to access Microsoft 365 cloud applications, as well as timesheet, security, and other business applications.

In the face of COVID-19, Microsoft Teams has increased in importance as an essential means of communication and collaboration across disparate locations, remote sites, and required work-from-home situations.

Fast, easy and reliable access is fundamental, especially in difficult times like the COVID-19 pandemic. Using M365 capabilities, organizations like Helen Keller International can continue their vital work for people in need without compromising performance or security.