Transforming the IT Infrastructure of a Non-Profit Legal Defense Firm

The Bronx Public Defenders Seek a Trustworthy IT Partner

Established in 1997, The Bronx Defenders, a nonprofit legal defense firm, opened its first office in New York City’s South Bronx.  Their mission over the years has been to transform the public, indigent-defense system. Today, The Bronx Defenders represents over 30,000 clients annually, providing Holistic Defense—an innovative, results-oriented approach to public defense. Placing its clients at the center of its services, The Bronx Defenders strives to mitigate the lingering effects of generational and institutional poverty and racism. This dedicated nonprofit now boasts over 200 employees and multiple office locations.

Tabush Group — The Right Match

In early 2012, The Bronx Defenders was in a tough spot and needed defense of its own. Their IT managed service provider (MSP) had become a stranger — both technically and personally, they just weren’t matching up. The staff at this ever-changing, fast-growing organization needed an MSP that could be as innovative and revolutionary as they are. They were in serious need of IT help.

The Bronx Defenders circulated a Request For Proposal (RFP) to approximately 47 different MSPs to find the right match.  Out of the initial 47, only 14 MSPs replied saying they believed they could meet the challenge. The Bronx Defenders whittled this list down to three finalists. Tabush Group was one of them. The RFP process was, for lack of a better term, lengthy. The 34-page document “left no stone unturned,” and included questions to not only ensure that the candidate was technically competent, but also fully capable of understanding and helping The Bronx Defenders realize its mission.

After a series of discussions and an in-depth review of the now-complete RFP, Tabush was hired. There was no time to waste; The Bronx Defenders had a full plate of IT needs that needed to be addressed.

Tabush Group Transformed Their IT Infrastructure

As soon as Tabush Group was hired, they hit the ground running. The Bronx Defenders was in the process of moving to a new office and decommissioning an old one. Technology played a major role in the process. The Tabush team designed and built the IT infrastructure for The Bronx Defenders’ two new offices and reconfigured the IT system infrastructure in its main office. They also upgraded all the computer hardware for the new office.

The Bronx Defenders was experiencing difficulty with its existing cloud model—it wasn’t meeting the organization’s needs.  Tabush relocated The Bronx Defenders cloud to Tabush’s data center and upgraded it to a more functional system—a multi-platform model with mobile connectivity.

Because these projects were integral to The Bronx Defenders relocation, it was crucial that Tabush and the general contractor worked in tandem. Minus a few construction hiccups, the timeline for the move was met. The Bronx Defenders staff was completely relocated over one weekend and all systems were up and running by the move-in date with minimal downtime.

Tabush Group Met The Challenge and More

In addition to the many IT projects that Tabush handled for The Bronx Defenders, they also managed its total IT network in tandem with The Bronx Defenders IT staff.  With an in-house IT staff of only two people and multiple office locations, The Bronx Defenders was overwhelmed. Tabush provided The Bronx Defenders IT team with an internal help-desk system that integrated with their system. The new system allowed the Bronx Defenders in-house IT staff to work through a remote-ticketing system that Tabush trained them on, and continues to monitor.

 Working with Tabush has made managing our organization’s technology requirements just that much easier. They’ve empowered my team with:

• Tools that can auto-negotiate scripts and be delivered seamlessly to well over 300 machines;
• Remote-access software to provide help-desk support across multiple sites; and
• “On-the-spot” network support for all critical matters.

One of the realizations any technology professional must face is that internal resources are limited. Therefore, it’s important to build a partnership that further enables resources with a collection of tools, and a healthy relationship with an outside team. Tabush values our partnership and understands the importance of the work that The Bronx Defenders does.  They continue to improve on assurances so my life is easier, but more importantly, so my staff can work worry-free from any technology-related issues.

Jesus Perez, CAPM
Director of Technology & Evaluation
The Bronx Defenders 

An Excellent Partnership

To this day, Tabush Group and The Bronx Defenders maintain what can only be described as an excellent partnership. Currently, Tabush is expanding the use of The Bronx Defenders data center by tweaking the existing platform to be even more user friendly. By setting a standard for remote access, mobile use, and getting these systems in motion, The Bronx Defenders continues to grow stronger every day with Tabush as its IT backbone. Through monthly meetings with the key players in this relationship, Tabush ensures The Bronx Defenders IT system excels and grows as the organization does.

 Tabush has built a platform to deliver customer support that completely distinguishes itself from other MSPs. Just this alone highlights what I like about the services provided by their team. But they don’t stop here— Tabush concentrates on promoting the “human factor” first; this makes the delivery of technological solutions more applicable and approachable. At no point in time do I feel disconnected with how our network infrastructure works.

More importantly, what Tabush does on an on-going basis is to assure our IT systems remain healthy. They work with a team-structured model much like that of our own organization’s program services. We know first-hand how a team-centered model works to deliver performance on services.

We also recognize and applaud Tabush for working in unison with our own internal teams. This has built the foundation for a unified business relationship that is a model for a true service family!

Jesus Perez, CAPM
Director of Technology & Evaluation
The Bronx Defenders