Varsity Technologies

Please describe your company and your position there.

I work for a TK-8th grade public charter school located in Northern California. We have 5 schools and a central office.

For what projects/services did your company hire Varsity Technologies?

We hired Varsity Technologies to support 3 of our locations with IT support. Varsity is supporting 2 school sites and our central/network office. The support they are providing is day-to-day IT help and supporting me with thought partnership around our technology planning.

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We selected this vendor because their vision aligned with the work we are doing and specifically because they are familiar with working with schools. The things that led us to this decision were the people from Varsity, the amount of services and help they were willing to providing and the cost. We previously worked with another company who although they had the technical expertise, they weren't familiar with the school environment and that led to some challenges. We were excited to work with Varsity because of their experience with the work we do.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Varsity Technology provides technology support to three of our locations. This includes managing support ticket requests where they provide remote and on-site technology support. Varsity and I also have regular meetings where they support me with upcoming technology planning including roadmapping, budget planning, etc.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked with the onboarding specialist, the director of operations, the engineering team and our assigned field technician during the onboarding process. I worked regularly with the client success manager for regular check ins and planning. We've also worked closely with the field technician since he is the most familiar with our set up and he is the one on site regularly to provide in person support. I've met with the CEO and president as well a few times to check in on how things are going and to touch base on difference aspects of the project.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Within the first few weeks of working with Varsity, I've heard so many positive comments from the staff at each location with how impressed they are, how much they've found Varsity helpful and with how grateful they are that we are working with Varsity. To me, that shows how successful it has been because my main goal is that my staff feels supported with technology and they've all been raving to me (unprompted) with how great it is to work with Varsity.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It has been great. Varsity is very good with communication, sending things out in a timely manner and following up as needed. I know who I need to reach out to for different questions and I know how to contact them. This has allowed the workflow to run smoothly. Varsity is very organized and has great systems in place to allow all work to get done as expected.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

There are so many things that impress me about Varsity but there are two main things that stand out to me. The first is there specialization in supporting schools and non profits. This is huge to us because we need a company that understands our needs and is able to support us accordingly. The second is the willingness and friendliness of all Varsity staff. No matter who I am talking to, everyone has been so helpful, patient and supportive. It makes working with them a joy.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

At this time there isn't anything they could be doing differently. I'm so impressed with them and I'm looking forward to working with them for many years to come.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Peninsula Family Service provides comprehensive services that support individuals and families at various stages of life. Originally a small organization founded in 1950, Peninsula Family Service has grown to recognize the need for innovative, professionally-led, locally-targeted solutions to secure the wellness and stability of our neighbors. The community has rallied behind this mission, providing fundraising support and volunteers to establish and grow expert-led programs.

The Bay Area has grown and evolved over many decades, and we have been there every step of the way – providing support, caring for our neighbors, and becoming a deeply trusted part of this community. We are grateful to share our legacy and ongoing mission with so many members of our community, as we continue to bring support, education, and resources to those who need it most. CFO

For what projects/services did your company hire Varsity Technologies?

PFS relies on Varsity for management support, and IT strategic services.

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

PFS went through a through selection process. It was import to find a IT provider that had knowledge and background in supporting non-for-profits.

Describe the project in detail and walk through their service package.

Varsity provides our organization with full managed IT services, consulting, and cybersecurity. As part of that, we rely on them to assist us with workplace performance, technology innovations, risk and compliance. We are working with Varsity to move us full to Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365 in 2022.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Varsity has a great team that provides help desk, field, engineers, and ongoing management planning. What is best is that we've had the opportunity to work with the same people that are assigned to us. We have direct relationships with the Founder/CEO and the executive team.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The biggest asset is the great team that Varsity has. They are able to effectively communicate through different stages of the project from assessment through requirements and follow up post implementation.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We have a great working relationship from the support to interactions with the management team. And we always know that we can call or text the execs at Varsity and they will respond.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The team is the greatest asset. It is a pleasure to collaborate not only on big projects but also on day-to-day operations.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

N/A

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Senior Director of the Marketing and Communications at Grace Cathedral. We are a 100+ year old organization and have over 50 employees.

For what projects/services did your company hire Varsity Technologies?

We use Varsity are our outsourced IT organization. They do everything from wiring up our building, setting up lap tops, running our entire website and troubleshooting.

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

I was not part of the vendor selection process. They have been a trusted IT organization with Grace Cathedral for 10+ years.

Describe the project in detail and walk through their service package.

From my personal experience, Varsity Tech support responds to all of our helpdesk ticket requests. They do it very quickly and spend the time to ensure that things are working. They also send staff from their team to come on site and help us as needed. A lot of our staff at Grace are not very tech savvy and Varsity is extremely patient with them.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

I have worked with approximately 5 different team members from Varsity and even the founder. The expertise vary from junior IT helpdesk personnel to back end Web Server support. They are all stellar.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We migrated from a shared service for our web site to a dedicated service with WP Engine. While it seems like a small task, it was something that Grace Cathedral had not undertaken in the past. Varsity assigned Dan Pham to stay with me through the weekend and we both made sure the the move did not crash our website. This was extra critical to have someone on site over the weekend because that actually was a peak time of activity for our organization.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

For the example I listed above the planning and migration went very well. We worked with 2 other external parties and we all knew our roles and responsibilities.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The founder takes a keen interest in ensuring excellent customer service. All of the employees are very well trained, very patient and over all very nice people. -- Working IT Helpdesk is not an easy job and customers can be a bit wonky. Varsity team really know how to work with us!

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Nope.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the administrator for a small grantmaking organization that invests $10-$14MM in nonprofit organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area.

For what projects/services did your company hire Varsity Technologies?

As a small nonprofit, we needed assistance managing both technology and technology strategy for our work to amplify the impact of Bay Area nonprofits. Working with Varsity Technologies allows us to keep our toolkit not only current, but forward-looking, and ensuring that we're responsive to community need.

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Varsity's commitment to the nonprofit sector mirrors our own. Their understanding of our operations and our responsibility to wise use of digital tools allowed us to collaborate together on solutions.

Describe the project in detail and walk through their service package.

Varsity manages our business suite and cloud solutions and integrations with our grantmaking software tools, and is there for special projects that strengthen our cybersecurity: from user practice to device management to SSO to privacy.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We started our relationship with the President, and have had unfettered access to COO, lead engineers, sourcing, and tech support staff, knitted together by effective CSR.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Varsity routinely allows us to pilot new products and create shared learning about the appropriateness of technologies for grantmakers. In the meantime, our small staff of 10 feels supported and confident about the tools they manage for us.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Varsity is committed to using strong and effective ticketing systems that keep up apprised of progress on open issues and new projects. We have open channels to key staff and management.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Varsity has remained committed to the nonprofit sector and has committed to diversifying its own workforce. It's important to us to see how they are opening doors and supporting the careers of women and BIPOC technologists.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Varsity continues to take the pulse of our staff to make sure service meets expectations and keeps me on a monthly feedback schedule in addition to project debriefs. We know we all have to think about how to do things better, and I feel comfortable anytime Varsity wants me to reflect on where they want to improve.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of San Francisco Pretrial Diversion Project, a nonprofit, community-based pretrial services agency. We provide a comprehensive range of services, including arranging in-custody release, diversion, owner-cognizant court team, and supervision and release. We’ve operated for 45 years and are embedded in San Francisco’s criminal justice system.

What challenge were you trying to address with Varsity Technologies?

As most companies, we rely on technology to run our agency. We collect sensitive criminal justice data and run a process to input it into an algorithm that generates reports for the courts. Therefore, we need to manage the data and track outcomes.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Varsity Technologies provides basic IT services. They offer a wide range of support and serve our needs. We track outcomes from everything from case management services and releases to public safety court appearances and more. Overall, they manage our entire technology platform.

Additionally, they’ve purchased and installed software over the years.

What is the team composition?

The number of team members ranges based on the project. We’ve had some large-scale implementations where we’ve needed to accommodate a 24/7 operation. There’d be about 5–6 people from Varsity Technologies’ team at those points.

On a daily basis, we have access to their support line. Since we operate 24/7, every day of the year, including holidays, their support lines work with us day and night because we can’t afford our network to go down. They’re on call for us, and they have one main person working in the office to provide hands-on support.

Finally, we’re in contact with a couple of people from their management team — we constantly meet with them to coordinate for additional services.

How did you come to work with Varsity Technologies?

Over the last three years, we’d tripled our size, so we needed a technology company that could keep up with that growth and our sophisticated operation and handle all the new technology we had to implement. Our COO found them and brought them on board.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve probably spent between $250,000–$500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2018, and our relationship is ongoing.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Everything works within our metrics.

How did Varsity Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve always done an excellent job, and they’re very accessible. We communicate with them in person or through email and phone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We appreciate their responsiveness. Also, they’ve demonstrated a wide range of knowledge on the technology we use even though we’re a specialized industry. Overall, they’re good people, and we appreciate them as partners, collaborators, and effective problem solvers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There have been challenges in some of the projects we’ve implemented, but I think they’ve been related to the number of people we had to support the implementation. However, those issues are related to how much we can afford as a nonprofit. If we could spend more money, we’d do it. It isn’t always their fault.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be very thorough about your need and outline a plan that everyone can look back at if there’s a challenge. Also, create a realistic scope of work and make sure everyone understands it.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Office Manger for 4Cs. 4Cs provide childcare for low-income families and subsidized care with the mission that every child pre-K services.

For what projects/services did your company hire Varsity Technologies?

Provide Manage IT services for the organization. I was not involved with bringing on Varsity initially but am responsible for making sure Varsity is the best cultural and technological fit for the organization as well as compliant with state regulations.

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

As a non-profit, we have fiscal responsibility to make certain our federal dollars are spent appropriately. Varsity is also focused on the non-profit space and therefore their staff understands our needs.

Describe the project in detail and walk through their service package.

Managed IT services are Varsity's primary services for 4Cs. Primarily network and desktop support.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

I work with Anna and Kevin primarily. Anna and Kevin for equipment purchase. Baise, Michael, and Estifanos for field technician services. On the service desk, I do work with everyone but primarily Brenden.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

3 areas where Varsity overperforms. Estifanos has really shined in helping our staff and elevating our technological capabilities since the pandemic. He has been instrumental in getting the 4Cs to a higher level. Kevin also worked to help make all the purchasing requirements move forward. Brenden is the most amazing service desk person. He follow through on technology issues is always excellent. I refer to them as our Dream Team. These individuals are the primary reason why the 4Cs renewing our contract.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Kevin, Brenden, and Estifanos are the primary people I work with and their service has been excellent.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

I am surprised at the level of customer service from a tech company. Varsity personnel are very patient especially working with our staff which technologically savvy. Varsity is very caring and the never make our staff feel inadequate.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Lack of continuity with the service desk. Turnover is expected but could be managed a little better. Varsity did, however, assign Brenden who really understands and knows our organization.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Mission Graduates is an organization which helps students to prepare, get into, and graduate from college. Focus on serving LatinX, immigrants, and Black youth and families. I am the CEO of the organization.

For what projects/services did your company hire Varsity Technologies?

Hired Varsity to be the organization's managed IT provider.

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We were not happy with current provider at the time. I had our CFO reach out to a few different firms and we selected Varsity. For our organization, supporting our staff and translating IT into a language our staff is comfortable with was the primary factor in our decision. We also looked for a provider that could help us scale our program operations to multiple sites.

Describe the project in detail and walk through their service package.

At the time, we grew to new school sites and need functioning connectivity for staff at a school site which is separate from the school district's IT connection.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

The CFO at the time made the decision.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We have been able to successfully scale to five new sites since our partnership with Varsity. Our goal is to typically add 1- 2 new sites every year.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Their manager has been helpful with translating technology issues and processes into a language we can understand. Terrance is also very helpful and elevates his work beyond satisfaction in order for staff to understand technology appropriately.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

As a result of feedback from us to Varsity, Patrick was able to put a texting platform in place which helped with a work solution for students and staff to accommodate a communication solution around a school district's guidelines.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Requisition process during a supply shortage could be improved with better relationship with a vendor.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the information systems manager at a foster care agency. I act as the liaison between our company and our IT partner.

What challenge were you trying to address with Varsity Technologies?

We needed someone to help us with our IT needs.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Varsity Technologies provides a wide range of IT services. They manage all of our hardware, including mobile phones and laptops. We also have a virtual desktop that they maintain. Their work is a combination of both on-site and remote support. 

If needed, they give us recommendations on how to upgrade our systems. The Varsity Technologies team has also helped us with various other projects, like conducting a security awareness seminar.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact is a client success manager. We’ve also worked closely with their VP of operations.

Meanwhile, there are around six people on their help desk team. We also have a designated field technician.

How did you come to work with Varsity Technologies?

We already had a long-term relationship with Varsity Technologies before this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in January 2020, and it’s ongoing.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

We’ve conducted some staff satisfaction surveys, and the results have been highly positive. Furthermore, the Varsity Technologies team has really made our systems more secure.

How did Varsity Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management skills are great. They have a helpdesk that we can access via phone call and email. We also have weekly meetings to review our ongoing projects.

We’ve recently been having daily correspondence through Microsoft Teams, and it’s worked out really well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Varsity Technologies is a very personable team. They have the right mindset, so they’re always very helpful.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their ticketing system is a bit convoluted. Sometimes our tickets get buried, so they definitely need to improve the system.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be transparent and let them know everything they need to fulfill your needs.

Please describe your company and your position there.

As one of the world's leading and largest graduate business schools, that brings together people, cultures, and ideas to change lives and transform business and society. My position as Operations Manager is to oversee the operational activities at the Hub.

For what projects/services did your company hire Varsity Technologies?

New Hub creation where we needed help with building design and startup. In addition, we needed ongoing support to work with our other teams in located in Asia, Abu Dhabi and Europe campus.

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Varsity was selected among multiple vendors. Our criteria were experience, reputation, and specific understanding of higher education needs, especially in startup hub with building construction. Varsity had all of these along with more than 15 campus projects to their name and currently supported higher education customers.

Describe the project in detail and walk through their service package.

Varsity provides project deployment services and works seamlessly with our internal IT located in Asia and Europe. Their deployment included assistance with IT related to build-out and AV deployment and IT infrastructure deployment. Their services include direct support for users, staff, and classroom support in addition to services for back office IT administrations in conjunction with our IT team in Asia and Europe.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We work with the executive team at Varsity along with our field technician.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Successfully opening and startup of the new Hub in San Francisco.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

• Integration of IT systems with the school in Europe and Asia
• Coordination of operations and procedure needs

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

• ‘Client first’ approach. Varsity is customer-oriented and not only listens but provides solutions
• Regular check-ins

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Nothing to add here as we speak regularly.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Goldman Environmental Foundation -- I am the Deputy Director - I manage all daily operations, oversee events and programming. I am also in charge of the tour.

For what projects/services did your company hire Varsity Technologies?

At the time of selection, we were looking at Varsity for our Managed IT Services.

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Selected Varsity based on a referral from one of our board members who was a current client.

Describe the project in detail and walk through their service package.

At the time, Goldman Environmental was having numerous challenges with their current IT provider. Lack of response and not able to solve some of the ongoing IT issues the organization was facing. We then hired Varsity.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Working with Sr. Engineer, Field Tech, COO.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

From a support perspective, our employees needed desktop support. Varsity's service is much quicker and they provide more successful outcomes.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Workflow is much better with quicker response.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Remote working has been a challenge with the pandemic with home bandwidth issues. Varsity is still able to address and resolve those issues.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

There have been issues but they do get resolved and worked through.