Who is "Ascend Dallas"?

Ascend Dallas is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping women and families build stronger futures through maternal health, financial empowerment, and workforce development. Through programs like Nurse-Family Partnership and Economic Advancement, Ascend Dallas provides support for first-time mothers, healthy child development, financial coaching, and career resources to help families achieve long-term stability and success.

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1. Can you introduce yourself, such as your name, role, the company you work for, and a bit about what your company does?
My name is Kitty Surve, and I serve as the HR Director at Ascend Dallas.

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Ascend Dallas is a nonprofit organization that empowers women and families through two core programs: Nurse-Family Partnership, which supports first-time mothers and healthy child development, and Economic Advancement, which provides financial coaching, workforce development, and wealth-building services. By integrating maternal health, economic mobility, and family support, Ascend Dallas helps families build stable, healthy, and financially secure futures across generations.

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2. What were the main/biggest challenges that you were facing before partnering with Network Elites?
Before partnering with Network Elites, one of our biggest challenges was the lack of communication, transparency, and operational visibility with our previous IT vendor. As an organization, we often did not have a clear understanding of our IT environment, systems, ongoing projects, or the reasoning behind certain technology decisions. This created confusion, delays, and difficulty in planning strategically.

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3. How did these issues affect your productivity and overall operations for your business?
The lack of visibility and communication impacted both productivity and operational efficiency. Simple tasks often took longer than necessary because there was limited understanding of our systems, limited documentation, and very little collaboration between the vendor and our internal teams. Decision-making became more reactive instead of proactive, and it was difficult to confidently plan for growth, security, and operational improvements without clear guidance or transparency.

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4. What motivated you to start searching for a managed service provider, and what were you looking for in an MSP partner?
We were looking for a true partner—not just an IT vendor. We wanted a managed service provider that would involve our organization in IT oversight, educate us on our environment, and help us better understand our systems, products, risks, and opportunities. We needed a team that would communicate openly, provide strategic guidance, and act as an extension of our organization rather than simply responding to tickets.

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For me personally, stepping into IT oversight without a deep technical background was intimidating, so it was important to find a partner that was patient, collaborative, transparent, and willing to explain the “why” behind decisions in a way that was understandable and actionable.
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5. What services did you find are the most helpful to your business?
The 24/7 support for our entire agency has been a game changer. As the primary point of contact for IT internally, having access to a responsive and knowledgeable support team has made an enormous difference.
I come from an HR background and did not have extensive IT expertise, but the team at Network Elites has always been professional, courteous, patient, and incredibly supportive. No matter how many questions I ask, they consistently take the time to explain things thoroughly and guide me through processes.

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Today, I have a much stronger understanding of our organization’s technology environment, which has made decision-making more efficient, strategic, and less time-consuming. A lot of that growth would not have been possible without the ongoing support of the Network Elites team, especially Aly Omar and Brandon Cook.
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6. Is there a specific service or experience that Network Elites provided that stood out to you the most?
One of the things that stood out the most was the level of support and partnership they provided while I was transitioning into overseeing IT operations for the organization. There was a tremendous amount to learn, understand, and navigate, and Aly, Brandon, and the entire support team were incredibly patient throughout the process.

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I especially want to recognize Brandon Cook for the guidance and support he has consistently provided. He has helped me better understand our IT environment and the reasoning behind many of the decisions and processes we implement. His ability to break things down, provide context, and offer strategic insight has had a tremendous impact on my confidence and ability to make informed decisions.

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Projects such as the kiosk setup and the monumental shared drive access restructuring would not have been completed as efficiently and successfully as they were without their support, responsiveness, and expertise. Their partnership truly helped us accomplish complex projects in record time.

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7. What were the results and/or improvements that your business saw?
The biggest improvements we experienced were increased efficiency, better communication, and greater operational transparency.
We now have a much clearer understanding of our technology environment, user access, systems, and infrastructure. This has streamlined decision-making, reduced delays, improved accountability, and allowed us to operate more proactively rather than reactively.

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The partnership has also saved us significant time internally because issues are resolved faster, projects are managed more effectively, and there is ongoing collaboration instead of confusion or uncertainty.
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8. Why would you recommend Network Elites to someone who might be on the fence about partnering with an MSP?
I would absolutely recommend Network Elites to any organization looking for a true strategic IT partner. They do much more than provide technical support—they invest time in understanding your organization, educating your team, and helping you build systems and processes that support long-term operational success.

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Their responsiveness, professionalism, transparency, and willingness to collaborate set them apart. They make complex technology understandable and manageable, even for individuals without a technical background.
Most importantly, they genuinely care about the success of the organizations they support, and that shows in every interaction.
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9. Is there anything else you would like to comment on regarding our business or services?
I truly cannot say enough positive things about the Network Elites team. Every member of the team has been professional, courteous, knowledgeable, responsive, and dependable. In my 20-year career, I have not worked with another IT support team that consistently checks all the boxes the way they do.

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Their follow-through, customer service, patience, and commitment to helping their clients succeed are exceptional, and we are incredibly grateful for their partnership and support.