The Challenge
Lifeway Services is a human services and residential services agency that provides support to individuals with intellectual disabilities. With both office locations and residential homes to support, Lifeway depends on technology that is reliable, understandable, and properly managed behind the scenes.
The first challenge was connectivity. Lifeway had multiple locations with separate internet services, separate bills, and a growing amount of coordination to manage. For an organization focused on serving people, keeping track of many separate connectivity relationships created unnecessary complexity.
The second challenge was phone reliability across residential locations. Lifeway needed dependable phone service for daily communication and emergency readiness. In a residential services environment, phones are not just office tools. They help staff stay connected and support continuity when communication matters most.
After Calico Systems completed the connectivity and phone reliability projects, Lifeway faced a broader IT support decision. Their existing technology environment was functional, but their larger MSP out of town was not providing the level of clarity, responsiveness, or follow-through they were looking for. Lifeway did not need technology for technology’s sake. They needed a partner located in the same community who could explain the work clearly, customize the support model around their needs, and help clean up important back-end details without disrupting day-to-day operations.
The Solution
Calico Systems approached the relationship in phases, starting with the most immediate operational needs and later expanding into managed IT support and security. Rather than forcing Lifeway into a one-size-fits-all package, Calico focused on practical improvements that made the environment easier to manage, more reliable, and better supported.
1. Simplified Connectivity Across Locations
Calico first helped Lifeway address connectivity across its office locations and residential homes. By working through a connectivity aggregator, Calico helped bring most of Lifeway’s locations into a more manageable billing structure.
This reduced billing complexity from roughly twenty separate bills down to only a handful, giving Lifeway a clearer view of its connectivity services and reducing the administrative burden of managing multiple location-based services.
Just as importantly, Calico served as a local point of coordination. Instead of leaving Lifeway to navigate provider conversations on its own, Calico helped organize the process and keep the project moving.
2. Reliable Phone Service for Communication and Emergency Readiness
Lifeway also needed more consistent phone service across its residential locations. Calico helped move those locations to a POTS replacement platform designed to support reliable communication with battery backup and cellular backup.
Calico handled the full project, including setup, transition planning, and porting management. That coordination was especially important because phone transitions involve many small details, from timing and service continuity to making sure numbers move properly.
For Lifeway, the result was a more resilient phone platform that better supported communication and emergency readiness across residential homes.
3. Local Managed IT and Security Support
After the connectivity and phone projects were completed, Lifeway moved its environment to Calico’s managed IT platform and services. The goal was not to turn Lifeway’s operations upside down. The goal was to button up the technology environment, improve visibility, and provide a more responsive support relationship.
Calico now provides Lifeway with managed endpoint support and monitoring, managed cybersecurity protection, business email and collaboration security, and browser protection. These services help keep devices monitored, users better protected, and common security risks addressed in a way that is practical for a human services organization.
The difference was not only technical. Calico’s role was also to explain what was happening, why it mattered, and how each piece fit into Lifeway’s real-world operations. Being located in the same community means Calico is not a distant vendor. It is a local technology partner close enough to understand the organization and respond personally when needed.
The Results
The result for Lifeway Services was a cleaner, more organized, and better-supported technology environment without unnecessary disruption to daily operations.
Calico helped reduce connectivity billing complexity, improve phone reliability for communication and emergency readiness, and move Lifeway to a managed IT and cybersecurity model built around clear communication and local support.
For Lifeway, the value was not just in adding services. It was in having a partner who could make the technology easier to understand and easier to manage. Calico helped clean up important back-end details so Lifeway could keep moving securely and focus on the people it serves.
That is especially important in human services, where technology is not the mission, but it has to support the mission every day. Offices need to stay connected. Residential homes need reliable communication. Staff need secure access to the tools they use. Leadership needs confidence that someone is watching the details and explaining them clearly.
“There were a lot of details to keep track of, especially with the phone transition and moving things over. Calico helped coordinate it and made sure we knew what was happening along the way.”
— Grace Dimmett, Administrative Specialist, Lifeway Services