Case Study Update: California Association of Professional Employees

Partnership Drives Success, Innovation for California Nonprofit

When Carmen Lopez, the administrative supervisor for the California Association of Professional Employees (CAPE), first decided to replace a less-than-engaged IT support partner in late 2020, she had a plan in mind. After navigating through COVID, she knew it was time to find a managed IT services provider (MSP) to guide the nonprofit organization through plotting out a long-term technology plan. Carmen had enough on her plate without worrying about downtime, cyber attacks, or having to spring an emergency IT expenditure on the CAPE board of directors.

Fast forward to 2025, and Carmen says the plan is unfolding nicely—layers of IT improvement supported by reliable, stable infrastructure handled by MSP Exigent Technologies, with CAPE’s dedicated Technical Advisor, Marius de Munnink, at the helm. “I feel like we’ve arrived! Before we had our most recent meeting with Marius, he sent over the screenshot of our IT roadmap, and you can see what we’ve done so far and what’s next—it’s really great.”

The Exigent Method Roadmap Offers Stability to LA Nonprofit

After Exigent stabilized CAPE’s IT environment with its Assurance Managed Services, Marius worked with Carmen to create priorities that helped the nonprofit move methodically toward its goals. Not only was that the long-term view Carmen craved, but a clear roadmap that helped her to manage approvals with the organization’s board of directors, enabling smoother transitions from one IT project to the next.

“We’ve been so happy with Exigent. We’ve progressed through that roadmap, so we are in proactive preventative mode instead of putting out fires,” she notes. For example, the organization recently invested in a new server, a project that Carmen could present to the board with a timeline showing that this investment would support the nonprofit’s needs for 7 to 10 years, making the funding request much more palatable.

“I truly love that we’re caught up and able to decide our next steps without the pressure. Exigent’s team comes to us and shows us what’s happening now, next year, and five years from now. Then we can create a plan that allows for all those needs.  And, at every step of the way, they nicely translate the things I need to know. They explain the technology simply and thoroughly to me, and then I can tell the board.”

Read how CAPE connected and selected Exigent as its MSP

Business Resiliency Tops List of CAPE Priorities Moving Forward

In its four years with Exigent, CAPE has tackled improvements both large and small—a Windows 11 update, new laptops, an upgraded server, expanded cybersecurity, and Wi-Fi improvements. Next on the list – business continuity.  With an office located in LA, CAPE has weathered everything from COVID to wildfires in the last few years, and Carmen fully understands that a business continuity plan is key.

“Every year, we have to apply and complete these long cyber liability insurance checklists, and Exigent works through them with us,” explains Carmen. With business continuity planning often covered in those questionnaires, Carmen knew that CAPE needed to address every aspect of cybersecurity, including resiliency planning. “Every year the list of questions grows, and I know we are still not there yet,” she says. “Having a full incident response plan is next on our list. We need to be prepared if the power is out, the fires are too close, or there’s a breach.”

While Carmen sings the praises of Exigent’s approach, she also does her part to engage in the partnership. “I am putting together copies of past plans, relevant SOPs, and our past cyber liability questionnaires to help us get off to a good start. I’m looking forward to working with the team to pull it all together with documentation and policies in place to support the plan.” She stresses that any organization working with an MSP has to participate in the collaboration for success. “We tackle these issues together, and that has worked out so well for us.”

Transition to Exigent’s Strategic Account Management Model

CAPE was among the Exigent customers who transitioned from the traditional account executive model led by the sales team to the strategic account management process that pairs experienced technical advisors with each customer. An imperative element of The Exigent Method, those technical advisors, such as Marius, serve as virtual IT leaders, providing insight, guidance, and best practices while driving the roadmap and improvement cycle for each organization. For CAPE, the transition was simple, and Carmen believes the model creates a unique value.

“I have so much appreciation for the talent that Exigent brings, plus Marius is a great guy; that combination makes it so easy for us,” commented Carmen. “I absolutely think the technical advisor approach is the sweet spot. I work with professionals on our board, and they want the details. We have to be so meticulous, and Exigent serves as ‘my person’ when it comes to technology. The whole team supports Marius as he guides us through priorities, technologies, and the next steps.”

Carmen uses the example of the Wi-Fi update, a proposal she delivered to the board that was approved in the same meeting. “I was able to answer the questions from the board, I could share who I worked with and what I learned. They were happy with that and signed off. Now, Tony has us in the project queue, and we know exactly what is happening next. Having all the preparation in place is amazing. I don’t like surprises, and neither does our board. Exigent keeps that from happening.”