Cloud technology transformed HACA’s operations and secured its mission
The Housing Authority of the City of Austin transition to Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365, boosting resilience and security to better serve vulnerable populations.
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Industry
Government
Challenge
HACA experienced critical downtime during a severe winter storm, highlighting vulnerabilities with its on-premises infrastructure and limited remote work capabilities.
Outcome Rackspace Technology successfully migrated HACA to Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365, significantly improving operational resilience and business continuity and strengthening security. Solutions Optimizer+ Platforms Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft AzureProfessional & Managed Services
Professional ServicesCustomer
The Housing Authority of the City of Austin (HACA) is a public-sector entity dedicated to assisting low-income families by providing essential housing services to the most vulnerable populations. Through portals and digital platforms, HACA manages housing assistance, voucher programs and resident services. With approximately 240 staff members and numerous Austin families, HACA prioritizes operational continuity and security to ensure uninterrupted access to critical services.
"We help people, and that's what makes me most proud of our work,” explains Jorge Vazquez, Director of Technology Management and Innovation at HACA. “We have a direct impact on the lives of individuals and families, particularly children, by providing homes they might not otherwise have access to. Families going through rough patches can come to us, and through our programs, we’re able to assist them."
“We're a government agency. So we needed a partner who was familiar with working within government. We saw that Rackspace had a large implementation with a government agency and it came recommended by the state."
Situation
HACA heavily relied on on-premises technology and various free or open-source tools, a legacy from the emergency adaptations of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, a nearly literal perfect storm of events created an urgent need to transition to a robust, cloud-based environment.
That February, a severe winter storm in Texas led to six days of complete operational downtime for HACA due to a prolonged power failure. About a month later, a fire in its office building and subsequent flooding due to the fire suppression system, came perilously close to knocking the organization offline once again.
"Water started dripping into our first floor near our server room. It wasn’t affected, but it was so close to it that after experiencing back-to-back disruptions, it became clear our future depended on moving to the cloud,” recalled Vazquez.
At the time, nearly 60% of the workforce was working remotely. However, the existing infrastructure lacked the resilience and redundancy needed to keep operations running during the outage. Employees were also juggling multiple productivity tools, making it difficult to maintain consistent workflows and locate critical documents. Recognizing these issues, HACA decided to move to Microsoft Azure for a more reliable cloud infrastructure and Microsoft 365 to strengthen collaboration.
As a government entity, HACA was required to keep costs low and operate within strict contract regulations. After multiple unsuccessful attempts to set up Microsoft 365 tenants, HACA recognized the need for external expertise.
“The professional approach and meticulous documentation that Rackspace provided to us were exceptional. Our team understood our compliance requirements, simplified our administration and ensured minimal disruptions during our migration.”
Solution
“We used a consulting firm to help us sift through the technology vendors,” recalled Vazquez. “Together, we narrowed it down to Rackspace as the best vendor.
“We’re a government agency. So that plays into a lot of the decisions that we make. We needed a partner who was familiar with working within government. We saw that Rackspace had a large implementation with a government agency, and they came recommended by the state.”
The Rackspace Professional Services team developed and executed a comprehensive migration strategy, encompassing HACAs transition to both Azure and Microsoft 365. Rackspace set up a new Microsoft 365 tenant and licenses, consolidating document sharing and its phone system within the Microsoft 365 suite.
The team also meticulously managed the complex migration of over 10 terabytes of mission-critical data. The transition included a challenging move from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365, carefully migrating 3.3 terabytes of mail data, 480 gigabytes of file storage, and consolidating multiple productivity tools into a unified platform.
Special attention was given to a large mailbox migration, converting extensive legacy data into accessible, secure SharePoint structures and configuring robust mail encryption on Microsoft Exchange. Professional services also executed an efficient and seamless single cutover migration, minimizing disruption to HACA’s daily operations.
Now, HACA can more easily meet compliance requirements (including NIST) by having all documentation centralized in its Microsoft cloud environment.
Post-migration, Rackspace provided comprehensive managed support and training. This helped facilitate user adoption and address the steep learning curve of transitioning from multiple legacy platforms to a centralized Microsoft ecosystem.
Rackspace Technology enabled the seamless migration of 373 users and over 3.7 TB of data to Microsoft 365, significantly enhancing HACA’s operational agility.
Outcome
With Rackspace expertise, HACA achieved substantial operational improvements, including enhanced business continuity, improved disaster recovery capabilities and a stronger cybersecurity posture. The new cloud infrastructure quickly proved its value, mitigating the impact of subsequent power outages.
“We had another power outage in the building a month after we cut over,” recalled Vazquez. “I could assure my leadership that we were up and running in Azure.”
By migrating and modernizing its technology stack, including upgrading servers to supported versions and consolidating disparate productivity tools into a unified platform, HACA now has a flexible and secure foundation ready for emerging technologies. Its modernized environment simplifies the integration of advanced solutions, enabling HACA to quickly adopt new digital tools, comply efficiently with evolving government standards and respond proactively to future technological demands and community needs.
“Our mission is to provide housing to people in need,” said Vazquez. “So that means the technology needs to be available 99.9% of the time. We need to have reliable security, and we need to be adaptable. All those capabilities contribute to supporting the ultimate mission of our organization — housing our community’s most vulnerable citizens.”
About Rackspace Technology
Rackspace Technology is a leading end-to-end hybrid cloud and AI solutions company. We can design, build, and operate our customers' cloud environments across all major technology platforms, irrespective of technology stack or deployment model. We partner with our customers at every stage of their cloud journey, enabling them to modernize applications, build new products, and adopt innovative technologies.
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