Background
Grace Inspired Living is a faith-based nonprofit organization committed to providing high-quality, compassionate senior living communities throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Grace Inspired Living oversees a network of affiliated communities, including continuing care retirement communities, assisted living, and skilled nursing facilities. Like many mission-driven organizations, Grace Inspired Living recognized the need to modernize its IT and security infrastructure to support operations, protect resident data, and comply with healthcare and privacy regulations.
Challenges
Grace Inspired Living faced several key challenges:
- Outdated IT Infrastructure: Legacy servers, unsupported hardware, and limited wireless coverage created reliability, performance, and security risks across facilities.
- No Security Management Program: With no dedicated security staff or formal cybersecurity governance, Grace Inspired Living lacked visibility into threats and compliance gaps.
- Basic IT Knowledge and Limited Resources: The internal team had general IT familiarity but limited experience in advanced security operations or cloud infrastructure, increasing reliance on external expertise.
Engagement with Simulint
Alpine Cyber, a Simulint company, began its engagement with Grace Inspired Living in 2018. Over the course of six years, Alpine Cyber provided comprehensive modernization and security services, delivered in stages to align with the client’s budget and operational readiness. Recently Grace adopted Simulint’s Bluesphere ShieldTM services, our industry leading MDR solution delivering 24/7 support and real-time visibility though the Bluesphere mobile application.
Key Services Provided:
- IT Modernization
– Transitioned from legacy systems to modern cloud-based infrastructure.
– Replaced on-premises servers with secure cloud workloads for scalability and efficiency.
– Upgraded wireless infrastructure to support mobility and resident care operations.
– Migrated IT environment to AWS; implementing M365 for identity access management.
- Bluesphere ShieldTM Implementation
– Implemented 24/7 Managed Detection and Response (MDR), continuous vulnerability scanning and remediation, tracking threat monitoring and incident response.
– Deployed advanced email security to prevent phishing and malware delivery.
– Rolled out phishing simulations and user security awareness training.
– Deployed managed patching across systems to reduce exploit risk.
– Introduced user-based password management tools to enforce strong authentication practices. - Penetration Testing
– Identified vulnerabilities via external web application and perimeter penetration testing
– Performed internal network penetration testing to identify lateral movement risks. - Elevated IT Support
Implementation Timeline
- 2018–2019 – Kickoff & Cloud Transformation
– Initial assessment and strategy development led to the replacement of on-premises servers with scalable cloud workloads. Merged two organizations networks into a single network. - 2020 – Network Modernization
– Upgraded wireless infrastructure across facilities and modernized aging server hardware. - 2022 – Full-Stack Managed Security Deployment:
– Introduced MDR, vulnerability management, phishing training, patching, and password management tools. - 2023 – Website Migration to AWS:
– Migrated public-facing web assets to Amazon Web Services for improved performance and security. - 2024 – Tier 3 IT Support:
– Implemented ongoing elevated support services to handle complex infrastructure issues and strategic IT guidance. - 2025 – Bluesphere ShieldTM Adoption:
– Adoption of Bluesphere ShieldTM Solution Set
Results
The engagement led to measurable improvements:
- Enhanced Security Posture:
The deployment of layered security controls and ongoing user training significantly reduced technical vulnerabilities and the risk of user-driven threats. - Scalable IT Support:
Access to level 3 support enabled Grace Inspired Living to handle sophisticated IT challenges without building out a large internal team. - Improved Operational Resilience:
The shift to cloud infrastructure, regular patching, and MDR reduced downtime and positioned Grace Inspired Living to scale securely and cost-effectively.
Conclusion
By progressively implementing cloud infrastructure and layered security services, Grace Inspired Living has built a resilient and secure IT environment capable of supporting its mission and protecting sensitive resident data. The organization remains a client of Simulint, relying on its team for continued security operations and strategic technology guidance.
