Challenge Water Aid is an international charity that works to provide clean water and toilets to communities around the world. Like many charities, WaterAid were facing challenges in resourcing the IT Support function. Internal IT employees left the organisation, driven by the cost-of-living crisis, and the charity was unable to compete with corporate wages. This meant…
It’s been a pleasure working with all our customers, partners and colleagues this year, and we wish everyone a well-earned festive break. Smartdesc will be open as usual 8am – 6pm Monday to Friday apart from the following Public Holidays: Monday 25th December 2023 Tuesday 26th December 2023 Monday 1st January 2024 Next years’ public…
Welcome to the Smartdesc November newsletter. This month we share how charities can be more digitally mature and offer the following resources: A blog on the five key stages of digital maturity for charities with illustrations Free Microsoft Cloud Security, Cyber Security and Data Protection assessments Free instructor-led MS365 training sessions Our next Quarterly Charity…
In today’s digital age, charities need to continually adapt to leverage technology for greater impact. The digital maturity of a nonprofit plays a pivotal role in enhancing operational efficiencies, expanding reach, giving them a competitive edge and ultimately fulfilling its mission. In this blog, we explore the five key stages of digital maturity for nonprofit…
When I learnt that women only make up 26% of the tech workforce, and that over half of women in tech leave the industry before the age of 35 citing ‘non-inclusive’ company culture as the reason behind this decision, it is clear why events like the Women in Tech Festival are so important. It is…
On 25 January 2024, we held our quarterly Charity Technology Roundtable in partnership with Microsoft Tech for Social Impact. We focused on the topic of getting IT resourcing right, discussing areas around: How are charities tacking the IT resourcing challenge? What models exist for for hybrid / co-managed IT team structures? How can hybrid / co-managed…
We are delighted and proud to announce that Smartdesc is Great Place to Work Certified! This certification recognises employers who create an exceptional employee experience and an outstanding work culture. Achieving this award involved sending our employees an anonymous survey on a wide range of different workplace-related questions. We are pleased to say 89% of…
Teenage Cancer Trust is a cancer care and support charity for young people established in 1990. Their team includes office-based staff, volunteers, healthcare professionals and support teams for their NHS hospital units. Challenge Teenage Cancer Trust approached Smartdesc to find a solution to both their Incidents & Complaints and Expense Claiming processes. Their previous Incident…
ACEVO is the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations. Together with their network, they inspire and support civil society leaders by providing connections, advocacy and skills. Their members include the leaders of small, community based groups, ambitious medium-sized organisations, and well known, well-loved national and international not-for-profits. ACEVO approached Smartdesc through a tender process…
Situation Mind required the IT Infrastructure to be totally transformed and needed a scalable, reliable and secure environment to be able to cope with the fast growth of the organisation, and increase in users by over 50%, in a short amount of time. A long journey began over 5 years to roll out a completely…
