According to our partners at the NCVO, charities are at the front line of the cost of living crisis. Supporters are reducing their giving as they control their personal finances, whilst demand for charitable services goes up and inflation increases the costs of running those services. The NCVO are offering support and resources to their…
Microsoft Azure is an incredibly powerful Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) platform, but costs can quickly escalate if not carefully managed. “Out of the box” default configurations are often over-specified, storage over-provisioned, and backups are missing Surprisingly few organisations optimise their Azure configuration, make use of discounts, or regularly review their setup – meaning…
Welcome to the Smartdesc October newsletter! Smartdesc are NCVO-approved charity sector experts, supporting charities and Not for Profits to achieve more with their technology and modern ways of working. This month we focus on hybrid working, how to win the hearts and minds of your hybrid workforce, and the evolution of the IT department. Resources …
Many charities struggle with laborious processes, pulling data between systems, and manipulating in Excel; it’s time consuming and prone to human error. Process Automation is simple and cost-effective and Microsoft 365 tools are low cost or free. In this case study we talk through how low-cost automation tools that are included in Microsoft 365 benefited…
Common mistakes charities make with Information Governance (IG) Many charities and non-profits approach us because they do not have an information Governance structure, sufficient processes, or training in place to ensure that data is being processed correctly and securely. This almost always is simply down to resource capacity and budget, which is of course understandable.…
On May 10, 2022, as part of the Queen’s Speech, the UK government announced its intention to introduce a Data Reform Bill.
Internet Explorer 11 Retirement: Internet Explorer to Microsoft Edge Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) will officially retire on 15th June 2022. This means that the IE11 desktop application will be retired from the 15th June and will not be supported from that date. After 15th June, the IE11 desktop application will be removed from in-scope versions…
Launched in October 2021, Microsoft Windows 11 is the latest Microsoft Operating System (OS) for PCs. A free upgrade has been rolled out to Windows 10 computers that meet the hardware specification, so you may have noticed a message offering you to upgrade already. New PCs are now starting to come pre-loaded with Windows 11…
According to the UK government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2021, a quarter of charities (26%) reported having cyber security breaches or attacks in the last 12 months. The risk is high for all organisations; email (phishing) remains the most successful method. Preparing for what to do should the worst happen is almost as important as preventative…
Microsoft Price increases As we all know, cost of living rises are a hot topic at the moment. Microsoft announced last year that they too will be increasing their prices in 2022 – some by as much as 20%. These price increases will start from the 1st March this year and is summarised in the…
