Welcome to the Smartdesc March newsletter. We are nonprofit IT specialists who enable organisations to deliver more through better use of technology. This month, we are excited to share details of our Charity Leaders Summer Social on Thursday 5 June at Microsoft London. This is a brilliant opportunity to get to know charity peers in…
Welcome to the Smartdesc February newsletter. This month, we’re thrilled to launch our annual Charity Technology Leaders Survey – your opportunity to shape insights for technology leaders in the not-for-profit space, in partnership with Charity IT Leaders. We also feature a useful blog ahead of the PSTN switch off, upcoming charity IT roundtables with Microsoft, and…
Each year we conduct a Charity Technology Leaders survey to listen to sector leaders and understand their priorities around IT for the year ahead. We identify common themes and trends and share this back in the form of a report. You can read last year’s report here, or watch our LinkedIn Live video where we…
Welcome to the Smartdesc January newsletter. At the start of a new year, we feature a useful blog on how to build your IT strategy without being a techie. We also share some exciting new services on offer as part of our partnership with Academia Technology Group, including full device lifecycle management, and cheaper, optimised…
Welcome to the Smartdesc November newsletter. This month, we share some useful resources on how to avoid recent Dropbox phishing attacks, how to build an IT Strategy without significant in-house expertise, and how we helped the national charity Mind achieve ISO 27001 certification – in case this is something you are considering at your organisation. We…
What is ISO 27001? ISO 27001 is an international standard for Information Security Management and provides a framework of good practice, including: Risk management Risk-based decision making Proportionate controls A checklist of good practice Why Mind chose ISO 27001 Charities are increasingly reliant on data and technology to deliver their missions. It is important that…
Welcome to the Smartdesc October newsletter. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month, so we’ve included some useful resources on achieving Cyber Essentials, and the key areas charity leaders should be focusing on to improve their cyber security. You can also benefit from free cyber and data protection consultations with one of our subject matter experts.…
We are excited to publish our Charity Technology Leaders Report 2024. From January to March 2024, we conducted our second annual survey of charity technology leaders to understand the sector’s priorities, risks, challenges and opportunities around IT. The report summarises the key findings for charity IT leaders, draws out the main themes and trends, and…
Last week we held our third Quarterly Charity Technology Roundtable, hosted by Microsoft Tech for Social Impact. In this blog, we summarise our discussion on cyber security, including risk management, BYOD, reducing risk of human error and systems gatekeeping. Compliance Frameworks, Risk Management, Reporting It is good practice to define the framework(s) or standard(s) that are…
Keeping on top of the ever-changing licensing needs of your organisation can be a demanding job. Now, more than ever, it’s critical to ensure your Microsoft license estate is lean, optimised, and as cost effective as possible. As Microsoft partners and non-profit specialists, we are qualified Direct Cloud Solution Partners (CSP) who can help you navigate…
