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…
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…
In this vlog, Adam Monks, CEO & Co-Founder of Smartdesc, and James Field, Strategy Director, look back over the main themes in technology within non-profits in 2021, and discuss the key IT challenges that charities will be focussing on in 2022. You can read the main points of the discussion below: What have charity customers…
Many charities and non-profits struggle with ageing servers running old, legacy applications that are too complex to move to the cloud quickly. Microsoft Azure is a great alternative to running your own physical servers or paying for space in expensive Data Centres. The best part is that Microsoft give non-profits $3,500 per year towards the…
Creating an IT Strategy at a charity or non-profit can feel very daunting for some organisations, especially those who don’t have IT expertise in-house. At Smartdesc we help bridge the gap between the business and the technical, and in this video we share some tips and advice on how you can create a IT Strategy…
James Field, Customer Strategy Director at Smartdesc – non-profit IT specialists – comments on the Charity Digital Skills Report 2021 The Charity Digital Skills Report, now in its fifth year, is an annual report on the charity sector’s use of digital technology and an excellent barometer of support needs, digital skills, and attitudes from across…
Andrew Coyle, Head of Information Security at Smartdesc, explains how non-profits can achieve Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation to demonstrate their cyber security commitments to funders, supporters and other stakeholders: What is Cyber Essentials? Cyber Essentials is a government backed certification introduced following concerns that organisations were not putting the basic technical…
A project is a fail if it does not meet the constraints of the project management triangle – Cost, Scope, and Time… why do some charities struggle with project management? Unclear Project Goals and Objectives Project Goals are the aspirations of the client for the project – the project purpose. Objectives are the benefits,…
Carl Rowles, Customer Success Manager at Smartdesc discusses how charities and non-profit organisations can get the most from their outsourced IT Providers or Managed Service Provider (MSP). Watch the full interview here. We know that a healthy IT function within a charity or non-profit is not just about the technology, it’s about both about the…
James Field, Customer Strategy Director at Smartdesc – Charity IT Specialist, discusses how we helped the team at Orbis design an IT Training Programme to equip their staff with a consistent baseline of IT skills, including How to plan IT training for all – doing a gap analysis Building a video training library – a…
