Since its arrival in November last year, ChatGPT has taken the world by storm. This powerful new chatbot with seemingly endless possibilities took 3 months to reach 100 million users; Facebook took 4 years to reach the same milestone! Microsoft is leveraging some of this technology to introduce AI into Microsoft 365 this year –…
Our second quarterly roundtable took place on Thursday 6 July, in partnership with CFG and the Microsoft Tech for Social Impact team. Each quarter we explore a different topic relating to tech and IT at large charities, in a relaxed, jargon-free environment where open discussion is encouraged and confidentiality assured. At our July roundtable, we…
Welcome to the Smartdesc April newsletter. Are you considering outsourcing IT at your charity but don’t know where to begin? We’ve compiled the following resources to help you get started: A blog and video on how to make informed decisions about IT outsourcing. The chance to come together with your peers to discuss all things…
Last week we hosted the first of our Quarterly Charity Technology Roundtables, with Microsoft Tech for Social Impact and Charity Finance Group. In this blog, we summarise our discussion on managing IT budgets, staff retention, and measuring the value of IT, and provide information about our upcoming events. Recruitment & retention Colleagues were aligned that…
Welcome to the Smartdesc March newsletter. Lots of organisations are asking us about how they can move their telephony into Microsoft Teams and refresh their internet connectivity ahead of the traditional phone network switch off in 2025, so we’ve compiled the following resources for you: A non-technical guide on how to move telephony into Teams, and…
Big changes are afoot in the world of internet connectivity, and telephony, across the sector. Traditional copper phone lines in the UK are being switched off forever in 2025, meaning your organisation may need to switch its internet connection(s). The COVID-19 pandemic already transformed how businesses use telephones; across the country plastic desk phones gathered…
Welcome to the Smartdesc February newsletter. This month we focus on how charities can protect themselves against phishing attacks and offer the following resources: Guides on common charity cyber attacks and measures you can take to prevent them Phishing Simulation Service and Cyber Security e-Learning, tailored to charities Further resources from EasyDMARC and Charity Finance Resources…
Welcome to the Smartdesc January newsletter. We are NCVO-approved IT experts specialising in the charity sector, enabling nonprofits to achieve more with technology and modern ways of working. This month we focus on how charities can be more cyber secure and offer the following resources: A framework on how to prepare should you ever experience…
Welcome to the Smartdesc December newsletter. We are NCVO-approved IT experts specialising in the charity sector, enabling nonprofits to achieve more with technology and modern ways of working. This month we focus on how charities can simplify and consolidate their IT infrastructure, reduce costs and use technology to enable better hybrid working. We recently migrated the national…
Challenge The 2022 Charity Digital Skills Report underlined the significant increase in adoption of cloud services that the nonprofit sector has seen in the last 2 years. As a result of the pandemic, 82% of charities see digital as a much greater priority, and 83% have begun offering new online services during this period. This…
