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…
As of February 2024, Gmail and Yahoo require bulk senders (e.g. marketing mass emails using tools like Mailchimp) to have a DMARC policy in their website domain. Emails must pass DMARC alignment and meet various standards. This change is aimed at improving email security and reducing spam, as per this guide. For charities, this means…
Welcome to the Smartdesc March newsletter. This month, we provide guidance around how charities can prepare for AI, and for the PTSN switch off in 2025. We also share upcoming events in London with ServiceNow and Microsoft. Free charity IT resources In this video with our friends at CFG, our CEO Adam Monks discusses the…
In the rapidly evolving landscape of telecommunications, there is a crucial date that charities should be aware of: the switch-off of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) in December 2025. This transition will mark a significant milestone in the journey towards fully digital communication infrastructures. After this date, all traditional copper phone lines will cease…
In 2023, the UK government published two reports that were important for the nonprofit sector – the NCSC’s Cyber Threat Report: UK Charity Sector, and the Cyber Security Breaches Survey. These reports share common themes around the importance of authentication, security updates, updating firewalls, and crucially, Cyber Essentials as a useful framework to help protect your…
Welcome to the Smartdesc February newsletter. This month, we share guidance around Microsoft 365 Copilot and how to prepare at your organisation, including a blog, webinar and more. We also share our upcoming LinkedIn Live on how to reduce IT team workload with good ITSM. Free charity IT resources Microsoft have made Copilot for 365…
*Registration now closed* Would you like to get to know your charity tech peers in a friendly, relaxed setting at Microsoft’s London office? Join us on Thursday 13 June 2024 for drinks, nibbles and networking for charity leaders, in partnership with Microsoft Tech for Social Impact. We are thrilled to have Vicki Thornton – CFO…
As part of our commitment to the local and global environment, Smartdesc have been working in partnership with World Land Trust (WLT) to offset our unavoidable carbon emissions. We are proud to announce that we have been awarded their Carbon Balanced Certificate. So, what does this mean? Using the Carbon Calculator created by WLT, we…
Join us on Thursday 18 April 2024 at Microsoft London for our next quarterly Charity Technology Roundtable, alongside Microsoft Tech for Social Impact. The topic of this roundtable will be Microsoft Copilot and how you can get ‘AI ready’ at your organisation. We will run through a demo of Copilot and discuss key areas such as:…
Welcome to the Smartdesc January newsletter. This month we share our annual Charity Leaders survey, advice on how you can use ITSM to improve your IT function, a guide on preventing data breaches, and more. Free charity IT resources Our annual Charity Technology Leaders survey is now live! Complete our survey to have your say on…
