Strategic Innovations, Inc.

I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with non-profits in various roles. One activity I engaged in a few years ago was a task force for a non-profit that served as a kind of statewide umbrella for local “chapters” of this non-profit organization. The task force was formed to explore ways to ensure the financial viability of the local chapters could be maintained. One of the deficiencies in local operations that was noted was a lack of expertise in information technology. This was mainly due to the limited resources available – there just was no money available for the individual local non-profits to go out and hire someone exclusively to maintain their computer networks and other information technology. This is rather unfortunate given the depth and breadth to which IT impacts all business operations these days.

So, it was with great interest that I ran across the article How to make the most of your IT budget in the lastest issue of NetworkWorld magazine. This particular article focused on IT budgets of non-profits. Most of the information in there was solid and I think could help local non-profits. About the only problem I saw with the article was that it focused on large, national non-profit organizations. Below, I recap some of the recommendations and take a look at how the same concepts might be leveraged by a smaller non-profit.

Consolidate servers

This is one of those that is only going to apply to larger non-profits in most cases. In fact, I have found that at the local level (by this I mean non-profits that serve a particular county or municipality) there is often a need to deploy servers in order to set up a client-server network architecture. Opinions vary, but it seems most experts agree a client-server network is needed only when the number of PC's in an organization exceeds 15 or more. Below that, most think a peer-to-peer network or even “Sneakernet” is sufficient.

With the increased need to share information and collaborate and the falling prices of computers, I think the threshold is coming down. Perhaps five would be a good number to start looking at implementing a client-server architecture. Here at Strategic Innovations, we have a network of three PC's that connect to a server. This has enabled a great deal of functionality that would not otherwise be present. For example, files, Internet access and printers are easily shared. With a laptop, there is the ability to be mobile and still have access to all information. There is also an additional level of dependability in the system as single points of failure can be eliminated.

Don't delay equipment upgrades

According to Jim Thie in the article, “Just because we're non-profit doesn't mean that we have less computing needs or needs for power.” I wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment and think non-profits no matter what size need to be sure their equipment is not becoming outdated and obsolete. Aging equipment increases maintenance costs and drives down the productivity of employees or volunteers.

One tactic that can be useful if you do have an aging infrastructure is the use of leases. Many computer vendors have programs in which they will let you lease a PC for 3-4 years and then trade it in for a new PC+lease. Programs such as this have the benefit of helping ensure your infrastructure is staying current. I have also found that pursuing this model helps to move the cost of equipment into the operational part of the budget. I think this helps the budget makers better understand the connection between operations and IT assets. The use of leases can also help smooth the outlay of cash and it becomes much more manageable. Finally, I would recommend standardizing your hardware. The fewer types of hardware that need to be supported, the easier it will be to maintain for everyone involved.

Replace old phone systems with VOIP

Depending on what kind of infrastructure you have available, this may or may not be a good path to pursue. The technology is still not completely mature, so you are getting out on the cutting edge a bit. However, it can be quite a cost saver both in its use and the infrastructure needed to support it (you can use your data cabling). One area that I am keeping an eye on is unified messaging. Unified messaging systems are those that tie the computer and phone systems together so one can do things like get their voicemail via their e-mail client. If you are in a situation that requires a new system now, I would definitely recommend the switch to VOIP. Otherwise, I would recommend holding off just a little longer to let the offerings mature a little bit and see if any unified messaging solutions become available that would be suitable for a small organization.

I would like to spend a moment discussing Skype as it has been getting a lot of press lately. Here at Strategic Innovations, I have been testing Skype and find it to be a nice way to make phone calls (via the computer). However, it does present some security concerns and is not considered suitable for enterprise use. As such, I don't recommend it at this time. I am hoping to be able to find a free and open source solution that works as well.  Other solutions are out there, but no one has yet created an easy to use, safe way to make phone calls from the PC suitable for small organizations.

 Consider bringing key functions in-house

This recommendation seems to be focused on bringing some non-IT functions in-house where they can better benefit from integration with a non-profit's IT infrastructure. For instance, in the article they discuss the benefits of someone having access to donor records at the same time they take a phone call.

At the end of this point, they do discuss bringing e-mail and web-hosting “in-house”. This will only be a good solution for a non-profit if they have a client-server architecture in place (or are willing to build one). Additionally, depending on traffic a big “pipe” will be needed (“pipe” refers to the size of the Internet connection). For most smaller organizations, I would probably lean toward keeping these items outside the organization. There are too many good hosting companies out there that can provide a much better infrastructure for a web server than what a small organization can provide on their own – large “pipe”, backups, reliability, DNS services, etc. And most of these will provide e-mail services with their packages, so you might as well take advantage of that. (Disclosure: Strategic Innovations provides web hosting services).

Manage your service contracts

This is really a business basics recommendation. For large organizations, the savings can be significant if you have not been particularly stringent on reviewing service contracts and invoices. For smaller organizations, the savings may not be as large but the impact can be just as significant. Unfortunately, I have seen far too many organizations that have insufficient business processes to handle contracts, especially their on-going review.

Form partnerships with vendors

A simple recommendation that can reap significant reward your organization. The primary example they cite is agreeing to be a “case study” for a vendor in exchange for reduced prices. This may or may not be something viable for smaller organizations unless they are willing to implement some cutting edge technologies. Doing so can present some problems with future maintenance of any such system even if an initial deal can be made.

Standardize software

The article cites the benefits of implementing a single financial package and human resources package. Using standard software can present many of the same benefits as using standard hardware – it is easier to maintain a single system and you may be able to achieve some benefits from bulk buying.

More important than standard software is the implementation of standards-based software. For instance, the State of Massachusetts recently adopted an IT initiative to adopt the OpenDocument Format for all electronic documents. This format is based on an open standard that anyone can write software to. One of the main benefits for users is the knowledge that you won't get locked out of your own data years down the road. Another example would be a requirement that all databases be ODBC compliant. This ensures that you can share data between applications or even develop new applications that use that same data. This will help you avoid the “re-Excelling” of data (taking data from one source and keying it into Excel to do analysis).

Award multiple IT support contracts

For larger non-profits this is an excellent idea as it helps to move the organization toward “managed competition”. This means instead of a single vendor winning all business for a set period of time, several vendors win the business and have to keep competing with each other during the term of the contract.

For smaller non-profits, especially those outside major urban areas, this may be more of a challenge as IT support options are probably limited to begin with. In addition, the value of any contracts may not be sufficient enough to generate the necessary interest. The one thing smaller non-profits can do is make sure they keep bidding the services out on a regular basis. Too many times I have seen organizations become comfortable with their providers and fail to recognize they could be saving money with a switch.

Emphasize strategic initiatives

As you can probably imagine, a firmed name Strategic Innovations is going to agree with a call for the use of strategic planning when developing IT plans. As you can already see from this article, there are many pieces to a technology plan and the creation of a strategic plan can help you navigate the decisions that need to be made. This is especially important in understanding how one decision made in Year 1 can impact a decision to be made in Year 3.

I would also remind readers that the IT strategy for any organization should be aligned with the overall strategy for the organization. Any technologies that are implemented should support your non-profit's goals and mission and values. Do not implement a technology just because you can.

Foster employee commitment to your mission

As the author of the Network World piece notes, getting employees committed to the mission of a non-profit is much easier than getting commitment to a for-profit mission. Use this to your advantage as you may be able to find someone who would be willing to work for lower pay than the market would normally dictate.

I would also suggest that non-profits, especially smaller ones, be careful not to overlook volunteers. Perhaps you have a Board member or some committee member who is a computer “geek” and can provide support and assistance.

Eliminate outdated systems and software

This really goes back to some items mentioned above – standardize hardware, frequent equipment upgrades, and standardize software. As indicated, old systems that are running slow and require a lot of support can be a huge drain on productivity. Likewise, many applications that are now available contain features and functions that can help improve productivity.  I have even seen poor IT assets drain morale as employees become increasingly frustrated at the roadblocks presented to them as they try to get their job done. With the inexpensive prices for hardware in the market and the availability of free and open source software that can probably handle 90% of what your non-profit needs, there is no reason implementation of a modern IT infrastructure should not be achievable for even the smallest non-profits.

Use all the features of your gear

Again, this is probably aimed more at larger non-profits who might have enterprise class copiers that include other features like scanning and faxing. However, even smaller organizations can benefit. For example, ink-jet based multi-function machines are not much more expensive than a plain ink-jet printer. With a multi-function machine you can add the ability to scan documents, make copies, and even FAX documents (though that can be done inexpensively via your PC directly). Using features like these will help you improve your operations and move toward a more electronic-based office.

A Bonus from Strategic Innovations

Above you have the recommendations from the article in Network World. As a member of a non-profit Board and having served on several in the past, I would like to pass on two more pieces of advice for non-profits. I make these based on my experiences, knowing the financial struggles for many non-profits, and from watching how people work.

Use F/OSS whenever possible

F/OSS is the acronym for “free and open source software”. Perhaps the piece of software most have heard about is Linux. Linux is actually an operating system, like Windows, but much better in many ways. In the past, it was always seen as a “geek” system. That has changed with several companies and organizations producing Linux distributions that are easy to install and setup. In fact, they can be configured so most users would not even know the difference from a Windows-based PC. The best part is that these can be obtained for free or support added at a marginal cost.

Even if you are not ready to make the switch to Linux, other applications are available for Windows. OpenOffice.org is an “office suite” that is free. In terms of functionality and features, it rivals Microsoft Office. Unless you heavily rely on macros or some other custom programming, OpenOffice.org will probably do everything you need from an office suite. Plus, it has the added benefit of supporting the OpenDocument Format and it can natively produce pdf files with the click of a button. At no cost, this can be an excellent way to deploy a modern office suite to all of the employees in your organization.

When it comes to web browsers and e-mail, two other applications may be worth investigating. Thunderbird is a client for e-mail very similar to Outlook Express. Again, I would say it is a much better choice if only due to the improved security. Firefox is a web browser that is gaining significant market share. It is much safer than Internet Explorer and features several capabilities not present in IE. Foremost among these is probably “tabbed” browsing. It may take a couple days to get used to, but I'm not sure there is a more significant productivity enhancer for those who have to use the Internet frequently for research. Again, both of these applications are free of cost.

Deploy a collaboration package

This recommendation is based on the implementation of a client-server network for the non-profit organization. By “collaboration package”, I refer to applications that may be called content management systems (cms), document management systems, or even the plain moniker “intranet”. This will provide a way for your organization to share information much more effectively and to help foster much more of a teamwork approach. The variety of collaboration applications out there is enormous and beyond the scope of this article. The main thing to remember is to find one that will enable you to do the things you want to do.

Summary

As you can see from the Network World article and my own additions, implementing a solid information technology plan for a non-profit is not impossible. You do not have to continue to suffer from a “mish-mash” of old and new computers, different operating systems, different file formats, etc. With a little planning and a commitment to implement some basic business practices, you can have the computer resources you need to enable you, staff, and volunteers to pursue your mission in a much more efficient and productive manner.

If you have any questions or comments about the information in this article, please feel free to contact me. Likewise, if you have trouble obtaining any of the software mentioned, please contact me for assistance in obtaining it.  Don't forget that establishing a partnership with a vendor can be an effective way to obtain services or goods – and Strategic Innovations is looking for case study candidates (hint, hint).