In today’s digitally driven world, technology has become a central component of most charities – from managing operations, measuring impact, connecting with supporters, coordinating volunteers, and enabling organisations to develop new services. Indeed, in our Charity IT survey we conducted earlier this year, over half of the leaders that took part are considering outsourcing via…
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…
Welcome to the Smartdesc August newsletter. In this edition, we cover this year’s Charity Digital Skills Report, what we think it means for the sector in terms of infrastructure and digital skills, and offer some takeaways for charities, including: A blog with our analysis, takeaways and tips from the Charity Digital Skills Report 2023 IT…
The Charity Digital Skills report, now in its sixth year, is widely regarded as an annual barometer on digital maturity, skills and priorities across the nonprofit sector. It’s the digital sister of our own annual Charity Tech Leaders Report which focuses on IT infrastructure, M365 & cloud, outsourcing and cyber security. In this blog, we…
The Covid-19 pandemic completely changed how we use telephones. Most charities are now reducing their ‘landline’ phone numbers to save cost, and are consolidating them into Microsoft Teams. As traditional copper phone lines in the UK are being switched off forever in 2025, now is the ideal time to consolidate your telephony, reduce your spend,…
Welcome to the Smartdesc July newsletter. In this edition, we cover how you can utilise Microsoft’s new productivity tool Copilot at your charity, including: A blog introducing Microsoft Copilot, its capabilities and some important considerations Further resources from Microsoft and the National Cyber Security Centre Our Charity Technology Leaders Report 2023 Resources In this blog,…
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…
