Volunteer Week: How to manage volunteers’ personal devices

Volunteer Week in the UK is a great time to reflect on the invaluable contributions of volunteers in the not-for-profit sector. As an IT Managed Service Provider, we understand the unique challenges that come with managing and supporting devices used by volunteers. These are often personal laptops and phones which can pose significant security risks…

Smartdesc Newsletter: Charity Tech Leaders Report, Microsoft licensing changes & exciting events

Welcome to the Smartdesc May newsletter. This month, we are delighted to release our third annual Charity Technology Leaders Report, in collaboration with Charity IT Leaders. Get your copy below. We also feature a webinar on the report unpacking the key trends, an important update on Microsoft licence grants, and more exciting nonprofit IT events. Charity…

Charity Technology Roundtable – Master Your Information Management – 10 July 2025

Do you have unorganised shared files across Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive? Charities manage large volumes of sensitive data – from personal and financial details, to funding activities – which must be properly governed to ensure security, compliance, and operational efficiency. While many organisations have adopted cloud platforms like Microsoft 365, poor information management often hinders…

Charity Technology Leaders Report 2025

We are delighted to release our 2025 Charity Technology Leaders Report. From February to April 2025, we conducted a comprehensive survey of charity technology leaders to understand the sector’s strategic priorities, risks, challenges and opportunities around IT. Now in its third year, the report presents the key industry insights, sector trends around technology, and comparisons…

Smartdesc Newsletter: Charity Tech Report Webinar, Summer Social & free MS365 training

Welcome to the Smartdesc April newsletter. This month, we are excited to host a webinar on 20 May on the key findings from our Charity Tech Leaders Report 2025 alongside Charity IT Leaders, with the report due to launch mid May. We also feature our Charity Summer Social, highlights from Microsoft’s Global Nonprofit Leaders Summit, and…

Smartdesc have achieved the Microsoft Security Solutions Partner designation

Smartdesc is proud to announce that we have achieved the prestigious Microsoft Security Solutions Partner designation. This recognition highlights our deep capabilities around the Microsoft security stack, including Defender, Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), and more. By earning this badge, we demonstrate our commitment to providing top-tier security solutions that protect our customers’ digital environments.…

Webinar: Charity Technology Leaders Report 2025 – 20 May 2025

We are delighted to be back for the third year of our Charity Technology Leaders Report! We held a webinar on 20 May with Tree Hall, CEO at Charity IT Leaders, who led a discussion on the 2025 report, alongside Adam Monks, CEO & Co-founder and James Field, Customer Strategy Director, from Smartdesc. Together, we…

Highlights from Microsoft’s Global Nonprofit Leaders Summit 2025

Last week, Adam and I had the pleasure of attending the 2nd annual Microsoft Global Nonprofit Leaders Summit in Seattle.  This brought together charity leaders from over 1,000 organisations, to hear the latest updates and roadmap for Microsoft’s AI capabilities in the sector.  The mood at this year’s summit was really positive. There was a sense…

Smartdesc Newsletter: Charity Leaders Summer Social, how to optimise your IT & more

Welcome to the Smartdesc March newsletter. We are nonprofit IT specialists who enable organisations to deliver more through better use of technology. This month, we are excited to share details of our Charity Leaders Summer Social on Thursday 5 June at Microsoft London. This is a brilliant opportunity to get to know charity peers in…