Would you benefit from a free Microsoft 365 training session? Would you like to use the tools more confidently and consistently? Would you like to learn how to collaborate more effectively with colleagues? Smartdesc offer free 60-minute taster training sessions, led by our IT Training Manager, on how you can get the most out of…
At Smartdesc, we understand that data protection is a key component for charities to be able to achieve their objectives whilst keeping sensitive personal information safe. We also recognise that having a team of full-time data protection professionals isn’t always possible or necessary in some cases. To help bridge this gap, we have built our…
Free instructor-led Microsoft 365 training for Charities & Nonprofits Organisations Would your staff benefit from attending free Microsoft 365 training sessions? Would you like to use the tools more confidently and consistently? Would you like to learn how to collaborate more effectively with colleagues? Smartdesc offer free 60-minute training sessions, led by our IT Training…
Last week we held our third Quarterly Charity Technology Roundtable, hosted by Microsoft Tech for Social Impact. In this blog, we summarise our discussion on cyber security, including risk management, BYOD, reducing risk of human error and systems gatekeeping. Compliance Frameworks, Risk Management, Reporting It is good practice to define the framework(s) or standard(s) that are…
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…
How do you keep your charity up to date with ever changing data protection law, GDPR standards, Subject Access Requests and data breaches? This is just one of the questions we answered in our Information Governance and Data Protection workshop for nonprofit organisations, in partnership with Charity IT Leaders. Andrew Coyle, our Director of Information…
Earlier this year, Smartdesc conducted a survey of Charity Technology Leaders to ask what their strategic technology priorities are for the year ahead. We received responses from senior stakeholders from a range of large UK charities, with an average organisation income size of £30m. We shared our findings in our Charity Technology Leaders Report 2023,…
With a shortage of IT talent in the UK, charities face an uphill battle to attract staff against inflated corporate wages available to IT professionals elsewhere. Many IT teams are finding it harder to source, fund and retain the multidisciplinary mix of specialist skills needed to run a modern not-for-profit’s technology estate. We undertook a…
Welcome to the Smartdesc October newsletter! Smartdesc are NCVO-approved charity sector experts, supporting charities and Not for Profits to achieve more with their technology and modern ways of working. This month we focus on hybrid working, how to win the hearts and minds of your hybrid workforce, and the evolution of the IT department. Resources …
Common mistakes charities make with Information Governance (IG) Many charities and non-profits approach us because they do not have an information Governance structure, sufficient processes, or training in place to ensure that data is being processed correctly and securely. This almost always is simply down to resource capacity and budget, which is of course understandable.…
