subject: Being Smart About It Management [print this page] As a not forprofit organisation, all your work is dedicated to the greater good of your cause. You will naturally want to save as much as you can on administration in order to be able to gather more funds. But what most people tend to forget is that without a strong administrative set up, you will tend to have a lot of problems in handling your staff, your donors and even your donations.
IT Support is an essential administrative function nowadays for most not for profit organisations. Ideally they would like to have full time staff with technical skills to handle their IT needs. While this may be a good option if you have a reliable person, you are likely to end up with more problems when you are dealing with a non-professional. Time spent by internal staff on these non-core duties can distract from the organisation goals and ultimately the experience can be lost if staff move on. An experience IT professional will not only help you set up the right system, he or she will also help you proactively maintain your systems.
If you do find a professional, then you could also consider hiring him or her on a retainer as well. This brings down the cost to your organization while giving you what you need to keep things running smoothly. In such cases you end up paying as little as $40 to $50 per system that you have.
You could also consider hiring managed service providers who will manage your IT requirements remotely and will not have to occupy space on your own premises. This is like having a remotely functioning IT department who can be called on when required. There are several service packages that you can look into depending on your needs and the number of systems you need to maintain. When it comes to software patches, back-ups and upgrades, using MSPs can be a really resourceful and economical way of handling things.
The cost on the structure is pretty low and there is a consistent level of service that you can expect. The downtime you may face is extremely low which means that your productivity is on the increase. Its a win-win situation all the way. When you choose a service provider, consider their experience in the not for profit sector.
Many people are also of the opinion that good IT management is not really necessary and it is something that one with a little knowledge can handle. While you may be able to do a few patch work jobs on your systems, you may be setting yourself up for bigger problems down the track.
