Nonprofit Bridge

I participated in an interesting discussion recently on NTen’s discussion group about how much nonprofit organizations should take advantage of hosted software applications.  I’ve been a proponent of ASPs / on demand software for quite a while now;  the only major application I haven’t switched over is email, which I continue to download to my local PC using Thunderbird.  But my main CRM (SalesForce) and calendar (Google) is web based;  I still can’t understand why my wife (and many others) insist on relying on Outlook where this information is stored locally where it is subject to computer / backup failure AND can only be accessed from that one location (or through remote access).

Nonprofits usually have limited technical resources, if any at all.  Using hosted applications reduces the need for a home grown networking infrastructure;  the main concern becomes having a reliable Internet connection.  But this doesnot mean that no tech savvy staff are needed.  The technical skills to support online applications are different from what is required to maintain local applications since it puts a heavier reliance on choosing stable vendors and maintaining these relationships.

As is the case with local software, choosing packages that play well with other vendors is important, so it’s helpful to investigate APIs and whether or not the vendors have previously developed links to other systems.

Nonprofits can of course get discounted (mostly local) software through services such as Tech Soup,  but in the long run hosted applications will win out.  It’s also fascinating that some nonprofits still insist on custom applications when there are so many web based programs that can do so much ‘out of the box.’

Nten’s annual conference kicks off next week, so I’m sure this topic will be debated anew.

I’ve moved up in my career from the early days when I was focused on supporting users through a help desk.  But it seems that no matter what my role in an organization, I end up helping users who are ‘technology challenged.’  Today I spent more than a half hour on the phone with a remote user who was struggling with composing an email blast.  Finally I tried to get her setup for remote access so I could see her screen, but alas she had trouble getting the remote access software to install.  Finally, I suggested she just send me the content and I placed it into the email myself.

Later, she emailed me to ask what she had done wrong.  I explained to her that the software was a bit ‘quirky,’ and that she shouldn’t take it to heart.  The software really is a bit tricky to use, especially for those that don’t use it frequently.  Perhaps this is why I always end up doing user support as some part of my job;  users seem to like my patience (although I almost lost it today).  But it’s especially challenging when you work for an organization with a high turnover rate, and you have to keep teaching staff the same things over and over…

Interestingly, my organization has been interviewing for a help desk person for months and hasn’t yet been able to find the right fit.  Guess it’s not so easy after all.

Spent much of the day yesterday shopping for a new suit.  Thought I had found a good choice at the first store my wife and I visited, but we bailed out at the cashier when we realized that the brand was excluded from a 40% off sale that was advertised (with the exceptions in smaller print).  She suggested that we visit an outlet mall that was about an hour’s drive away.  Since it was already late in the afternoon, I said no, reasoning that stores would certainly not be open later than 6 PM or 7 PM on Sunday, which wouldn’t give us enough time to shop.  She suggested calling anyway to find out.  Result – stores were open to 9 PM.  Moral – your assumptions may not always be correct.

After arriving at the outlet, we searched for a store featuring the brand of the suit that I had picked out at the other store.  Perhaps we’d be able to find the suit at a more attractive price.  On the way there, we found another store that my wife suggested would be worthwhile visiting as well.  So we went there first and found two possibilities.  I settled on one, and also was able to use a 25% coupon that I had from a savings book that I’d fortunately received at the mall’s information desk.  It didn’t quite get the reaction from my wife when I tried it on that I had received at the earlier store, but it was still a good choice.

A while later, shortly before the mall’s closing time, we finally found the address of the store we’d tried to find earlier.  Result – it was out of business, having been taken over by another men’s clothing store.  Moral – don’t be too invested in Plan A.  Plan B may turn out to be the better (or only) choice.

I’m happy about a few extra weeks of longer days resulting from this weekend’s early change to Daylight Savings Time, but it’s caused quite a commotion with fixing our computers.  My understanding is that for Windows XP / Vista, the operating systems will be patched automatically if automatic update is on.  But since I support staff across the US, I can’t be assured that automatic update is turned on everywhere.  In addition, Windows 2000 PCs and earlier need to be patched manually.

A vendor that I work with has found a patch available at IntelliAdmin which will work on Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 platforms.  (There is a separate fix available for Windows 98/ME.)  This patch ake care of the necessary time changes this weekend and again in November when DST is scheduled to end.  Of course by next year everything could change again (just to keep things interesting).

Also see Microsoft’s Daylight Savings Time Help and Support Center.

Last year I decided to apply for the PMP (Project Management Professional) certification to enhance my skills in managing technology projects.  I hoped this would be especially useful at my current position, where my title is ‘Web Project Manager.’

Yet when attending meetings of the Project Management Institute, rarely have I heard much talk about nonprofit organizations or have I met people who focus on nonprofits.  Similarly, in my current organization, I often have to explain the benefits of project management in planning and implementing initiatives.

Seems like project management would be helpful in any organization yet nonprofits have been a bit slow to get on the bandwagon.  One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced recently is getting all stakeholders to participate.  If only a few people / departments dominate conversations, it is less likely that the results will be acceptable to all who are affected by its implementation.