The cloud benefits any company through cost savings and remote communications, among many other things. Charities are adopting cloud computing to obtain the latest data and IT infrastructure management technologies. Storage, servers, and security are also managed by third-party providers. The cloud offers charity organizations several benefits including:
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Flexibility: Charities don’t have to invest in large offices because employees can log in to the corporate network from their desktops. Productivity can be maintained while the firm does not have to pay for travel.
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Security: Cloud providers include encrypted firewalls with each IT service, so clients have secure email, storage, and backups.
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Updates: Cloud computing companies afford access to the latest technology resources, including the latest software and security products. For the majority of charities without updated IT systems, cloud computing is the answer.
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Collaboration: Charities often have a distributed workforce. A hosted desktop service enables workers, volunteers, partners, and project managers to collaborate under one platform.
Who Is Using the Cloud?
Catch22 – A London-based charity supporting young people with substance abuse, legal problems, and employment/education challenges, the company transitioned to cloud computing to implement a more reliable network for its 800 employees. Only small local networks were in place. There were no disaster recovery or business continuity measures in place either.
In just two weeks, the organization transitioned its HR, payroll, and finance systems to Workplacelive. It used the cloud to expand control over IT expenditures while the service provider manages machine licensing in all of Catch22’s locations. Data storage, backup, and security is controlled as well. The ability to share data across computers on site and at workers’ homes is helping too.
Career Academies UK – Employees also benefit here from the ability to work remotely. The education charity provides a two-year program and curriculum allowing students to later be eligible for higher education or employment. Employees had little access to IT systems in the beginning. As the company grew, productivity became difficult and accessing information required a time-consuming process. The hosted solution it now uses allows all workers to access their emails remotely, using the same version of software.
A Techsoup Global survey found 91% of charities in Western Europe were using cloud computing to some capacity in 2012. The trend is picking up in the United States and elsewhere too. Accounting cloud software products include donation management systems that streamline the entire process for non-profits.
Cloud Providers for Charities
Online fundraising tools, notwithstanding crowdsourcing websites, include secure payment systems from companies like Xperedon. Its platform supports instant donations and also personal and group fundraising. People can donate to projects or one could sell tickets or memberships. Merchant accounts are also included, further supporting an advanced payment processing, customer relation management (CRM), and online shopping cart system.
Many providers are offering cloud services specifically for charities and non-profits. Tech Impact offers npCloud and, as a non-profit itself, obtains donations from manufacturers and others to provide top-notch services. The mission is to provide low- or no-cost technology solutions around the world where possible. Additionally, it offers server/desktop, communications, telephone, and backup cloud services for a fee.
Google Steps In
Aside from free storage, Google offers a number of beneficial tools for charities. Google Ad Grants is one option; organizations looking to place ads on Google can qualify for a $10,000 grant while gaining the potential of added website traffic. After Direct Relief International started using the platform in 2003, it benefited from marketing services that lead to a year-over-year increase in online donations of 44%.
Other tools include using YouTube to market non-profits and to collect donations. Charities have used Google Earth and Google Maps as well to advertise their work. Many also use Google Analytics to look into the results of marketing efforts while social media is no stranger in the charity front. The search engine’s own social platform and even Facebook have been used extensively to reach out and collaborate with audiences, volunteers, sponsors, donors, and staff members.
Charities have come a long way, from asking “what is cloud computing?” to fully using it in creative ways. The cloud is therefore rapidly becoming the medium of choice for charities in terms of cost, collaboration, and outreach around the world.