Nonprofits in the Cloud

NONPROFITS IN THE CLOUDTierney Smith

TechSoup Canada

ABOUT ME

Software engineer Nonprofit technology blogger Community manager

@[email protected]/techsoupcanadatechsoupcanada.ca/community/blogyoutube.com/techsoupcanadaslideshare.net/techsoupcanada

AGENDA

TechSoup Canada donations program

Cloud basics: benefits & risks

Case studies & demos

ABOUT TECHSOUP CANADA

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182

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Monthly e-newsletter

OTHER THINGS WE DO

LOOKING FOR AFFORDABLE SOFTWARE?

Products: 7 Office Professional Plus 2010 Total: $258.72Retail Value: $5,355.00

THE RESULT…

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

• Registered charities• Federal & provincial non-profits • Public libraries

HOW DO YOU GET STARTED?

techsoupcanada.ca/getting_started

CLOUD BASICS

CLOUD CONFUSION

One in five Americans (22 percent) admit that they’ve pretended to know what the cloud is or how it works.

When asked what “the cloud” is, a

majority responded it’s either an actual cloud (specifically a

“fluffy white thing”), the sky or

something related to the weather (29

percent). 

Working from home in their “birthday suit” is the cloud’s greatest advantage.

Source: http://www.citrix.com/English/NE/news/news.asp?newsID=2328309

Scalable services you access through the Internet

Microsoft Word

Google Docs

Not Clou

d

Cloud

Your nonprofi

t

Email & office productivity

File sharingCommunication

Social networking

FacebookTwitter

Bit.ly

Google Apps Office

365Zoho

CRM SalesforceCiviCRM

DropboxBox.net

Google Drive

Skydrive

Skype

GoToMeeting

ReadyTalk

MORE CLOUD APPS

3 TYPES OF CLOUD

Software-as-a-Service

Software you access through the Internet

e.g. Gmail, Salesforce, Survey Monkey

Platform-as-a-Service

Online environment for building software

e.g. Force.com, Microsoft Azure

Infrastructure-as-a-Service

Servers and storage in the cloud

e.g. Amazon Web Services

FOR EXAMPLE… SHARING DOCS WITH YOUR BOARD

Read more: http://www.techsoupcanada.ca/community/blog/board_collaboration_google_docs

HOW IS THIS DIFFERENT FROM WHAT I DO NOW?

The cloud is particularly good for:

Sharing Everyone shares one version of a doc

Collaborating Makes it easier to work together with others

Remote working Work from anywhere (with Internet)

Scaling Add/remove more people/space on the go

ANOTHER BENEFIT: SIMPLER ADMINISTRATION

BUY VS. RENT

Features CostBackupsSecurityData (can you get it out?)Availability (what if the service goes

down?)

Access (what if your Internet goes down?)

RISK: LOSING CONTROL OF…

A WORD ABOUT PRIVACY

In almost all cases there is no law against using cloud computing Up to you to read the Terms of Service You are responsible for your data at the end of the day

Avoid using cloud/be extra careful for political or extremely sensitive data e.g. political activists, women’s shelters

Find out more: http://www.techsoupcanada.ca/community/blog/cloud_privacy_law

HOW TO PICK CLOUD TOOLS?

1. Assess your nonprofit’s technology & determine priorities

Tech self-assessment: http://www.techsoupcanada.ca/community/blog/tech_self_assessment

2. Set goals

3. Research & try out options Jane vs. Tierney (

http://www.techsoupcanada.ca/community/blog/jane-vs-tierney/intro)

Platformation (http://www.platformation.ca/) Idealware (http://idealware.org/)

NAVIGATING THE CLOUD JUNGLE

• Will it grow with you?Goal

• Can it work with what you already have?

Integration

• Is this path the fit for you?Culture

HOW WE WORK @ TECHSOUP CANADA

Basi

c In

frast

ruct

ure• Google Apps

• Dropbox• Skype

Colla

bora

tion • Google Apps

• Box.net• Smartsheets• GQueues• LiquidPlanne

r

Org

an

izati

on • Google Apps

• Box.net• Smartsheets• Podio

THE STOP

FRAMEWORK: SHARESIES

QUESTIONS?

Further reading: http://bit.ly/tsc_cloud_further_reading

Information about the cloud & case studies: http://techsoupcanada.ca/learning_centre

Cloud tool reviews & comparisons:

Jane vs. Tierney (http://www.techsoupcanada.ca/community/blog/jane-vs-tierney/intro)

Platformation (http://www.platformation.ca/)

Idealware (http://idealware.org/)

RESOURCES

List of products: http://techsoupcanada.ca/product

Getting started: http://techsoupcanada.ca/getting_started

Microsoft donations information: http://www.techsoupcanada.ca/microsoft_resources

DONATION PROGRAM INFO

CONTACT INFO

Tierney Smith, Community Manager @tierneys

TechSoup Canada www.techsoupcanada.ca @techsoupcanada facebook.com/techsoupcanada