This webinar discusses when having in-house IT does and does not work. Sam Chenkin from Tech Impact shares handy tips on how to work with external vendors. He also discusses methods to realign IT away from operational needs and to strategic change. Supporting your organization is no longer just about keeping your computers running. In the modern world nonprofits need to be able to manage and implement databases, cloud technologies, and reporting systems. IT staffing is as much about helping nonprofits get the most out of the tools they have available as it is about servers and networking. In this webinar we examine the roles nonprofits should consider including Database Administration, Infrastructure Support, Helpdesk, CIO, and more. We discuss strategies for accessing this expertise regardless of your size through various strategies including volunteer, hiring, contractor, and outsourcing. And we discuss how you can try to align your existing IT staff with the new world order.

1. IT Staffing: Who are You Gonna Call?
Sam Chenkin, Tech Impact
Frank Babbitt, TechSoup
June 1, 2017

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Presenters
Frank Babbit
TechSoup
Sam Chenkin
Tech Impact
Susan Hope Bard
TechSoup

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The Need Is Global – And So Are We
TechSoup’s mission is to build a dynamic bridge that enables civil society organizations and social
change agents around the world to gain effective access to the resources they need to design and
implement solutions for a more equitable planet.
Countries Served TechSoup Partner Location NetSquared Local Group
Where are you on the map?

6. IT Staffing: Who are
You Going to Call?

7. DIRECTOR OF CONSULTING SERVICES
Sam Chenkin
As Director of Technology Services, I oversee our consulting staff as they
help nonprofits focus on their mission. Our team supports hundreds of
nonprofits every year as they make decisions about their technology
strategy, build data systems, and understand their data.
When I’m not at Tech Impact I’m cooking, traveling, or singing rather
poorly.
sam@techimpact.org

8. What are we talking about?
• IT Staffing landscape
• Old school model: break/fix/ghost busters
• New school: stop worrying about break fix, focus on the opportunities of
technology
• Key Areas of focus for nonprofit IT
• Operational Technology
• Security & Compliance
• Data Management & Analytics
• Strategic Impacts
• Staffing Strategies
• Fully outsourced
• Fully insourced
8

9. IT Staffing Landscape

10. POLL QUESTION
• Has your technology staff (or expenditure our outsourced technology
services) increased or decreased over the last 5 years:
• Increased
• Decreased
• Stayed the Same
• I don’t Know
10

11. NTEN Staffing Report Changes
11

12. Major Drivers
Managing desktop
computers is easier.
12
Users, funders, and
constituents Expect More

13. In the Old World
13
• Technology was either broken or
working.
• Technology was a commodity, it
was interchangeable and not
particularly unique to your
organization

14. In the New
World
14
• Technology is deeply integrated
into everything you do
• It’s an enabler of every aspect of
your work
• It’s a driver of change

15. An Example
15
Today, your nonprofit tracks
everything digitally. Your database
enforces your unique workflows
for your staff. Your donors expect
regular reporting on so many data
points paper could never keep up.
You still use email and that
actually works now, but
technology and not people holds
your processes together.
Yesterday, your nonprofit used
paper records to track it’s
interaction with it’s constituents.
If you were fancy you had some
spreadsheets.
Your core technologies were
email, word processing, and a
printer. These all broke constantly,
but they were tied together by
people who manually took action.

16. What Is Needed to Be Successful

17. …as a nonprofit

18. First Wave
• Using technology to
support your work
exactly as you were
already doing it
• Email vs Fax
• File Share vs Paper
Folders
18

19. Second Wave
• Using technology to
better tell the story of
the work you’re
already doing
• Implementing service
delivery databases
• Providing funders with
pretty charts and
graphs
19

20. Third Wave
• Fundamentally changing how
you work through technology
• Building scalable apps that
allow your constituents to
service themselves or
interact with you more
effectively
• Using statistics, Machine
Learning, and AI to truly
understand what works and
what doesn’t and intervene
more effectively
20

21. Technology must now be a core competency
21

22. What does it take?

23. Infrastructure
Information
Security
Data &
Application
Management
IT Strategy
23

24. Infrastructure
Information
Security
Data &
Application
Management
IT Strategy
24
• Break/fix support for your
desktops and servers
• Configuring and
maintaining cloud-based
productivity tools like
email and file
collaboration
• Enabling mobility

25. Infrastructure
Information
Security
Data &
Application
Management
IT Strategy
25
• Preventing unsafe or
unauthorized devices and
users from accessing your
data
• Training staff on best
practices and tools
• Protecting against
accidental or intentional
data loss

26. Infrastructure
Information
Security
Data &
Application
Management
IT Strategy
26
• Identifying and
implementing databases
and other tools that
improve your business
processes
• Performing data analysis
and reporting to improve
services and satisfy
funders
• Working with staff to
support applications and
make the most of your
tools

27. Infrastructure
Information
Security
Data &
Application
Management
IT Strategy
27
• Ensuring that IT projects
are properly prioritized
and managed
• Selecting vendors and
hiring IT staff
• Identifying opportunities
for radically changing how
you work through
technology

28. IT Staffing Models

29. POLL QUESTION
• How do you currently support your infrastructure (desktops, phones,
email, file shares, etc.)
• Volunteer
• Done by Program or Admin Staff
• Dedicated staff
• By committee
• Outsourced vendor
• We don’t really do this
29

30. POLL QUESTION
• How do you currently support your information security (protect
against data loss, provide staff training and oversight)
• Volunteer
• Done by Program or Admin Staff
• Dedicated staff
• By committee
• Outsourced vendor
• We don’t really do this
30

31. POLL QUESTION
• How do you currently support data & application management
(implementing and supporting databases, making the best of what
you have now)
• Volunteer
• Done by Program or Admin Staff
• Dedicated staff
• By committee
• Outsourced vendor
• We don’t really do this
31

32. POLL QUESTION
• How do you currently IT Strategy (aligning technology with your
mission, looking for opportunities for radical change through
technology)
• Volunteer
• Done by Program or Admin Staff
• Dedicated staff
• By committee
• Outsourced vendor
• We don’t really do this
32

33. Volunteer
• Almost never a good idea
• One exception is in IT strategy
where a few hours a month can
make a big difference in
keeping you on the right track
33
Infrastructure
Information
Security
Data &
Application
Management
IT Strategy

34. Done by Program/Admin Staff
• Rarely a good idea.
• Can work for Data & Application
Management in a small
organization where the person
using the database is also the
expert. Should be supported by
an outside consultant
• Tends to work well for
Information Security if supported
by external vendors & tools
• Can work for IT Strategy if the
staff member is senior and is
supported by an external expert
34
Infrastructure
Information
Security
Data &
Application
Management
IT Strategy

35. Dedicated Staff
• Not always ideal for Infrastructure
since it’s hard to have the scale
needed to have cutting-edge staff
and provide adequate helpdesk
capacity
• You need to be really big to afford
and attract dedicated information
security & IT strategy staff who
are good with both people and
technology
• Works really well for data &
application management. Always
enough work, even in a small
organization
35
Infrastructure
Information
Security
Data &
Application
Management
IT Strategy

36. By Committee
• Works well for IT strategy as
long as the committee is
supported by a volunteer or
outsourced expert
• Committees do a good job
picking new data systems and a
terrible job implementing or
supporting them
• Works terribly for everything
else. Ownership and availability
is key.
36
Infrastructure
Information
Security
Data &
Application
Management
IT Strategy

37. Outsourced Vendor
• Easy drop-in replacement to
support your infrastructure
• Other areas will always require
the support of someone in your
organization. Outsourced
vendors will never be
integrated enough in your
organization to do it alone.
37
Infrastructure
Information
Security
Data &
Application
Management
IT Strategy

38. Secrets to Managing Your Vendor

39. …from a vendor

40. Infrastructure
Information
Security
Data &
Application
Management
IT Strategy
40
• Look for a Service Level
Agreement (or Service
Level Objective) so you
know how long to expect
before issues are
addressed
• Assign a staff member to
be a services manager
who is responsible for
escalating tickets and
serving as a contact point
for your vendor if needed

41. Infrastructure
Information
Security
Data &
Application
Management
IT Strategy
41
• External vendors can do a very
good job implementing
security tools and
troubleshooting issues
• Paying an outside company to
monitor these tools is very
expensive due to the risk
• Most of the work must be
done internally:
• Data classification
• User training
• Policy enforcement
• You need to know your risks
and liabilities!

42. Infrastructure
Information
Security
Data &
Application
Management
IT Strategy
42
• Outsourced vendors won’t
know your organization
well enough to make good
decisions about specific
processes or tools
• However, outsourced
vendors will have a huge
breadth of knowledge and
expertise. Far more than
you can afford
• Best approach: hire
internally and contract for
advanced support

43. Infrastructure
Information
Security
Data &
Application
Management
IT Strategy
43
• External consultants (often
called Virtual CIOs) will
have great technical
expertise but little
familiarity with your
organization
• Integrate consultants or
volunteers with your
organization as tightly as
possible by having them
work hand-in-hand with a
committee

44. General Tips
• Trust your nose
• Outsourced companies are made of humans (mostly). It’s a
relationship that needs work (from both sides)
• Don’t mistake formality for good service or friendliness for
competency
• Understand that internal ownership is always important. Technology
must be a core competency
44

45. Thank You!
Sam Chenkin – sam@techimpact.org

46. TechSoup IT Assist: Managed IT Services
Proactive, remote IT management just for nonprofits
Frank Babbitt, June 1, 2017

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Outsourcing the management of all your IT to a 3rd party
who provides service remotely
Benefit from the expertise and support of an entire IT department
for less than the cost of a full time staff person
What Are Managed IT Services?

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5 Signs You Have Outgrown Your “Accidental Techie”
• When things go wrong with your IT you either:
• Try getting friends/family/board members/volunteers to help out
• Hire an expensive consultant which blows your IT budget
• Your IT support strategy is the "break and fix" model – reactive instead of proactive
• Your infrastructure is not being maintained
• Your accidental techie staff is spending more time fixing IT problems than focusing on program
work and top priorities
• You realize the hourly cost of downtime and operational interruption is so much more than a
technician’s hourly rate
• You just want it all to work and not have to think about it!

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TechSoup IT Assist Service Description
• Service provided by trusted TechSoup partners
• Serves only nonprofits and public libraries
• Provides support services remotely
• Works with your existing accidental techies or IT staff
• Offers live, unlimited help-desk support
• Monitors security and performance
• Manages your system and backups
• Regular meetings with a technology expert for advice on:
• Strategic technology planning
• Hardware and software purchases
• Budgeting best practices
• Includes an optional hardware update program
• Comes with a free one-year TechSoup Boost subscription

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The Financial Side of Managed IT Services
• Managed IT services pricing is usually based on the size and complexity of your office,
including
• Number of seats (computers)
• Number of servers
• Number of offices or locations
• Prices vary from $40 to $150 per month per “seat”
• Monthly variation in billing can be driven by
• Helpdesk support which is often charged separately capped
• Data backup (the more data you’re backing up daily the more cost)
• On-site visits by IT staff
• Contracts are generally for 1 year increments

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The Value Proposition of IT Assist to our Nonprofit Customers
We are a nonprofit serving only nonprofits
and public libraries – we understand your
particular constraints and challenges
We’ve structured the offer to bring the
highest quality of service at the lowest price
possible for nonprofits.
We help bring down the cost of IT
management through migration of servers to
the cloud, less expensive VoIP solutions,
and strategic planning for data backup.

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Questions about TechSoup IT Assist?
techsoup.org/it-assist

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