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3 Ways Cloud Technology Helps Non-Profit

Non-profit organizations need to be efficient and effective managing donors, employees, and other stakeholders to succeed in bringing their vision to life.

One of the realities of being a non-profit organization (especially in a tough economy) is facing some competition for funds with other non-profits to sustain critical programs. While there are no easy answers, cloud services can help your team in three ways: (1) expands IT role to take on more strategic tasks, (2) lowers the total cost of technology, and (3) brings a hardworking, mission-focused team together.

(1) Expansion of IT Role

If you’re working for a non-profit organization, your IT department is likely swamped with end user issues on a daily basis.  While the cloud doesn’t take away the end users, it does promise a 99.9% uptime guarantee.  This means your organization’s email will be up and running anytime of day and the IT department can now focus its energies on more strategic goals for the organization.

(2) Lowers Costs

Lowering the cost of hardware can make a big difference to the bottom line, which means more resources to spend on those critical programs. Cloud services provide the benefit of little to no upfront costs and since the costs are scalable, you can predict monthly budgets depending on the number of users and which services are active.

(3) Brings a mission-focused team together

Non-profit organizations work hard every day to provide essential services to their community. One way to streamline processes and reward employee dedication is to provide resources that allow for more flexibility and timely access to information. A cloud-based email and file sharing service gives employees anywhere, anytime access to the information they need and promotes collaboration with fast visibility into calendars, shared files, and online presence of other coworkers. From the office – to board meetings – to a donor’s door, the cloud can keep your employees in sync.

How People for Puget Sound Benefited from Cloud Services

Cole Coleman from People for Puget Sound speaks about his experience with the Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) with an emphasis on the ease of migration and compatibility across multiple operating systems.

Friendly Advice: Be sure to discuss any changes with your IT staff or an outside consultant, as not all cloud services are needed for every organization.   If you’d like an assessment, please call Aaron Nettles at (206) 781-1797 and see if your organization is ready for the cloud!

Key Considerations Before Moving to Exchange Online

Below is a repost of an answer that I posted on Quora…. more info can be found here http://b.qr.ae/g6plY6

Start with a trial, regardless of which scenario you fit into and then convert to a full subscription.  The trial gives complete full featured access to Exchange Online (Email), SharePoint Online (Document management and Info Sharing), LiveMeeting (Web Conferencing), and Communicator Online (Instant Messaging and Presence)
Link to 30-day trial (bit.ly/fu8Bt8 – fyi you will need to create a Microsoft Live Services Account)

Next, planning is key to a successful transition.  We follow a 3 step approach to our BPOS deployments see more here http://bit.ly/gm6B8G .
Scenario 1: Start-up Company with a clean slate and no plans
for Active Directory

This is the scenario in which there is no existing messaging system in place, and in the case of BPOS the most simple.

The items below are things that you should consider and plan out before configuring the services, this is the most timely piece actual configuration is fairly painless.

Key Considerations

• Deploying the Single Sign-on client to employees desktops
• Domain setup and verification
• Account and Services Setup:  Creating users, contacts, and distribution lists. This can be accomplish through a web based admin console or through scripts.  Map this out in advance to keep the administration console as clean as possible
• Installation and Configuring of software clients (Outlook, LiveMeeting Outlook Connector, and Office Communicator)
• Mobile phones setup
• SharePoint Sites, Permissions, and Site configuration (this is a topic on it own, however a simple site can be created to get users started)
• Training to end users

Scenario 2: 5 year old, 100 Person Company with Active
Directory and Exchange

In this scenario, maintaining consistent mail flow and employee productivity during the migration is key.  The deployment of the services becomes a little more involved, however with advance planning and a methodical approach can be relatively painless.

Below are some of the key work items that should be completed to transition from Exchange to Exchange Online (SharePoint exclude due to potential complexity)

• Environment analysis
• Internet Bandwidth Testing and Needs Assessment
• Setup and Installation of Migration Tools
• Understand Mobility Requirements
• Active Directory Preparation
• DirSync Setup and Operations
• Coexistence configuration
• Client Computer Setup
• End-user Communications
• Migration Groups (recommend a test group, and subsequent group(s), the number is based on business requirements)
• Activate users
• Mailbox Migrations
• Post-Migration Services Test (Make sure Mailbox, Calendar, and Contact Info is complete)
• MX Record Switch
• Configure 3rd Party Applications

Scenario 3: 5 year old, 100 Person Company with Active Directory and Exchange.  They just recently acquired a 25 employee company that uses a POP3 email service. All employees download their emails to their client and do not keep copies on the server.

The activities are the same as scenario 2 with the addition of …Import Email from PSTs (option for POP3 users)

For complete deployment resources check out Microsoft’s Deployment Website http://bit.ly/h529bP 

I hope that you found value in this post, please feel free to ping me here or on LinkedIn() or Twitter (@dianemgallagher)

3 Things You Need to Know Before Migrating to Office 365

Microsoft announced a few requirements for Office 365, which include updates to your (1) operating system, (2) office client, and (3) browser. Make sure you perform a full analysis (cloud assessment) of all your software prior to making the leap to Office 365.

Requirements

Key Changes for Office 365

• Office 2003 is not supported
• Office Communicator 2007 R2 with Office Communications Online will no longer be supported
• Internet Explorer 6 with the Microsoft Online Administration Center, My Company Portal or Outlook Web App will no longer be supported

If you are not ready to make these software upgrades, but are interested in secure hosted email, SharePoint, Communicator, and/or Live Meeting – the Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) is on a different platform and can accommodate the older software versions.  In addition, Microsoft is allowing a full year on BPOS after the launch of Office 365 so you will have more time to budget for the Office 365 software requirements.

If you’re at all confused about this post or the transition requirements, please call Aaron Nettles at (206) 781-1797.

Cloud Chat with Optistor Technologies

Diane Gallagher, co-founder of Vorsite Corporation and Don Holman of Optistor Technologies discuss the benefits of Microsoft’s Business Productivity Online Suite (cloud service) for small business.

VOIP’s new contender, Microsoft Lync

Microsoft Lync officially launched today at 8:00am PST.

Microsoft Lync is enterprise communications software that connects employees – think of an amazing combination of video, audio, desktop sharing, instant messenger, and VOIP telephone – all deeply integrated with Microsoft Office products.

“You can do some pretty amazing things with Microsoft Lync 2010, such as switching a call from your computer to your mobile phone, recording an online meeting, or even conducting a conference call while in-flight,” says Microsoft’s Lync website.

Check out Microsoft Lync for yourself

Vorsite Delivers New Cloud Service: vorApps for SharePoint Online

Commercially available cloud service from Vorsite leverages the power of Microsoft’s Business Productivity Online Suite and provides users with email enabled information management.

Today’s ever-changing marketplace requires organizations to increase efficiencies and react swiftly to opportunities and challenges. Many companies are held back by their reliance on manual processes to store and share information, resulting in lost productivity and delayed results. A trusted application that allows information flow and real-time collaboration with co-workers and decision-makers is the most sought after solution in business today.

The Evolution of Information Storage

vorApps for SharePoint Online delivers an email enabled information management solution leveraging the power of Microsoft SharePoint Online. Through simple automation, knowledge can be captured, searched, and accessed through SharePoint. Instantly your workers create an alternate secure location to shared inboxes. Whether team members are in the next room or on the next continent, the powerful combination of automation and storage drives business efficiencies and builds a more agile organization.

Information Interaction at your Fingertips

vorApps makes everyday tasks easy and efficient. Public folders have been around a long time and employees are used to interacting with them. Imagine storing your communications in a public folder experience directly from your e-mail solution. Imagine sending a fax directly to SharePoint instead of information going directly to your desktop or lost in a shared inbox. Give your team members the freedom to focus on strategy and core tactics to keep your business evolving in a hard economy.

vorApps for SharePoint Online features the ability to store incoming and outgoing emails from familiar SharePoint lists and document libraries. This means when a team member receives or sends an email it is instantly stored within SharePoint and securely accessed by anyone on the team. The experience will provide your team members with streamlined processes, which ensures document security and promotes collaboration.

Benefits

• E-mail enabled information storage
• E-mail automation
• Fax automation
• Public folder experience
• Archiving

Key features include:

• Email Services
  • Incoming/outgoing emails are stored and accessed from familiar SharePoint lists and libraries
  • Incoming/outgoing emails are stored in Windows Azure and accessible from SharePoint Online lists and libraries
• Administration
• Reporting

Download more information about vorApps for SharePoint Online [ PDF ]

Windows Intune, a fine and new addition to Microsoft Cloud Services

Interested in managing your PCs from anywhere, supporting end-users remotely, or just keeping track of your assets?  Look at Windows Intune, the Microsoft cloud service has not released yet but is very promising. We had the privilege of working with a few of our customers during the previous month to manage them through a beta; upon completion of the program the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

If you are interested in learning more about Windows Intune from a partner and would like us to send you updates about the services please submit your information here http://www.trymsonline.com/windows-intune.aspx

Microsoft’s Top 5 Reasons to Try Windows Intune

1.      Achieve big-tech results with a small-tech investment. Designed to fit businesses without a large IT infrastructure, Windows Intune is an all-in-one solution that includes PC management, malware protection, and Windows upgrades rolled into one easy purchase. With minimal overhead, simple billing, and no formal training required, it’s easy to get started and maintain. 2.      Get the best Windows experience. Upgrade to Windows 7 Enterprise or run a prior release—it’s your choice. As long as your subscription remains active, you’ll receive upgrade rights to the latest operating system, so you won’t need to worry about buying upgrade licenses when the time comes. 3.      Identify issues before they impact business. Windows Intune sends alerts that notify you when you’ve got a threat or if a critical update was unsuccessful—so you can fix it before your PCs become vulnerable. 4.      Help manage and secure your PCs from virtually anywhere. Through a simple Web-based console, your IT staff can provide remote assistance, centrally manage updates, and proactively help protect PCs from malware threats, so your employees can stay focused on the business. 5.      Diagnose and repair even unbootable PCs. Using the Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT), available to download for Windows Intune customers, administrators can recover data from PCs that have become unusable. It helps you rapidly diagnose probable causes of issues and quickly repair unbootable or locked-out systems. Additional Resources Windows Intune website Watch the Windows Intune Overview Video Microsoft Online Services for Business

4/22 Webinar: Key Reasons for Small Businesses Moving to the Cloud

Why should small businesses consider moving to cloud computing or Microsoft Online Services critical to a long-term success? Want to gain your competitive advantage in 2010?
As a Microsoft gold certified partner, Vorsite is hosting a special edition webinar to help you navigate through the cloud.  Register Now!

Key Reasons for Small Businesses Moving to the Cloud:
SharePoint Online Solution Showcase 
    Date:  Thursday April 22, 2010
    10:00 am – 11:00 am PST
    Presenter:Diane Gallagher, Vorsite CTO.
    Agenda:

• Less IT spend, more investment in your business operation and customer acquisition
• Stay nimble as your business grows
• SharePoint Online Solutions Showcase

 

Microsoft Exchange Online mailbox is now 25GB per license: bigger mailbox, better productivity!

Learn More… Try 30-day BPOS free trial software http://www.TryMSOnline.com, or contact the Vorsite Online Services team(800) 218-7260 x101, TryMSOnline@vorsite.com

3 Key Reasons for Small Business to Move to the Cloud in 2010

After reading “Global CIO: The Top 10 CIO Issues For 2010” by Bob Evans published in Information Week, I started to think about the how his top 10 applies or translates to small business. Why should small business consider moving the cloud critical in 2010 to long-term success . As a small business owner, below is my take, I have condensed down to 3 key areas of opportunity.

Gain a Competitive Advantage in 2010

 As a small business, you have the advantage of agility and time to market. Focus on your customers’ needs and offer services before your larger competition. As a small business, typically the owner/CEO is the CIO. You do not have budget for trial and error or sourcing ongoing IT projects that have nothing to do with adding to your bottom line. If you’re looking for areas to cut cost and gain a competitive edge against your competition, moving core IT operations to the cloud should be a priority this year. The move will enable you to achieve the following:

1. Less IT spend, more investment in your business. Spend your budget on process improvement, customer acquisition, and retention; and let someone else worry about IT infrastructure. Implement communication and collaboration solutions that provide rich interaction and improve productivity and process automation to your sales team and customers. For example, improve your website to make purchasing your products or services simpler, provide an easy mechanism for your customers to interact with you and get answers quick.

2. Stay nimble as your business grows. Small businesses should learn from the IT issues of big business, and don’t get caught in the weeds. Understand critical business functions that can be moved to the cloud; select a trusted vendor that is stable, secure, and has a solid roadmap. Your customers will appreciate your capability to respond to their needs quickly, accurately, and with flexibility. Besides, it should be easier to integrate strategic process now than when you have tripled in size.

3. Reduce areas of overhead. This is not a fun topic, however as a small business overhead can tip the scales between success or extinction. Cloud technologies offer services agreements and system stability that require less investment IT management.

Vorsite is a Microsoft Gold Certified partner. We provide business solutions supported by Microsoft Cloud Services to small and mid-sized business. Vorsite was founded in 2000; we have successfully on-boarded over 85 businesses to the cloud since 2009.

You can find more information about Business Solutions in the Cloud on http://www.msonlineforbusiness.com