Choosing an Anti-Spam Solution March 10, 2008
Posted by charitysolutions in charities, charity computers, charity IT, General, Uncategorized.add a comment
In our last post we highlighted the need for an anti-spam solution for those organisations hosting their own mail server. In this post, we look at some of the options available, and some of the key things you need to take into account when choosing one for your orgainisation.
Anti-spam solutions can basically be broken down into two types – hosted and in-house.
Hosted solution
A hosted solution routes your mail to your chosen service provider who scans then delivers it your own mail server. Those wishing to contact you will do so via your usual email address and you continue to send email as normal. The only difference is that your anti-spam service will automatically check and process your email so that all you should receive is clean mail, free of spam and viruses. This will considerably cut down on the amount of mail that your mail server has to receive – and with up to 98% of all current emails being reported to be spam, that can make a considerable dent on the bandwidth you will need from your ISP.
Because a hosted solution provider is monitoring so many emails, it is best placed to see new spam trends developing and so is generally quickest to put new measures into place as new waves of spam arrive. It will also scan mail through multiple anti-virus solutions, from various vendors, so you can normally expect better protection.
Of course the best bit is you don’t have to worry about managing the spam yourself (also taking away the worry of added costs) – the anti-spam provider will assume these responsibilities on your behalf and, since you will normally be paying monthly or yearly for their services, it is in their best interest to make sure they do the job well!
In-House Solutions
An in-house solution is one that is installed at your own offices that you administer yourself (or get someone to do for you). The solution could be software-based (either one piece of central software that scans all emails – normally before they get to your mail server, or software that is installed on each person’s individual PC) or it can be a complete hardware “box” (containing its own software) that you plug into your network.
As in-house solutions require administering, you will need to take into account that managing the spam yourself will take time and may result in additional costs. Also, in-house systems must wait for updates to be released from the system’s manufacturer and so could be slower to be updated with the latest protection. Then there is human error, which means that there is the possibility that available updates and patches can go uninstalled.
But on the plus side, if you don’t need a complicated “bells and whistles” anti-spam solution, you may well be able to get an in-house solution cheaper than a hosted one. And, in time, you will have a much better idea of the type and level of spam that is coming into your organisation – and how to deal with it.
Do you need it to be customisable?
Depending on your specific needs, the level of customisation offered may be an important factor when choosing a solution. Some solutions (both hosted and in-house) are more customisable than others. For example, if your organisation’s area of working means that you receive legitimate messages containing on ‘spam-popular’ words (concerned with debt reduction or pharmaceutical names for example), you might ideally want to look for a solution that gives the ability to let emails containing words in those specific areas through rather than immediately label them as spam.
There are also solutions that allow more flexibility at user level – so that the spam protection for some email addresses can be set to be more or less sensitive than others. So it is wise to think whether your organizations areas of work or working methods mean that your requirements are not best covered by a “one size fits all” solution.
Whatever type of solution you choose, you do need to be aware that no anti-spam solution, whether hosted or in-house, will be 100% accurate. From time to time it is possible that a genuine email will be classified as spam, or that spam will sneak past the filter, so you will still need to check your quarantined spam area regularly – and if the solution you choose includes a simple way of doing this, it will make your life easier.
So, to summarise:
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- Think about the emails your organisation receives and decide what level of customisation (if any) you are going to need from your anti-spam solution.
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- Consider how much time and expertise you have within your organisation to administer an anti-spam solution.
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- Work out the volume of email you receive and the proportion of the current total that is spam. If your ISP currently handles your mail, remember to factor in the additional bandwidth that will be taken up with spam when your ISP’s anti-spam protection is no longer in place – and any costs involved with that extra bandwidth. (Does your ISP charge you more if you go over a monthly limit?)
In the end, as with most things (particularly in IT!) it will probably come down to balancing the features you want or need with the budget and time you have at your disposal. But hopefully the information here will help you to make a more informed choice. And if you are still confused, leave a comment or contact us (details on the About Us page) and we will do our best to help.
Choosing Your Charity Database – Selecting the Best Provider February 18, 2008
Posted by charitysolutions in charities, charity computers, charity database, charity IT, databases, Uncategorized.add a comment
Lets assume the ‘must have’ list of your priorities on what features you need (covered in our previous blog entries) has been reviewed and now agreed with all your colleagues. Now you are ready to buy a database for your charity or NFP.
It’s now time to find out exactly what the database providers are offering, and how well their products meet your needs and budget.
When choosing your database provider, here are some things to consider.
If any database provider blinds you with science and offers what they see as great must-have features, please “stick to your guns”. Compare your list of requirements against what the provider can offer, and don’t be persuaded away from your ideal specification. This way you will not end up paying for features that you will not use.
Ask to speak to some of their customers and find out what actual users think of the software and long-term support provided. But remember that the provider will probably only give you names of customers that will give a favourable report – so use your own discretion here!
Get a database provider to give you a demonstration of the software. A word of warning – find out how big a database the demonstration is based on, and the specification of the computer it is run on. If you have a larger number of records and will be running your database on a less powerful computer, your experience of the speed and power of the database might not be so impressive!
Do your research and it will pay dividends…. Search on-line forums. Network at charity events. By talking to similar organsiations you will be able to learn from their experiences and see what worked for them. And remember, word of mouth recommendations are worth their weight in gold.
Choosing your database provider is an important decision. Mistakes can be costly and time consuming. Some providers will be totally upfront about all features, and some won’t, but it is up to you to find out the true facts and to evaluate them against the specific needs of your organisation. Make sure you are confident that your final choice is the right one.
Post us a comment - we would appreciate your views and welcome any questions.
Choosing Your Charity Database – What Features Do You Need? February 11, 2008
Posted by charitysolutions in charities, charity computers, charity database, charity IT, databases, Uncategorized.add a comment
Choosing a new database can be confusing – particularly if you are not an IT or database expert. You need to be confident that you can balance the needs of your organisation with the right database features and costs.
But having to look at and compare different software can be a mind-numbing experience and also very time consuming if you are not sure what to look for.
Here’s a simple route map to help you navigate through this IT minefield. Start with a big list of all the features you think you and your colleagues might need, want or like on your database system for example:
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Do you need to record fund raising results? If so, in what kind of detail?
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Does it need to integrate with other programs (e.g. Word or Excel)?
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Does it need to include Gift Aid processing?
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Do you need a full audit trail for all donations and transactions?
It may sound obvious, but you will need to carefully consider who will be using the system.
Do you have a small set of full time people who will be using the system all the time and so will become familiar with a complex system? Or will you be staffed by volunteers who will only use it one day a week in which case a simple intuitive system that is easy to use will be an essential requirement to add to your list.
A good help file and good documentation could also be a big help, but realistically will your users really look at them?
So now you have your list, you will need to review and “grade” how important each feature really is to your organization. Sort them into:
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- Must have features.
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- Should have features.
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- Nice to have but not essential.
Review your list with your colleagues and gauge whether your views match theirs. For instance a Finance Manager might feel Gift Aid processing is the most important thing, but a Fund Raising Manager might want more extensive features on campaign management.
A word of caution… It’s easy to be impressed with super features that, in reality, won’t really be of much use for your specific needs. So be honest with your own evaluation!
Then when you and your colleagues are all agreed, it’s time to go out and look at what the database providers can offer. We will talk about this next time.
Hope this post has been useful. Please continue sending us your comments and questions and we will try and include them in future posts. Just post a comment below or send an email to sales@charitysolutions.co.uk.
Why Do Some IT Suppliers Treat Charities So Badly? October 11, 2007
Posted by charitysolutions in charities, charity computers, charity database, charity IT, General, Uncategorized.add a comment
… and why do so many charities let them get away with it?
OK, this post could get me drummed out of the Brownies (a phrase that may mean nothing to those outside the UK – sorry!), so let’s start by saying that this post is the personal opinion of me, Anne Skinner, rather then “we” Charity Solutions. Though to be honest it is one that most at Charity Solutions would agree with – it covers some of the core reasons we formed the company in the first place. Disclaimers duly made, let’s continue ….
Why is it that some IT companies out there treat charities as idiots, cash-cows or both?
As someone who has both worked in the IT industry for more years than I care to remember – and also as someone who has donated their hard-earned cash to charities over the years – I am still amazed ( and horrified) at the prices some IT suppliers & service companies charge charities and Not-For-Profit organisations, not to mention to totally lousy level of service some provide.
These days, charities are seen by many of them as a big market – with lots of cash just waiting to be spent. For some suppliers out there, the fact that the cash they are fighting for was originally given to do good things for the charities benefactors doesn’t even seem to enter into their heads – charities are just another set of customers to be divested of as much money as possible. How do these guys sleep at night?
Let me be totally upfront here. As someone who now runs a company dedicated to providing IT goods and services to charities & NFPs, it would be totally hypocritical of me to suggest that no company should ever charge a charity a fair price for the goods or services they provide – or that there are not some wonderful companies out there (not just us! 
) doing just that.
Anyone who wishes to provide a good service over any period of time does still need to pay the bills and live – just as most charities need paid staff to keep them going rather than relying totally on volunteers. And sometimes good people do cost more than the average, but more than make up for it with the time and effort that they save people.
But when I see charities being charged ASTRONOMICALLY marked up prices for IT equipment or see providers giving charities a completely unacceptable level of service that would get them immediately kicked out of almost any commercial company, it makes me mad.
But I also have to say, these guys are going to continue doing this just as long as charities let them get away with it. As a director of a company who dealt with organisations of all types, commercial and charity, both I and my suppliers were amazed (and frustrated) by the number of charities who wouldn’t deal with us because we didn’t deal exclusively with charities but were willing to pay up to 60% extra for the same goods or services from a **bleep** of a company simply because they said that they sold exclusively to charities – so were somehow considered “safer” to deal with.
Charity buyers out there - please don’t just judge a company by who they sell to – don’t trust them just because they deal with charities. Please – make them work for the money you are spending with them. Get more than one quote – I know your time is precious, but it could quite easily save you thousands! Please don’t be afraid to ask for the manufacturers part numbers for any hardware or software your supplier says you need, a quick online search will then tell you if you are being charged a fair price - 10 seconds on Google could save your charity a fortune.
If you don’t understand all of the technologies involved, please ask. If your supplier understands what they are selling, they should be able to explain it to you. If they can’t – or won’t – maybe you should talk to someone else before placing that order. If you are really stuck about who to ask, then add a comment here or contact us and we will try to help you. You won’t be the only one who doesn’t understand everything – your area of expertise is probably not IT after all – but a few well chosen questions could really quickly help identify whether you are dealing with the right supplier and (more importantly) whether the solution they are suggesting is the right one for you.
So charity buyers and all charity professionals out there: Are you getting a fair deal from your IT supplier?
IT providers out there: What do you think?
