Todays workplaces are faced with challenges every day because of the introduction of new technologies. It can be difficult to keep up with the steady stream of new advances and even trickier to know which ones could, with correct usage, make your office life easier.

Take Skype for example. Skype – and other similar services such as Gizmo - allow users to make telephone calls over the internet to other users of the same service free of charge. This communication method has its benefits although there are a few potential downsides that you need to consider as well.

Services such as Skype are fast gaining in popularity. Calling between computers both using the chosen service is completely free, obviously an appealing feature to many people. Most of the services also offer the ability to call “normal” telephone numbers (mobile or land lines) at fairly competitive rates – often really competitive for international calls. Some providers also provide an additional service that (for a monthly or yearly fee) provides you with an incoming phone number. This is a fantastic way to get a number in (depending on the provider) the town or country you want – giving you a pseudo-presence there and making it cheaper for you colleagues, or supporters in that area to call you.

However, though the services are generally reliable, we would not advise relying on them as your only method of telephony - incoming or outgoing. If the service does fail (as happened for several days last year to many SkypeIn users for example) you will be left without any method of telephone contact – which not only will cause major inconvenience but does little for your professional profile.

According to the majority of users the audio is generally superb but the big question is really is it secure to use in an office environment? Each provider will have their own individual security features, so let’s take Skype as an example.

When calling Skype to Skype the calls are strongly encrypted so therefore at the higher end in the security stakes compared to other things that use the internet. If using Skype to call to mobile or landlines however, the calls are only encrypted for the Skype portion and not when they hit the public domain. This is fine if you have offices dotted about the country, or world, and you can implement a company-wide policy of Skype usage between offices, but if you are a smaller organisation mainly communicating with customers using a regular landline/mobile service you cannot guarantee the complete security of the conversations. This is not to say that using Skype is more of a threat to charities than other ‘techie’ tools, such as email, but because Skype is newer the vulnerabilities may not be as well known.

Compliance and protection of information within organisations is also a hot topic these days. Organisations need not only to know what information is entering and leaving the office but also to log and archive it as well. It is difficult for third party applications (ie monitoring tools) to interface with Skype. This makes it very difficult to know exactly what information is entering or leaving the organisation. Sensitive information could be passed on with no way of tracking where and from whom it originated.

Perhaps the answer is not to ban Skype flat-out but if you are going to consider its use, then control it – as you do with email. Policies on acceptable usage, such as no file transfers, and cautions against using it for sensitive communications, should be written and enforced.

Any comments, queries or suggestions for follow up topics that you would like us to cover? Just leave a comment or contact us (details on the About Us page) and we will do our best to help.

We have received a question about using Instant Messaging services (such as AIM, Yahoo, MSN Messenger & Skype Chat) in the office: “Is it safe to allow our employees to do this, what are the benefits and what are the dangers?”

This is a pretty complex subject for a single blog entry – and as with anything to do with security and technology, things are changing all the time – but here are some pointers for you to consider when making your decision.

IM can be handy as a means to communicate very quickly when situations require. The ‘real time’ aspect of messaging is appealing to many as it can save huge amounts of time if you require advice or an opinion in a hurry - without the cost of a telephone call. You can’t get faster than instant!   Also, as most IM software is available as a free download so it’s unarguably a cost-effective communication tool.

But, it is also undeniably an easy way for people to chat about non-work related subjects, or even moan about work in general. It’s not really the done thing in offices these days for people to sit at their desk and chat on the phone to friends. However, chatting on IM is a means for people to do the same thing without getting caught. Co-workers and supervisors may assume the person was discussing serious work matters but in practice it could actually be plans for the weekend or the latest episode of EastEnders!

It may be quick and convenient but is it secure? Different IM applications use different protocols and standard firewalls may not block or detect them. Some IM clients can use ports other than those associated with IM even commonly open ports such as 80 (normally associated with web browsing).

IM programs such as AIM, Yahoo and MSN Messenger pose additional possible security issues. These programs often allow more than just chat: they allow file transfers as well. Not only could users send documents – a recent study revealed that around 32% of companies have found employees passing confidential information to a third party - but users can also receive files that may possibly contain viruses or malicious code. Not to mention the liability nightmare if employees use the file transfer feature to share copyrighted music, movie or software files in violation of the law.

Is there an answer without an all-out ban? It could be a simple case of allowing one type of IM to be used over another. There are two basic types of IM technologies: peer to peer (P2P) and client-server. With a P2P system, IM clients communicate with each other directly hence they are less secure as there is no centralised control. With a client-server system, communications go through a central IM server from which it is passed on to the recipient. With client-server systems, IM communications can be monitored and logged at a central location (which also conforms to current compliance regulations). Not only do you have an audit trail but employees will be deterred from engaging in non-work related chit-chat and file swapping if they know they could be found out and held accountable!

Many places already have employees using IM at work, and the automatic assumption - that it cannot be used safely or is hindering productivity and therefore should be blocked - is probably unfair. Used and monitored properly, IM can be a great tool – but, like most other modern tools, it does need to be controlled and monitored if you are to ensure that productivity doesn’t suffer and that your network and data is to be kept secure. Like most other things out there, you just need to know what you are dealing with and know how to control it.

Any comments, queries or suggestions for follow up topics that you would like us to cover? Just leave a comment or contact us (details on the About Us page) and we will do our best to help.

Last time we took a slightly cynical look at the mountain of green rhetoric we are all being subjected to these days. This week we are trying to cut through the marketing propaganda to give some suggestions that are practical and usable for all organisations – not just the huge ones with large budgets and resources.

First of all, forget about the hype and get back to basics. Remember the recycling mantra:

• - Reduce
• - Reuse
• - Recycle

Reduce is an easy one. Ensuring your computers and printers are shut down at night and not just left on standby will cut down on wasteful power consumption and immediately improve your green footprint. Remember to also switch off monitors when not in use – you can adjust the settings to switch off after a certain period of inactivity. Laptops (and even some PCs) can be set to go into a standby lower power mode if not used for a set period.

Reducing your office paper consumption is another hot issue. You could use less by using both sides and thinking before you print – do you really need ten copies in full colour? Using cheaper low-grade or recycled paper for general use and keeping high-quality paper usage to a minimum is another simple green solution.

Also, don’t forget that a lot of the simple greener changes you have probably already made at home can be carried over into the office – like using low energy bulbs and rechargeable batteries.

Reuse your IT equipment for as long as it is practical and economical. Upgrade only when extra features, speed or processing power is essential – or if the equipment is particularly old and “power hungry”. Some organisations use snazzy new computers that are far more powerful than necessary to run simple office applications. Older machines with less powerful processors could simply be fitted with additional memory or bigger hard disks to remain in service. If you do need a new computer, check the manufacturers website to how green (both in terms of power consumption and the components used) – and when choosing a manufacturer, consult independent organisations such as Greenpeace (www.greenpeace.org/electronics) who regularly monitor how well the main manufacturers are truly doing on the green front or visit the EPEAT website (www.epeat.net) where an increading number of PCs, notebooks and monitors are evaluated and scored according to set environmental criteria.

Think about refilling rather than discarding your printer cartridges. (But take care to check manufacturers warranty if your printer is new because sometimes use of third-party consumables can lead to warranty exclusions.) National companies such as Cartridge World have outlets across the UK where you can take your empty cartridges to be refilled. Or, if you prefer, you can also buy special kits and refill the cartridges yourself – though this can get messy and isn’t always particularly successful. By reusing your cartridges you will not only help save landfill space but you can save money.

Recycle! Under the European Union’s Waste Electrical and Electronic (WEEE) Directive, all manufacturers of electrical equipment are responsible for its environmentally friendly disposal, and the infrastructure required for collection. This allows old equipment to be reused and recycled where possible, with any potentially hazardous components properly disposed of. Your IT supplier may well have facilities in place to recycle your old equipment, if not consult your local council website or national one like www.recyclenow.co.uk.

Once again, the recycling efforts you probably make at home can be reproduced in the office. Don’t forget that not only can your waste paper be recycled, but cans, bottles, cardboard or even plastics. It might not be as easy or cheap (unlike the private house refuse collection facilities provided by councils, most commercial waste collectors will only provide recycling collection at an additional cost) but with a bit or organisation it can be done – and a bottle or can recycled from your office will save just as much energy and resources as one from home.

There are many green options available for smaller organisations and even small changes can make a difference to the environment - and also to your finances. Here are some links you may find useful:

www.netregs.gov.uk - Waste Legislation Information

www.itsnoteasybeinggreen.org/forum - Internet forum with ‘green office’ ideas (amongst many other green topics)

www.donateapc.org – “matchmaking” service for people wanting to get rid of old IT equipment and people wanting to recycle it

www.globalactionplan.org.uk – helping organisations reduce their environmental impact.

www.greenpeace.org/electronics – highlights green IT issues and produces regular reports of how much manufacturers are truly doing to be greener

www.epeat.net - contains details of of PCs, notebooks and monitors that have been evaluated and scored according to set environmental criteria

www.recyclenow.co.uk - website is dedicated to raising recycling awareness and promoting responsible waste management

Any questions or comments?  Or any useful websites you would like to see added to our list?  Just leave a comment or contact us (details on the About Us page) and we will do our best to help.

Recycling your empty soft drink cans and glass bottles is by now second nature to most people. The introduction of kerbside collection has made recycling such a convenience that it almost goes against natural instincts to throw your recyclables in the ‘normal’ bin! But how many think of recycling and specifically Green IT at the office? As a Charity we know you are probably trying hard to do your bit, but if you are not a huge organisation it can be confusing to know where to start.

Put simply, Green IT is using your computing resources more efficiently. Some larger corporations are already taking steps to become more environmentally friendly. Quite apart from any concerns for our planet, they believe being green can reap benefits from cost savings to higher productivity. And of course better environmental credentials look very hip these days! But what does Green IT mean for the smaller organisations and what are some practical solutions?

These days there is much hype surrounding the Green IT issue. If you listened to all of it you would be scrapping your current IT for energy efficient PCs made from natural materials, ditching your servers for new high efficiency blade versions and encouraging your employees teleconference into work rather than drive. But if you take a step back and look at things more practically, it doesn’t take long to work out that (quite apart from the probably prohibitive costs involved) starting anew really isn’t an option that is cast-iron guaranteed to be more environmentally friendly long-term - particularly when you take into account the energy involved in producing all those new computers and shipping them all over the world, not to mention the cost, time & money to dispose of the old IT equipment that was still really working fine for you.

Don’t beat yourself up about the fact that you are not following every green recommendation or buying every new “greener” option. Remember that a lot of the people urging you to swap to those new greener options are not acting entirely out of concern for the planet – the sales of all that replacement kit does mean that those “go-green” pleas by the computer manufacturers are likely to be more than a little self-serving.

Hype aside, there are many small changes that you can make which when combined can still make a significant difference overall.

Next week we will go back to true green basics to look at some simple ways any organisation (however small) can make a difference.

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:

• - 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.
• - Consider how much time and expertise you have within your organisation to administer an anti-spam solution.
• - 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.

In our role helping charities and NFPs to grow and manage their IT solutions, we are often asked to supply and install an “in-house” mail server.

Most organisations start off with their mail being hosted by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) such as Demon, Yahoo or AOL, but as they grow, they often wish to host their own mail server in order to give them more features and greater control and flexibility.

When we are asked to help, one of the things we stress to them is the need for some form of anti-spam protection to work alongside their new server. This sometimes comes as a bit of a surprise – the organisation may not have been particularly bothered with spam up to this point - and we have to explain why it is necessary. In part one of our entries on this topic, we cover some of the key reasons for this confusion.

We haven’t had a big problem with spam up to now

When using ISP hosted mail your ISP normally does a lot of work behind the scenes to ensure the integrity of your inbox. This may include:

• - Cross checking email destined for your inbox against a blacklist (a database of spam-offending domain names or IP addresses)
• - Checking incoming mail is being sent from a valid domain
• - Checking any attachments for dangerous content (for example certain file extensions or filenames known to be potentially dangerous)
• - Scanning for viruses

You may not be aware any of this ‘cleansing’ is happening but when you switch to an in-house mail server, mail will come directly to you rather than via your ISP, so this “invisible cleaning” service that has been protecting you up to now (even if you didn’t know it) will no longer be there.

We never publicise our email addresses so how will anyone know what they are to send spam to them?

Firstly, since email is such a common method of communication, not publicising email addresses really isn’t an option for most charities and NFPs these days.

Although it is fair to say the posting of your email address on various websites can make you more susceptible to spam, keeping a low profile will not necessarily ensure immunity. Spammers can be relentless in their pursuit – and have a veritable arsenal of tools to automate their work and make their lives easier.

Once you have your own domain name, details of the domain are available all over the internet to anyone who knows where to look – and will be obvious from your website address (www. mycharityname.org). Most organizations have some form of standard convention for allocating email names – and the spammers know all the common names and possible variations!

A common ploy is to send emails to numerous target addresses with slight variations of names – for example johnsmith@example.com, john.smith@ mycharityname.org or john_smith@ mycharityname.org. By sending to all possible variations, a spam address gatherer can easily find out which email addresses are likely to be real and “live” by the inclusion of seemingly innocuous coding in the spam message (a link to an online image for example) that sends them an alert when opened. Even if all users are scrupulous in never opening a message from unknown senders (often difficult in itself, since you can’t afford to ignore the emails of potential new donors or recipients), phishing can make an email message appear as if it was sent from a trusted known source, enticing the recipient to open the email and thereby notifying the spammer of a real live address.

OK - spam is annoying, but anti-spam solutions cost money - can’t we live with it?

Most e-mail spam began life as a relatively benign, but annoying, method of email advertising. Nowadays, much spam email contains malware - malicious programs and coding designed to destroy or compromise the security of your computers. Spam has taken on a more sinister and destructive guise.

Phishing can make an email message appear as if it was sent from a trusted known source, luring unwary recipients to potentially give up sensitive information.

Also, you can’t assume you will only receive a few spam emails a day. News of your email addresses will move out through the “spammer” community incredibly quickly and the spam will start to arrive the moment they receive your email addresses. Current statistics indicate that 90-99% of all email these days is spam. So even if your organisation only receives one of two “real” emails a day, these statistics indicate that without any spam protection, you are going to have to look through up to 99 messages of spam to find each real message. Quite apart from having to put up with the rather dubious content in the spam messages, do your people really have time to do this – and the focus not to miss the “real” messages amongst all that spam?

Basically, if you are going to run your own mail server, you are going to need some form of anti-spam solution to, at minimum, save your inboxes being overrun with junk mail. More seriously, your anti-spam can help save you network from the influx of potentially damaging malware by scanning and selectively delivering only safe items.

So now how do you choose what kind of anti spam solution will be best for your needs and budget? We will cover this in next week’s blog – but if you can’t wait that long just contact us (details on the About Us page) and we will be more than happy to discuss the options available with you.

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 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:

1. Do you need to record fund raising results? If so, in what kind of detail?
2. Does it need to integrate with other programs (e.g. Word or Excel)?
3. Does it need to include Gift Aid processing?
4. 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:

• - Must have features.
• - Should have features.
• - 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.

 … 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?  

So its time to buy a database for your charity or NFP.  You have been given a budget.  Now it’s just a case of searching for something that fits the bill and getting some quotes in isn’t it?

Yes…. and No.  Whatever you do, whatever system looks best, don’t forget the “extras”.

When comparing prices, remember there are more costs to consider than just the price per user of the basic system.  Some suppliers will be totally upfront about these additional charges, some may not - but either way it’s your budget on the line, so it pays to ask questions.

Here are some of the additional areas of cost that can easily get missed.

Maintenance Fees

Most suppliers charge a yearly maintenance fee  - make sure whether this is included in your first year’s purchase price or will be extra on top.  Check to see what the maintenance fee covers:

1. Does it include all updates or just the minor ones?  (In other words, does it include just big fixes – if a wonderful new version of the database software comes out during the year, with you be charged extra for it?)
2. Does it include Telephone Support help if you need it?  And if it does, what hours is this support available and does the provider give any type of SLA? (Service Level Guarantee – i.e.  a guarantee how long it will take before your problem is acknowledged or fixed.)
3. Does it include “onsite” support if required?  (If you can’t resolve a problem over the phone, will a technical representative visit your offices to fix things.) 
4. If any of the above are not included, what price will the supplier charge to provide these services?  Are these prices fixed for the next year or when could they change?

Installation, Commissioning and Customisation Fees

Almost every database will need some initial installation and setup.  If your organisation is fairly large, or if you already have a database and want to take the data in it across to the new system, there will be additional work to be done at the start to get the new database system working as you need it, with any data you already have working correctly with it.  This work can take time and can be complex, so make sure that your supplier gives you accurate costings of what they will charge in your specific case.   This is also an area where suppliers can “hide” costs, quoting an apparently competitive cost for the actual database software then piling on a rather hefty charge for the initial setup and commissioning work. 

You also need to consider whether you currently need the database system to do anything extra or different (or anticipate you might in the foreseeable future).  This could be anything from simply requiring a few field name changes or additions right through to requiring additional features. 

We will cover this in more detail another time, but basically you need to consider whether you are likely to need any changes and, if so, you need to determine whether you or your staff can do these changes or whether you will need to pay the supplier to do them for you.  If it is the latter, try to determine the costs involved now and see if the supplier will make any guarantees as to how long these costs will be guaranteed for – it is not unheard of for suppliers costs to increase dramatically after the initial product has been purchased and paid for.

Initial User Training

Will your users and administrators need training to use the software?  We will cover this in more detail another time (another long topic!), but make sure that you take any training costs into account from the start – they can vary wildly.  And however good the database you buy, it is going to be useless if the people who need to use it don’t know how to and can’t work it out.

Ongoing Administration and Maintenance

Most database software will need some form of regular maintenance.  Before you purchase, check what tasks are likely to be required and ask:

1. What technical skills will be required to do them – will they be something you can do yourself or will they require an experienced technical administrator with skills no one at your organisation currently has? 
2. How long will the maintenance tasks take? 
3. How often will they need to be done?

Additional Hardware and Software

Make sure your supplier tells you the what kind of computing hardware and software will be required to host and run your new database.  You can’t assume that the hardware and software you already have will be sufficient.  If the new database is to be used by several users it is probably going to need to run on a server of some type - and you may be surprised how many suppliers assume that they don’t even need to tell you that their software will require a machine all of its own.  If your workstation PCs are old, you will also need to check that they are powerful enough to use the database, with a new enough operating system to work correctly with it.

And while we are on this subject, remember that your database will probably need to run on…. a database.  OK, this might sound stupid, but most custom charity database (or CRM) systems rely on an underlying “core” database (such as Microsoft SQL, Oracle, MySQL, SYbase, FoxPro… and numerous others) to do the underlying “manual work” - the “database” you are actually buying is the program that sits on top of this organising information into screens and providing the features and functions you need.  Most charity database developers (in fact most developers of any system that uses database technologies) do not want to re-invent the wheel in developing the core “manual” database functionality - apart from anything else it is a very specialised field to work in - and one that isn’t of interest to most developers out there!

Some of the “core” databases are free to use, but many cost a significant amount.   They can be priced  in a number of ways (per server, per user, per processor, per database) so make sure that your supplier tells you exactly what you need.  And remember that some manufacturers give discounts on the cost of software to charities, so make sure that you are getting the best pricing - find out what additional software is required and ask another company to quote for it to make sure that you get a good deal.

To Summarise

When comparing solutions, make sure that you are aware of the total cost you are going to need to pay out to get the database installed and running properly in your organisation.  Don’t base your decision just on the actual database software or you could be in for a nasty surprise when you get that final bill!

Any comments or questions?  Just post a comment…..