Scaling and Modernising IT for Nonprofits: Key Strategies for Success
Charitable organisations must keep up with technological advancements to remain effective and efficient. Modernising and scaling legacy IT infrastructure and web applications can seem daunting, but it’s essential for improving operations, enhancing security, and better serving your community.
Strategies and Tools to Improve Communication for Nonprofits
Effective communication is the backbone of any successful nonprofit organisation. Whether it’s engaging with staff, connecting with constituents, or building relationships with donors, clear and efficient communication can significantly enhance your organisation’s impact.
Cyber Security for Nonprofits: Lessons from Past Cyber Attacks
Non-profit and charitable organisations are facing an increase in cyber security challenges. Often with limited resources and a wealth of sensitive data, nonprofits have become prime targets for cybercriminals.
Past Cyber Attacks
In October 2023 the British Library experienced a ransomware attack that resulted in shutting down its computer, phone and WiFi systems for almost a month. After the Library refused to pay the ransom hundreds of files were released onto the dark web. Now, almost a year on, the Library has revealed its plans for cyber resilience going forward.
The National Trust also fell victim to a ransomware attack that disrupted their operations. Thankfully no data was stolen but the attack caused significant operational challenges and highlighted the vulnerabilities in their cyber defences.
These incidents underscore the importance of maintaining continual robust practices in cyber security for charities. Regular training, strong passwords, multi-factor authentication, and regular software updates can all help support this effort and mitigate the risks.
Common Entry Points for Cyber Attacks
By taking proactive steps, nonprofits can easily protect their valuable data and maintain the trust of their supporters. Attacks are not always that sophisticated. Attackers will often exploit several common entry points in charity systems that can easily be addressed.
Some of the most frequently used are Phishing Emails – which are deceptive emails designed to trick recipients into revealing sensitive information or downloading malicious software. They often appear to come from trusted sources.
Weak Passwords are still a common problem with simple or reused passwords making it easier for attackers to gain unauthorised access to accounts and systems.
Unpatched Software where outdated software may present vulnerabilities is another issue that attackers exploit. Regular updates and patches are crucial to close these security gaps.
By addressing these vulnerabilities through comprehensive security policies, regular training, and robust technical measures, charities can significantly reduce their risk of cyber-attacks.
Cybersecurity Success Stories
Some of the more successful breach prevention strategies that have been effectively implemented by various organisations, including charities are:
- Regular Security Training: One charity implemented quarterly cyber security training sessions for all staff and volunteers. This training included recognising phishing attempts, safe internet practices, and proper data handling procedures. As a result, they saw a significant decrease in successful phishing attacks.
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): A non-profit organisation adopted MFA for all their online accounts and systems. This added layer of security required users to provide two or more verification factors to gain access, drastically reducing unauthorised access incidents.
- Regular Software Updates and Patching: Another charity established a strict policy for regular software updates and patching. By ensuring all systems and applications were up to date, they minimised vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers.
- Data Encryption: A large non-profit encrypts all sensitive data, both in transit and at rest. This meant that even if data was intercepted or accessed without authorisation, it would be unreadable without the proper decryption keys.
- Incident Response Plan: One organisation developed a comprehensive incident response plan, including regular drills and updates. This plan ensured that in the event of a breach, they could quickly contain and mitigate the impact, reducing downtime and data loss.
- Third-Party Vendor Assessments: A charity conducted thorough security assessments of all third-party vendors before engaging with them. This included reviewing their security policies, practices, and past incidents to ensure they met the charity’s security standards.
Implementing these strategies can significantly enhance an organisation’s cyber security posture and help prevent breaches.
Want to find out more about how best prepared your organisation is against cyber-attacks and where your vulnerabilities are?
Solving the Biggest IT Challenges in the Manufacturing Sector
The integration of new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), automation and the Internet of Things (IoT) has become paramount to sustaining competitiveness and driving growth in the manufacturing sector. However, this journey can be complex, from embracing digital transformation to fortifying against cyber threats and ensuring the workforce is equipped with the necessary skills.
This article discusses these pressing issues and explores actionable steps to overcome them.
Challenges of Digital Transformation
Digital transformation in manufacturing entails leveraging technologies like IoT, AI, and cloud computing to streamline operations, enhance efficiency, and enable predictive maintenance. Yet, many manufacturing companies face hurdles in adopting these innovations due to legacy systems, lack of digital expertise, and concerns over initial investment and then seeing a return on their investment.
Actionable Steps:
- Assessment and Strategy: Begin with a comprehensive assessment of current IT infrastructure and processes. Develop a clear digital transformation strategy that aligns technology investments with business goals.
- Cloud Adoption: Embrace cloud computing for scalability, flexibility, and cost efficiency. Sify provides cloud advisory services to tailor cloud strategies that fit manufacturing needs.
Increased Threats Related to Cyber Security
As manufacturing processes become more interconnected and data-driven, cyber threats loom larger. The sector is increasingly targeted by cybercriminals seeking to disrupt operations, steal intellectual property or gain financially.
Actionable Steps:
- Cybersecurity Assessment: Conduct regular cybersecurity assessments and audits to identify vulnerabilities and implement robust defences.
- Managed IT Services: Engage with managed service providers like Sify, who offer comprehensive cybersecurity solutions that can be customised specifically to manufacturing environments.
Reskilling/Retraining the Manufacturing Workforce
The influx of digital technologies necessitates a skilled workforce capable of operating, maintaining, and innovating with these tools. However, there’s a significant skills gap in the sector, exacerbated by rapid technological advancements.
Actionable Steps:
- Training Programs: Invest in ongoing training programs to upskill existing employees on emerging technologies such as AI, robotics, and data analytics. Sify’s digital learning solutions ensure custom learning content to meet your goals is created and implemented.
- Partnerships and Collaborations: Explore partnerships with IT training providers to develop the IT skills within your team. Sify has a comprehensive range of IT training courses and certifications that can deliver training programs that bridge the skills gap and prepare the workforce for future challenges.
Sify: Your Partner in Overcoming IT Challenges
Sify can help manufacturing companies overcome these challenges and become a vital partner. With our expertise in cloud optimisation and cloud advisory services, Sify empowers manufacturing companies to accelerate their digital transformation journey securely and efficiently. Our bespoke solutions will address your specific needs, ensuring scalability, reliability, and compliance.
The Key Challenges We Solve
With a heritage in IT Infrastructure, Sify has grown over two decades to provide a one-stop engagement across networks, data centre, cloud, digital and IT services.
Sify enables you to build an IT infrastructure that underpins business profitability, by delivering flexible expertise to fill IT skills gaps, and by deploying, managing and optimising complex hybrid environments to deliver the right combination of flexibility, security and affordability.
Here are the key challenges our Managed Services can help your organisation solve:
Optimisation
Future-proof your business by optimising your use of cloud technology
Resources
Increase responsiveness with access to the right scale and calibre of specialist IT skills as and when you need them
Cost Savings
Make your IT budget go further by lowering your costs and becoming more efficient
Reduce Risk
Control your risks by ensuring the security and resilience of your IT infrastructure
Conclusion
The manufacturing sector stands at a critical juncture where embracing digital transformation, strengthening cybersecurity defences, and upskilling the workforce are imperative for sustained growth and competitiveness. By taking proactive measures and partnering with a trusted provider like Sify, you can navigate these challenges effectively, take advantage of new opportunities, and plan for a successful future.
To learn more about how Sify can support your IT goals, book a call with one of our experts to discuss your challenge.
The Future of Workspace Setup with ‘Branch-in-a-Box’ Solution: Importance, Benefits, and Use Cases
Growth of business today is highly dependent on agility. As business grow, the physical in-branch or in-store location or new workspaces need to come up quickly and efficiently.
Colt Charity Bike Ride 2024 Sponsorship Announcement
The Colt Bike Ride is an annual charity event that challenges 175 riders to cycle 450km from Brussels to Dusseldorf, all in support of digital inclusion and raising funds for 22 global charities.
Since its inception 11 years ago, the bike ride has raised almost two million euros for worthy causes.
This year’s bike ride focuses on digital inclusion, addressing the critical need to ensure everyone has equal access to digital resources and services. Almost three billion people worldwide are digitally excluded. With the support of sponsors and participants, we aim to amplify voices and make a tangible difference in bridging the digital divide affecting so many globally.
As a proud sponsor of this event, Sify’s partnership with Colt underscores our dedication to making a meaningful impact in the areas we serve.
Howard Thomas, Managing Director Europe, Sify, said “Sify is incredibly proud we are supporting such a fantastic cause as Colt’s Annual Bike ride and equally proud to be sponsoring alongside some of the leading technology providers in our industry.”
For more information on how you can contribute or get involved, please visit the dedicated Colt Bike Ride homepage.
Accelerate Your SAP S4/HANA Journey with Sify & LeapGreat’s Innovative Solution
Embarking on an SAP landscape modernization and migration journey can be a daunting task, fraught with complexities and challenges. However, with Sify and LeapGreat, distinguished SAP partners, by your side, you can navigate this transformation with confidence and ease.
Sify/LeapGreat’s SAP Innovation Services offer a comprehensive solution that seamlessly transitions your business to SAP S/4HANA. This groundbreaking solution is built upon a robust foundation of automation, comprehensive testing, and a clean core code line, ensuring a smooth and efficient migration.
Discover AI-driven automation at Sify’s SAP Innovation Lab. This enables you to quickly adopt and reap the benefits of your business operations, SAP Solution extensions, and more.
Our future-ready software is neatly integrated with a robust and accelerated SAP Landscape. This integration facilitates your ‘Rise with SAP’ journey, making it more cost-effective and faster through a resilient service.
The software is further enhanced through integration to Cloud ALM tools and a Transformation Management Tool Stack. This allows for seamless operation across various customer estates of your choice. In essence, our services are designed to make your transition to SAP smoother, more efficient, and tailored to your specific needs, embedded with Tricentis comprehensive QA.
Risk Reduction through Automation and Best Practices: At the heart of Sify/LeapGreat’s offering lies a powerful automation platform that leverages SAP Best Practices and the SAP clean core code. This approach not only streamlines the migration process but also significantly reduces the risks associated with complex SAP transformations, ensuring a future-ready software stack for seamless cloud adoption.
Increased Value through Comprehensive Services: Sify/LeapGreat’s offering goes beyond mere implementation. It is enriched by a full-service managed experience, including deployment, go-live support for your preferred environment (cloud or on-premises), and seamless integration capabilities from the outset. This holistic approach ensures a seamless transition and ongoing optimization, enabling you to realize the full value of your SAP investment.
Intelligent QA and Testing for Smooth Go-Live: To further mitigate risks and ensure a successful go-live, Sify/LeapGreat employs intelligent QA and testing processes. Rigorous testing protocols are applied just before production go-live, ensuring that your new SAP system is thoroughly validated, minimizing the risk of disruptions, and guaranteeing a smooth transition.
Getting Your Nonprofit Organisation Ready to Implement Microsoft Copilot
As a nonprofit professional, you’re constantly seeking ways to maximise productivity and efficiency to further your mission. Microsoft Copilot, an AI-driven assistant integrated into Microsoft 365, offers a transformative opportunity to enhance your organisation’s operations. However, successful implementation requires thorough preparation.
It’s vital to remember that Copilot is designed to augment, not replace, human expertise. It serves as a digital assistant that enhances efficiency and creativity. By automating routine tasks, Copilot allows us to focus on the more complex aspects of our work.
Here’s a guide to ensure your organisation is ready to harness the full potential of Microsoft Copilot.
- Understand the Capabilities and Benefits
Before diving into readiness, it’s crucial to understand what Microsoft Copilot can do. Copilot integrates with Microsoft 365 apps like Word, Excel, and Teams, providing AI-powered assistance to streamline tasks such as drafting documents, analysing data, and managing communications. By automating repetitive tasks, it frees up your team to focus on strategic initiatives and mission-critical activities. Copilot is not there to replace humans!Watch: Microsoft Copilot walkthrough from our webinar “Unleashing the Power of Microsoft Copilot for Success” - Assess Your Current Digital Environment
Start by evaluating your existing IT infrastructure. Ensure your organisation is already leveraging Microsoft 365. Review your subscription plan and check for any upgrades needed to access Copilot features. Consider conducting a digital audit to identify gaps in your current setup that might hinder Copilot’s implementation.Related Read: Complete an enquiry form to discuss how Sify can assess your Microsoft Copilot readiness - Prioritise Data Security
Data security is paramount, especially for nonprofit organisations handling sensitive information. Microsoft Copilot operates within the Microsoft 365 framework, which adheres to stringent security protocols. However, you must ensure your data security measures are robust:- Encrypt Data: Ensure that all data within Microsoft 365 is encrypted both in transit and at rest.
- Access Controls: Implement strict access controls to restrict who can view and modify data.
- Regular Audits: Conduct security audits to identify and mitigate potential vulnerabilities.
If you want support with your data security audit, Sify can help.
- Focus on Privacy Compliance
Privacy is a significant concern, particularly with AI tools that process large amounts of data. Ensure your organisation complies with all relevant privacy regulations, such as GDPR in the UK. This includes:- Data Minimisation: Only collect data that is necessary for your operations.
- Consent Management: Obtain and manage consent from individuals whose data you process.
- Transparency: Be transparent with stakeholders about how their data is used, stored, and protected.
- Monitor and Optimise
Post-implementation, continuously monitor the performance of Microsoft Copilot and its impact on your operations. Collect feedback from your team to identify areas for improvement. Regularly review your processes to ensure they align with best practices and adjust as needed to optimise efficiency.
How Sify Can Help with Data Readiness and Data Security
Partnering with Sify can significantly streamline your journey towards implementing Microsoft Copilot by enhancing your data readiness and security. We offer a comprehensive Microsoft Copilot readiness assessment that you can utilise to assess the status of your IT infrastructure and how it can become more robust and scalable.
Our Microsoft-certified experts will:
- Safeguard your sensitive information.
- Ensure your data is easily accessible by data indexing and tagging.
By leveraging Sify, your organisation can seamlessly integrate Microsoft Copilot, ensuring that you maximise the productivity gains.
Conclusion
Implementing new technology can seem daunting but the gains are too great to ignore. Microsoft Copilot can significantly enhance the productivity and efficiency of your nonprofit organisation. However, readiness is key. By focusing on data security, privacy compliance and data organisation, you can ensure a smooth transition and maximise the benefits of this powerful AI tool. Embrace this opportunity to elevate your organisation’s capabilities and advance your mission more effectively.
For detailed setup instructions and more information on Microsoft Copilot, you can visit the official Microsoft Copilot setup guide.
Key IT Strategies for Nonprofit Organisations
In nonprofit organisations, the intersection of technology and strategy plays a pivotal role in driving impact and sustainability. From establishing clear technology frameworks to diversifying fundraising strategies, nonprofits face a myriad of challenges that demand innovative solutions and resilient practices.
Let’s explore the core areas where nonprofits encounter hurdles and explore strategies to overcome them effectively.
Establishing a Clear Technology Strategy
The foundation of any nonprofit’s technological journey lies in a robust technology strategy. However, many organisations struggle with defining their technology needs, selecting appropriate tools, and aligning them with organisational goals. To tackle this, nonprofits should prioritise a comprehensive assessment of their current technological landscape, identify gaps, and formulate a strategy that not only addresses immediate needs but also fosters scalability and adaptability for future growth.
Related Read: Transform your IT Infrastructure with Sify to fast-track your digital plans
Diversifying Fundraising Strategies
Relying solely on a single fundraising method can pose significant risks for nonprofits. To mitigate this, organisations must diversify their fundraising approaches to reduce dependency on a sole revenue source. By exploring various avenues such as crowdfunding, grant applications, corporate partnerships, and individual donations, nonprofits can create a more sustainable financial ecosystem that withstands fluctuations and fosters long-term stability.
Related Read: Explore Microsoft 365 grants and discounts
Managing and Integrating Data
Nonprofits gather vast amounts of data related to donors, beneficiaries, programs, and operations. However, managing and integrating this data efficiently pose significant challenges. Investing in robust data management systems, leveraging data analytics tools, and ensuring compliance with data privacy regulations are imperative steps toward harnessing the full potential of data while maintaining integrity and security.
Watch: Cloud Migration – options for virtual machines, databases, web apps and containers
Measuring Success and Impact
Demonstrating the impact of nonprofit programs is crucial for fostering transparency and building donor trust. However, measuring success in the nonprofit sector is often complex due to diverse metrics, data availability constraints, and the long-term nature of social impact. To overcome this, nonprofits should adopt a multifaceted approach that combines quantitative and qualitative indicators, embraces outcome-oriented evaluations, and incorporates stakeholder feedback to gauge effectiveness and drive continuous improvement.
Implementing and Maintaining IT Infrastructure
While a digital presence is indispensable in today’s interconnected world, it comes with inherent costs related to staff, technology adoption, and ongoing maintenance. Nonprofits must strike a balance between leveraging technological innovations to streamline operations and ensuring fiscal responsibility. Collaborating with technology partners, exploring cost-effective solutions, and prioritising scalability and sustainability are key strategies in navigating the complexities of IT infrastructure management.
Related Read: 5 Benefits of Using an IT Partner to Support Cloud Optimisation
Developing Internal Talent
Nonprofit staff often juggle multiple responsibilities under tight budgets, making them vulnerable to burnout and stress. As organisations embark on technological transformations, investing in staff training, providing adequate support during transitions, and fostering a culture of resilience becomes paramount. By nurturing an environment that values learning, innovation, and well-being, nonprofits can empower their staff to adapt to new technologies and thrive in dynamic landscapes.
Related Read: Expand your IT staff training with pre-curated learning content
Conclusion
The journey toward technological advancement is not without its challenges. Concerns such as managing multi-cloud environments, maintaining compliance and security standards, and identifying the right cloud service provider are prevalent among nonprofit leaders. To address these concerns effectively, nonprofits should seek specialised expertise, leverage industry best practices, and cultivate partnerships with reputable technology providers to navigate the complexities of cloud management and optimisation.
In conclusion, the path to technological excellence and strategic innovation in the nonprofit sector demands commitment, proactive adaptation, and collaborative efforts. By embracing these challenges as opportunities for growth and transformation, nonprofits can pave the way for impactful change, drive sustainable growth, and meet their organisational goals.
How Sify Can Help
Sify is an IT and Digital Services company that was formed in 1995 and Nasdaq listed since 1999. We help over 10,000 clients and partners improve business operational efficiency and deliver excellence.
At Sify, we believe every nonprofit organisation deserves to thrive in the digital age. By partnering with Sify, you gain more than just a consultant — we become your strategic guide dedicated to your success.
Our approach is based on our IT expertise and collaboration skills. We understand the complexities of IT landscapes, and we’re committed to guiding you through every step of your digital transformation journey. With our deep knowledge of cloud technologies like Microsoft Azure, we empower you to unlock your potential and achieve operational excellence.
Key benefits:
- Expert Guidance: Our IT professionals understand the complexities of IT landscapes and can provide bespoke solutions to meet your specific needs.
- Strategic Alignment: Align your IT strategy with your goals to improve technology spend ROI.
- Efficiency and Optimisation: Optimise your IT workloads and environments with Sify by leveraging Azure’s advanced tools to enhance operational efficiency and reduce costs.
- Robust Security: Rest assured knowing that your data and infrastructure are protected by strong security measures.
- Agility and Scalability: Stay agile and responsive to changing organisational demands with scalable solutions designed to adapt to you.
- Continuous Innovation: Stay ahead of the curve with access to the latest technologies and innovations, as Sify continually drives efficiency, enhances performance, and unlocks new opportunities.
7 Challenges and Solutions for Fintech IT Leaders
Part of the success and growth of a Fintech organisation lies in having a robust IT infrastructure. Without this strong foundation, other business units cannot function efficiently and productively. But building, managing and optimising a strong IT environment brings unique challenges.
In this article, we will cover the key challenges for Fintech IT leaders and offer strategic solutions to overcome these hurdles.
- Scalability
Challenge: Rapid growth is a common characteristic of successful fintech organisations, and scaling IT infrastructure to meet increasing demands can be a daunting task.
Solution: Embrace cloud computing solutions to provide scalable resources on-demand, adopt a modular architecture that allows for easy expansion, and regularly assess and adjust capacity based on business needs.
Related Read: Unlocking Growth – Scaling Repeatable IT Processes and Environments
- High Availability and Reliability
Challenge: Downtime is not an option in the fintech world, where transactions happen in real-time.
Solution: Design a resilient architecture with redundant systems and failover mechanisms, conduct regular performance testing, and implement robust disaster recovery plans to ensure high availability and reliability.
- Cybersecurity Risks
Challenge: Fintech companies deal with sensitive financial data, making them prime targets for cyber threats.
Solution: Implement a multi-layered cybersecurity approach with encryption, firewalls, and intrusion detection systems. Conduct regular penetration testing, educate employees on cybersecurity best practices, and stay abreast of evolving threats to proactively defend against potential breaches.
- Legacy System Integration
Challenge: Many fintechs inherit legacy systems or work with partners using older technologies, creating compatibility issues.
Solution: Prioritise interoperability when adopting new technologies, invest in middleware solutions to bridge the gap between legacy and new systems, and consider a phased approach to integration to minimise disruptions.
Related Read: Utilise Sify for the skills and expertise to assist your cloud strategy
- Compliance and Regulatory Demands
Challenge: Fintech companies operate in a heavily regulated environment with evolving compliance requirements.
Solution: Leverage automation to streamline compliance processes and reduce the possibility human errors.
- Data Management Complexity
Challenge: Fintechs deal with vast amounts of data, and managing, processing, and extracting meaningful insights from this data can be complex.
Solution: Implement advanced data management and analytics tools, leverage machine learning for data analysis, and establish robust data governance frameworks to ensure data accuracy, security, and compliance.
- Talent Acquisition and Retention
Challenge:Attracting and retaining skilled IT professionals in a competitive market can be challenging.
Solution: Provide opportunities for professional development, foster a positive and collaborative workplace culture, leverage IT partners to plug any resources gap you have and actively engage in partnerships with learning organisations to develop business talent.
Related Read: Empower Your Workforce with Digital Learning and Deliver Results
Conclusion
Addressing the challenges of IT infrastructure management is integral to sustained success. By focusing on finding solutions to the key challenges, fintech organisations can build a resilient and agile IT infrastructure that not only meets current demands but positions them for future growth and innovation.
How Sify Can Help
Sify is ideally placed to help businesses build a sustainable, fully optimised IT infrastructure that meets long-term business needs.
We offer deep expertise in all areas of cloud and IT infrastructure, combined with proven methodologies and frameworks to help analyse, design and optimise cloud environments.
Our proven experience and expertise have delivered for organisations seeking to optimise their cloud infrastructures, including reducing costs and ensuring resources are right sized, accelerating deployment time for new applications, improving alignment between business functions and helping firms integrate new cloud-based technologies such as AI or analytics.
The Key Challenges We Solve
With a heritage in IT Infrastructure, Sify has grown over two decades to provide a one-stop engagement across networks, data centre, cloud, digital and IT services.
Sify enables you to build an IT infrastructure that underpins business profitability, by delivering flexible expertise to fill IT skills gaps, and by deploying, managing and optimising complex hybrid environments to deliver the right combination of flexibility, security and affordability.
Here are the key challenges our Managed Services can help your organisation solve:
Optimisation
Future-proof your business by optimising your use of cloud technology
Resources
Increase responsiveness with access to the right scale and calibre of specialist IT skills as and when you need them
Cost Savings
Make your IT budget go further by lowering your costs and becoming more efficient
Reduce Risk
Control your risks by ensuring the security and resilience of your IT infrastructure
