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Networking
The primary benefits of computer networking are economy, centralization and communication. Networks allow resources to be shared among all staff in a nonprofit. These resources can include printers, hard drives, data and Internet connections.
The issues uncovered in surveying computer networking include the following:
Among organizations with greater than five computers (64%), 37% did not have networks. As many nonprofits are not networked, technology expenditures are often spread across each workstation. Of the organizations that had networks, 9 (18%) did not share Internet bandwidth through them. As the number of workstations increases, these inefficiencies compound.
Effective use of a network will allow the centralization of administrative responsibilities. Virus protection, backup, email and more can be a network server issue versus a perworkstation issue. Therefore, the centralization of network resources and services limits opportunities for failure and reduces administrative overhead. None of the organizations assessed utilized network-based virus protection.
In addition, 12 (50%) of networked organizations used individual workstations for document storage, as opposed to a central repository. A contributing factor is that only 29% (7) of networked nonprofits operate dedicated servers.
Third, networks facilitate communication. The exchange and storage of information using networks allows central repositories of organizational information to be developed. In addition, “groupware” can provide group calendars, task lists, intranets and instant messaging. Only two participants utilized a groupware server.
Challenge Statement: Nonprofits need effective computer networks.
Strategy 1: Inform management staff of the benefits of networking. Organizations without networks often see networking as a complicating factor, increasing the amount of internal expertise required. Enlightening nonprofits about the benefits of networking will convince more nonprofits of the efficiencies of networks.
Strategy 2: Develop a nonprofit “best practices toolkit” for networking. Organizations independently approaching computer networking could use such a toolkit to frame options and provide technical and managerial direction.
Strategy 3: Create a nonprofit networking package. A server specification, designed by ENTECH, might be distributed to nonprofits. The specification will include software and hardware configurations that are appropriate for different scenarios present. Opportunities also exist for the use of open-source tools to support networking at low-cost. These servers could also be built and sold.
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Introduction
Organizational Summary
Future Directions
Technology Planning
Training
Networking
Information Management
Hardware
Protection & Security
Internet Use
Technology Policies
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