98% of NGO’s in South Africa believe that technology is essential to their day-to-day operations. This is according to a recent survey conducted by Microsoft, which polled NGO’s across the region.

The research also found that NGO’s who have adopted digital solutions within their organisations are able to work more effectively with staff and volunteers across the globe.

The NGO’s that participated in the survey reported that they found the most important resources for their organisation to be cloud-based technologies, Skype for enhanced communication with other offices and field workers, as well as tools that allowed for data collection and analysis.

According to one respondent who participated in the survey, “Cloud technology has improved our operations, allowing us to keep a detailed database of our beneficiaries, update records easily, search for records faster and back-up information on servers that are not on our premises.”

Biggest barriers to adoption
The results from the survey also showed that out of the 55 non-profits surveyed, only 12 said that 80 percent of their employees and field workers have access to devices, and 16 reported that their field workers are using technology to better serve their cause.

However, those who do have devices said that their employees are empowered to better to serve their communities because they are able to work from anywhere, reducing their anxiety to deliver and eliminating inefficiencies.

A lack of finding and poor internet connection were also cited as some of the biggest barriers to adoption of technology within the NGO sector. Several respondents indicated that there was often an internal belief that technology is too expensive. They also reported facing challenges regarding weak team structures and collaboration, as well as restricted funding models.

However, according to Siya Madyibi, Head of Corporate External and Legal Affairs Microsoft SA, the right technology allows NGO’s to overcome in-country connectivity issues and break free of physical IT hardware. “As we bring technology to more NGOs we are able to complement their traditional practices, and ensure a holistic approach. For example, using CRM Online allows NGOs to always stay connected to constituents, volunteers, and donors, allowing them to nurture donor relationships but also acknowledging that face to face meetings are not phased out completely,” he adds.

Public Cloud for Public Good

As part of their $1 billion commitment to ensure that cloud serves the public good, Microsoft Philanthropies is making Microsoft Azure broadly available to eligible non-profit organisations by offering Azure credits. Microsoft Azure’s cloud services help organisations accelerate innovation with integrated intelligence that powers insights and decision-making, supports a broad selection of operating systems, and provides industry-leading security. This offer adds to the existing comprehensive suite of Microsoft cloud services that are available to non-profits to empower their missions.

“We’re continuing our investment in NGO’s in South Africa, using our resources and expertise to overcome barriers that NGO’s face by working hand in hand with policy makers. We want to set them up for success to thrive in a digital-first world. Ultimately we want to achieve a common goal of supporting the economic growth of South Africa and achieving long-term sustainability within the non-profit sector” concludes Madyibi.

Microsoft brings cloud power to non-profits

As part of its Microsoft Philanthropies division and its ‘Modern Non-profit’ campaign, Microsoft has announced that it will be making Microsoft Azure available to eligible non-profit and non-governmental organisations, by offering Azure credits. This offer adds to the existing comprehensive suite of Microsoft cloud services that are available to non-profits to empower their missions.

Microsoft Azure’s cloud services help organisations accelerate innovation with integrated intelligence that powers insights and decision-making, supports a broad selection of operating systems, and provides industry-leading security.

This forms part of Microsoft’s ‘Public Cloud for Good’ initiative, through which it will donate $1 billion in cloud computing resources over the next three years to 70,000 non-profits and NGOs worldwide.

Microsoft is on a mission to empower every person and organisation on the planet to achieve more by investing in technology, employees and partnerships, to drive greater inclusion and empowerment of people who do not have access to technology and the opportunities it enables.

The cloud suite available to non-profits already includes Office 365, Power BI, Dynamics CRM, and Enterprise Mobility. These solutions improve NGOs’ agility and flexibility while helping them to optimise operations and increase impact.

Through this campaign, NGOs can access Microsoft data centres around the world, as well as its computing and storage power, to develop and run their applications and to manage relationships with donors, volunteers and beneficiaries. They can also manage all of their devices, applications and data on a cross-platform basis.

With Azure coming online for non-profits, Microsoft now offers the most comprehensive and industry-leading donations programme, providing cloud services that empower non-profit organisations to digitally transform their business, and transform the world.

Who is eligible?

  • Non-profit organisations must have recognised charitable status in South Africa
  • The non-profit’s mission must align with eligible missions, with a focus to benefit the community
  • Non-profits must also attest to Microsoft’s anti-discrimination policy
  • Licenses and subscriptions are intended for employees of eligible non-profit organisations only. Members or beneficiaries of the non-profit organisation are NOT eligible for non-Profit licenses or subscriptions

How it works:

Register with Sangotech and obtain validation token:

  • Validation token is only issued once organisation has been validated as eligible for Microsoft donation programmes
  • Validation token is key which provides access to Microsoft Product Donation site: www.microsoft.com/nonprofits

Monetary grants:

  • Available to eligible organisations whose missions and activities align to our core programmes
  • Limited and typically result from an invitation to apply for a grant
  • Typically, grants to non-profits are in the form of software, which we make broadly available to eligible organisations