planning and budgeting for IT equipment
why plan and budget?
Before rushing out to buy computers and software for the first time or rushing into upgrading your existing equipment, it's essential to plan and budget for IT properly. This is important because not only is IT expensive in terms of the cost of equipment and staff training and support, but it's complicated and requires skill to understand and use well.
IT should be considered as tools to do your work faster and better, not to create processes that do not exist. IT also needs to be driven by the overall goals of your organisation.
who should make IT decisions?
Decisions that will have a major impact on the way your organisation works should be made by people with a good idea of the "big picture", for instance the board or management committee. IT decisions come under this category and therefore should not be taken in isolation — they are just as important as decisions on money or people.
You should consider the needs and future direction of your organisation. For example, ask yourself whether your organisation is thinking of developing a new service in the next 12 months. If so, what software and hardware will you need to accommodate that change?
Once your organisation has a broad IT strategy in place, then more routine IT decisions can be made by appropriate staff as long as clear targets and guidelines are provided to them. Who has final responsibility for IT decisions is likely to vary from organisation to organisation, but what is important is being clear about which decisions can be taken by whom.
budgeting for IT
When it comes to budgeting for IT, ask yourself the following questions:
- For those just starting up — where are you going to get the money from? Will IT be included as part of every fundraising application? Can the cost be built into your core costs?
- For those upgrading rather than starting up — how has money been raised and spent on IT in the past e.g. by ad-hoc fundraising when a new computer was needed or by emergency replacement of broken equipment? What worked best?
To go a step further, you need to have a realistic annual budget for IT. You will need to budget for:
- hardware and infrastructure
- software
- internet
- training
- support
- consumables.
Tip
In the "Choosing the Right Software" section we also provide details of places you can go for donated equipment that won't cost a thing.
setting goals — deciding what you want to achieve
As we've said, it's important to ensure that your use of IT is driven by the overall goals of your organisation rather than your organisation being driven by IT. Setting goals should be the first thing to consider as part of your overall IT strategy. These goals don't have to be big or complicated but could include something like:
- we want to produce written documents more efficiently
- we want to record our contacts with clients more accurately
- we want to improve internal and external communications.
Tip
Write down the major goals your organisation would like to achieve for which IT is required.
what's in an IT strategy?
In general terms
So now that you have an idea of your organisation's goals, you are part of the way to having an IT strategy in place. Such a strategy will help ensure that the purchase and use of IT is firmly tied to your organisation's current and future aims and business.
In general terms, an IT strategy for choosing what IT equipment you will need involves:
- deciding what you want to achieve (that is setting goals — see previous section)
- choosing the software to achieve those goals
- choosing the hardware to run the software.
IT strategy Checklist
An IT strategy — which need not be any more than 2 sides of an A4 piece of paper — should include:
- the date the strategy was agreed on and by whom (e.g. 1 November 2006 by the board)
- a timeframe for carrying out and reviewing the strategy (e.g. carry out the strategy over 3 years but review that timeframe every year)
- goals at organisational, departmental and/or team level (e.g. organisation to record contacts with clients more efficiently)
- how IT can be used to meet these goals (e.g. database to assist staff with client information)
- any specific IT projects (e.g. developing a website)
- administrative policies (e.g. how will the information be stored, backed up and secured? Who should have access to what information?)
- details of equipment to be retained or replaced (new or upgraded). If upgrading, check all aspects of hardware and software compatibility
- estimation of how many computer users will be required for the next 3 to 5 years and selection of an appropriate network configuration i.e. standalone, peer-to-peer network or server domain network
- a decision on whether remote access will be required
- training requirements
- schedule of costs.
Tip
Have a go at writing your IT strategy.
where can you go for IT support?
Those who end up with responsibility for IT decisions may have to seek technical advice if they are not technically able themselves. Don't worry about that — it's fine and there is help available out there.
In the first instance you should look at other not-for-profit organisations that you consider to be good role models and could act as benchmarks on where you'd like to be. Failing that, you should approach a good local IT specialist organisation. But remember — some local IT suppliers/providers may not always meet professional standards nor have the capacity to support a large not-for-profit organisation. In such instances, it would be best to source from a bigger out-of-town organisation that could supply best price and quality and perhaps engage them for remote support using the internet or telephone dial-up links.
Tip
To find out who the local IT specialist organisations are in your area, ask people within the not-for-profit sector that you know or look in your local telephone directory or check out the Universal Business Directory (UBD) at www.ubd.co.nz.
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