NTC, monthly networking events, and even the blogosphere are so saturated with information about CRM, CMS, and social networking, that many organizations forget about the basics of IT operations.  This is an unfortunate oversight because the decisions and investments we make about our IT infrastructure impact organizational operations for years at a time and significantly affect staff productivity.    In short, for better or worse, all work at an organization is affected by the computers, networks, and servers that are in-use.  Getting the mundane work of budgeting, configuring, and maintaining an organization's tech infrastructure right is critical to day-to-day operations and future pain-free organizational growth.

This session will go over the basics of how to plan an IT strategy, budget, and implementation for both a small nonprofit that wants to get things right from the start, as well as, bigger nonprofits that are experiencing enough growth that it is causing their IT systems to breakdown, affecting their staff's ability to get things done.

In addition to a short, humorous presentation that outlines the basic problems in nonprofit IT, participants will be lead through a number of real life games on how to determine an organization's needs, a live call with Dell's sales department (shhhh... don't tell them they're on NTC candid camera!) on how to talk to vendors to get the best deal on a quote (hint: it's not through their website!), and plenty of Q&A.

Session takeaways:

1.   How to create a living IT strategy document that provides the basic info needed to match IT resources to an org's mission.

2.  The difference between consumer and business grade equipment and why it's important.

3.  How to negotiate the best value for your money with equipment vendors.

Level: Beginner