How can a non-profit organization benefit from outsourcing IT? Won't outsourcing IT be too expensive for a non-profit? Is IT even that important for non-profit organizations? These are all common questions posed by non-profit organizations.
In the digital age, it has become crucial for all organizations to take cybersecurity and IT management seriously. areas of their organization see the most success from outsourcing IT. Some of these benefits are cost-efficiency, security, IT training, budgetary planning assistance, and access to skilled experts.
Let's dive a little deeper into some of these benefits to see if outsourcing IT may be the right decision for your organization.
Consistent costs and Budgetary Planning
Your MSP will assist with long- or short-term budget planning when outsourcing IT. This is a great way to ensure there are never unexpected costs or fees. All payments will be planned for, and any anticipated expenses will be discussed between your organization and the MSP to ensure that a sound payment plan is implemented.
Budgetary planning will occur when you first partner with an MSP and quarterly every year. This meeting is referred to as a quarterly business review. Your organization will meet with a vCIO to discuss how your IT environment is doing, any changes that need to be implemented, and create a strategic payment plan to meet your financial needs. Financial planning is a great way to ensure that money from your organization is going to good use and being spent effectively.
Non-Profit IT Support is Cost-effective
By outsourcing IT, non-profit organizations can save on costs. When hiring internal staff, you have to financially account for salary, benefits, bonuses, and training. It can be very costly to retain a qualified in-house IT team. If your IT technician quits or gets sick, there will be a period of downtime without IT support that could leave your environment vulnerable to cyber threats.
By working with an outsourced provider, your organization will receive an entire team of experts with specialized skills to support your environment. Hiring an outsourced IT provider will likely cost the same amount of money your organization would spend to hire one in-house IT technician.
The difference is that when you outsource, you will not just receive one person; you will receive a vCIO, a team of IT experts, and help desk support, all for the same price as hiring one in-house technician. Outsourcing IT is a much more cost-effective option and will give your organization greater value for the money spent.
For more information on the difference between in-house IT and outsourced IT, check out this article: Should You Manage Your IT In-House? Pros & Cons
IT Services For NonProfits Help Secure Donor Information
Non-profits have a lot of donor money that is processed through their organization. You also likely have access to sensitive donor information. It is essential to ensure that your organization has the proper cybersecurity protocols to protect important financial information from getting stolen or leaked.
If your organization gets breached and donors are affected, this could cause your organization to lose credibility and have a poor reputation. This could have an adverse effect on how many donors you will get in the following years. People may be skeptical of donating to an organization that could potentially put their information and money at risk.
When outsourcing IT to an MSP, your non-profit will not need to worry that your security isn't strong enough. Your MSP will implement the most advanced tools and methods to secure your confidential information.
Your MSP can protect important financial information from getting easily hacked with the proper protocols in place. You can ensure donors that your organization takes all the necessary precautions to secure their data and money.
Creating a Culture of Cybersecurity Through Training
The most important pillar of cybersecurity for nonprofits is to foster cybersecurity awareness among employees. Phishing attacks and tricking users into clicking on malicious files are easy ways for a hacker to breach your organization's network.
To read more about phishing and other social engineering techniques, read our blog: What is Social Engineering? Attacks, Techniques, and Ways to Avoid It
For this reason, users at your organization must constantly be receiving training to stay up to date on tactics used by hackers.
An MSP will provide regular cybersecurity training. This training will teach users about common social engineering tactics and how to avoid them. In this way, managed IT services for nonprofit organizations can help them in turn protect sensitive data such as donor information and financials.
Access to Skilled IT Experts
When you outsource IT, you will have access to a team of experts to assist you with any immediate issues or concerns that you may have. You can easily submit service requests to the help desk. This crucial function will connect you with the right support for your issue, right when you need it.
Your organization will also have access to a vCIO. A vCIO is a virtual chief information officer that will work with your business to implement the proper solutions in your environment and help you to create a long-term IT strategy.
Meetings with your vCIO will typically be scheduled every quarter to discuss any immediate concerns or goals for your IT environment. This ensures that you can clearly communicate expectations and ensure a successful partnership with your outsourced managed IT provider.
How to Find Quality IT and Cybersecurity Services for Non-Profits
Outsourced IT is an excellent option for non-profit organizations. An MSP can help optimize your IT environment, give you access to a team of IT experts, and work with you to create a long-term cost-effective budget.
Now that you have a good understanding of how outsourced managed IT can benefit your non-profit organization you are probably wondering how much managed IT costs, and if it makes more sense to hire in-house. To take a deep dive into IT cost analysis, read our blog: Are You Spending Too Much on In-House IT?
If you're ready to secure and optimize your non-profit to expand your community impact, click the button below to speak with an IT expert.
