What You Didn’t Know About Cloud Technology for NGOs

While  everyone from big businesses to small medium enterprises are buzzing about cloud adoption, a smaller wave of adoption is already taking place within the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) sector.

According to TechSoup’s 2012 Cloud Computing Survey, “90% of the 10,500 NGOs respondents worldwide across 88 countries are already using some form of cloud technology ranging from “lightweight” services like email to “heavyweight” services like databases and web conferencing”.

From project management softwares to Customer Relationship Management (CRM), the ability to use cloud solutions to quickly and effectively deploy a technology application is critical to the kind of success NGOs are seeking.

With easily adoptable cloud technologies such as Google Apps for Non-profits, NGOs today are further empowered and streamlined with cloud technology that work out-of-the-box.

The added benefit of collaboration has enabled cross collaboration while further diminishing the segregation of work barriers that NGOs once have had to deal with in the past.

However, as with any adoption of new technology, there are barriers that have to be addressed. The lack of knowledge on cloud solutions coupled with cost-based issues are the predominant barriers — both identified by the TechSoup survey as well as based on Lava’s firsthand experience when dealing with the Malaysian NGO cloud landscape.

In an effort to address these barriers, Lava has in the past highlighted the multitude of features and benefits of Salesforce’s cloud CRM solution with the message of various initiatives that can kickstart an NGO’s adoption of Salesforce   — such as the free Salesforce licenses via the Salesforce Foundation ‘Power of Us’ initiative. This is in-line with Lava’s strategy to empower NGOs with 4 core motivating factors when considering the move to cloud solutions which are:

• Reduced Costs
• Ease of Setup
• Training
• Establishing Trust

My own experience in deploying cloud technology for NGOs has made it clear to me that NGOs in Malaysia are ready to move to the cloud.

One key project that I’ve had the privilege to work on had been the deployment of Salesforce for WWF Malaysia. As a conservation-centric organisation, WWF Malaysia manages a comprehensive donation base hand in hand with running their public awareness campaigns.  

Leveraging the underlying Salesforce CRM database features with a customised Donor Management functionality has enabled WWF Malaysia to meet their requirements. To top it off, Salesforce’s comprehensive, yet easy-to-use reporting features made WWF Malaysia’s transition from their previous legacy system onto the cloud all the sweeter.

Another unique NGO implementation was also done for a global faith-based organisation, Kingdomcity which is based out of Perth, Australia but operates in 3 countries across South East Asia.

Kingdomcity’s adoption of Salesforce was motivated by the simplicity and ease of configuration and the diverse reporting tools within Salesforce. Together with 3rd party applications like MailChimp, EventBrite, Evernote and Google Apps — all of which have native Salesforce connectors available via the Salesforce AppExchange platform — Kingdomcity has fully extended Salesforce into a cross organisation tool that enables its staff and volunteers in achieving its requirements better.

In a Nutshell 

As the premier Cloud Solutions Architect in Malaysia, Lava has adopted the role as an enabler for NGOs within the region to be better equipped with not only the appropriate cloud computing tools but also the skills to use those tools at their full capacity.

Through relationships with leading cloud technology providers like Salesforce and Google, we are able to equip organisations with top notch cloud solutions as well as provide pivotal change management and learnings to use the technology to its fullest potential. Email us at asklava@lavaprotocols.com or call us at 03-7885 9720 if you’d like to know how you can implement/ integrate Salesforce into your non-profit business. 

Bibliography
2012 Global Cloud Computing Survey Results.” 2012 Global Cloud Computing Survey Results.
Power of Us Program – Salesforce Foundation.” Salesforce Foundation March 05, 2014.

Jasraj Sandhu is a Senior Business Analyst at Lava Protocols