
Taking Advantage of the New Cloud Capabilities


As the CIO at Blackbaud, I have an exciting and unique opportunity to not only provide IT services to our business, but also to work side by side with our nonprofit clients. Blackbaud is the leading provider of software and services for the global philanthropic community. In practice, we help our clients with IT needs so they can spend more of their valuable resources on their mission. Likewise, we help our clients manage their technology needs with our cloud solutions; Microsoft does so with its Office 365 product – both for Blackbaud and our clients. No longer do we need to worry about Backups, Disaster Recovery, Data Center management, capacity planning, security, and system patching.
Messaging platforms have been a primary target of this move; beginning with email, but extending quickly into chat and web conferencing capabilities. Other tools such as Office 365 deployed versions of SharePoint, Word, and Excel have, in general, seen slower adoption. The Office 365 platform has been an easy way for IT organizations to move this messaging infrastructure from on premise to the cloud. As such, it is much faster and easier for a new organization to implement this capability without the needed capital and skillset it once took to stand up these services themselves. I have helped several of Blackbaud’s clients implement these capabilities in hours instead of the weeks– allowing them to focus on building a new organization and furthering their mission.
The Office 365 platform has been an easy way for IT organizations to move this messaging infrastructure from on premise to the cloud
For Blackbaud, this migration has not only allowed us to redirect resources from managing messaging infrastructure toward more impactful activities, but it also allows us to more easily take advantage of new capabilities very quickly. Many organizations today have a “Cloud First” component to their IT strategy for this very reason. Microsoft has invested heavily and continues to enrich features that are continuously deployed to our end users without IT intervention. Tools like SharePoint and OneDrive provide new capabilities that no longer require managing infrastructure such as networks, servers, and storage. Traditional Office products such as Word and Excel are now able to be automated or self-installed by end users with the right credentials with no IT intervention. When upgrades come out, they just show up for our associates. The Office 365 story is getting even more interesting as Microsoft has introduced features that can support core business voice and audio conferencing capabilities.
While the upside is compelling, there are a number of challenges to overcome. These include a solid migration plan, security, control, and capacity planning. First, the migration plan can be more complex than anticipated. In some cases re-architecture of directory services, implementing ADFS, and the migration itself can be expensive, time consuming, and disruptive. A solid plan that includes heavy employee communication was paramount for Blackbaud. The migration also poses planning on the desktop side to address concerns such as, “Will my client applications interoperate with Office 365 versions of Outlook and Excel?”
Security is another major factor to consider. While Microsoft offers features such as DLP, automated patching, and virus protection as part of the service; many organizations will be moving tools from infrastructure that requires remote users to utilize a VPN client toward a model where data can be accessed more easily from anywhere. The proper policy, training, and technical controls must be an important part of any organization’s plans.
Third, in a cloud deployment model, organizations don’t have the ability to control how and when features are delivered. Upgrades happen when Microsoft deploys them, so organizations need to make sure they’re using the latest version and implementing any required routine maintenance. Our users get updated software without the ability to manage and control training or usage patterns. Testing cannot always occur in a linear fashion prior to roll out. These can all be managed, but require us to change our approach to managing the changes.
Lastly, we must all take a good look at our operations models as we implement cloud solutions. For example, capacity planning must take into account increased network traffic, business continuity plans must consider a higher dependency in internet services, and cloud monitoring needs to be considered. For many organizations email is the first Tier 1 system to truly move to the cloud.
While there are real obstacles, the opportunity is also very real. At Blackbaud embracing this technology has enabled us to increase our customer focus by giving our employees better tools and reducing the time we spend managing them.
Featured Vendors
TEERHUB TECHNOLOGY PRIVATE LIMITED (TTPL): "Collaboration to Cognitive" a Microsoft Services Providers Journey
Integrated Business Systems: Solutions for Accessing and Leveraging Data in a Mobile and Interconnected World
StratusLIVE: Advancing Nonprofit Success with Relationship-Focused Enterprise CRM Software & Business Intelligence Solutions
Data Systems Analysts: Providing Comprehensive Secure Collaboration Solutions to the Federal Government
Kollective Technology: Software Defined Enterprise Content Delivery Network for Scalable, High Quality Video
Highpoint Technology Group: Crafting Business Enabling Solutions through the Power of Microsoft Technologies
IntelliPoint Technologies, LLC: Enabling Efficient Operations through Dynamics GP and Network Automation
Imaginet: Developing InnovativeSolutions, Gaining Productivity and Visibility of the Microsoft Lands
Strategic CRM: Providing CRM Insights, Enhancing Customer Experience, and Promoting Channel Optimiza
Time Saver Technologies: Enabling Construction Companies to perk-up their Business and Planning Proc
EDITOR'S PICK
Essential Technology Elements Necessary To Enable...
By Leni Kaufman, VP & CIO, Newport News Shipbuilding
Comparative Data Among Physician Peers
By George Evans, CIO, Singing River Health System
Monitoring Technologies Without Human Intervention
By John Kamin, EVP and CIO, Old National Bancorp
Unlocking the Value of Connected Cars
By Elliot Garbus, VP-IoT Solutions Group & GM-Automotive...
Digital Innovation Giving Rise to New Capabilities
By Gregory Morrison, SVP & CIO, Cox Enterprises
Staying Connected to Organizational Priorities is Vital...
By Alberto Ruocco, CIO, American Electric Power
Comprehensible Distribution of Training and Information...
By Sam Lamonica, CIO & VP Information Systems, Rosendin...
The Current Focus is On Comprehensive Solutions
By Sergey Cherkasov, CIO, PhosAgro
Big Data Analytics and Its Impact on the Supply Chain
By Pascal Becotte, MD-Global Supply Chain Practice for the...
Technology's Impact on Field Services
By Stephen Caulfield, Executive Director, Global Field...
Carmax, the Automobile Business with IT at the Core
By Shamim Mohammad, SVP & CIO, CarMax
The CIO's role in rethinking the scope of EPM for...
By Ronald Seymore, Managing Director, Enterprise Performance...
Driving Insurance Agent Productivity with Mobile and Big...
By Brad Bodell, SVP and CIO, CNO Financial Group, Inc.
Transformative Impact On The IT Landscape
By Jim Whitehurst, CEO, Red Hat
Get Ready for an IT Renaissance: Brought to You by Big...
By Clark Golestani, EVP and CIO, Merck
Four Initiatives Driving ECM Innovation
By Scott Craig, Vice President of Product Marketing, Lexmark...
Technology to Leverage and Enable
By Dave Kipe, SVP, Global Operations, Scholastic Inc.
By Meerah Rajavel, CIO, Forcepoint
AI is the New UI-AI + UX + DesignOps
By Amit Bahree, Executive, Global Technology and Innovation,...
Evolving Role of the CIO - Enabling Business Execution...
By Greg Tacchetti, CIO, State Auto Insurance
Read Also
The Intelligent Legal Department
Data Protection Trends - GDPR as a forthcoming global privacy benchmark
The 5 questions you should be asking about legal tech
Technology as a Tool to Aid the Legal Function
Building On Your Legal Tech Journey
Enhancing Productivity of Lawyers with Technology
