Supporting Technology

Q)           Will it ever be possible to e-mail all residents of a parish council (1,700 households) by a generic e-mail system?

A)           The biggest hurdle to bulk e-mail all 1,700 people is in having an up-to-date list of residents e-mail addresses. The technology exists to bulk e-mail lists of addresses (just check with your Internet Service Provider (ISP) to see the maximum number of contacts you can include in a single e-mail. Other technology exists for bulk e-mailing. Community First use a service provided by Electric Embers where a master contacts list is created and maintained. If someone wants to  e-mail everyone in the list, they simply use one e-mail address, and everyone on the list will receive the e-mail. This is known as an e-mail distribution list. The other service Community First uses for bulk e-mailing is to use a third party e-mail provider called MailChimp. This provides nice looking html e-mail to a contacts list using a range of professional looking templates. Charity rates apply for both of these services.

Q)           Where is the best place to buy Microsoft Office software?

A)           First point of call would be the Charity Technology Exchange (CTX). This programme offers donated technology products from a number of companies, including Microsoft to registered charities. Eligible charities can claim up to six titles and up to 50 user licenses per title every two year period.  More information able at: www.ctxchange.org

                If the CTX route isn't a suitable option, then have a look on the LASA knowledgebase. Here is a list of software suppliers for charity organisations. Whilst costs for software titles through these organisations are more expensive than CTX, they are still much cheaper than purchasing on-line or on the high street.

                If you're a home user, good prices are found at on-line retailers such as ebuyer, alternatively, you could download a free alternative to Microsoft Office called Open Office. This has more or less the same functionality, and is compatible with files created in Microsoft Office.

Q)           Would Windows 'Small Business' be better than the XP Home Edition, or should we upgrade to Windows 7?

A)           I think you are referring to Microsoft Office Small Business - their free on-line suite of tools to enable on-line collaboration, e-mail and file sharing. If so, then limited functionality is available, such as amending text or numbers within documents. The suite is aimed at storing files on-line, rather than creating new documents.  You would still need an operating system (such as Windows XP Home) installed on your computer. This is essential for connecting your PC to the internet in order to access websites such as Microsoft Office Small Business.

                For the reference as to whether to upgrade the operating system in your PC to Windows 7, then it depends on whether you want to continue using your existing PC, or are planning to purchase a new PC. The former option will require that your PC is of a certain hardware specification (minimum memory, processor etc). Microsoft have released an upgrade advisor to test your PC for Windows 7 compatibility. If however, considering purchasing a new PC, then yes, I would recommend upgrading to Windows 7.

Q)           Should we wait to get Windows 7 until all the glitches are ironed out

A)           Yes, but if you really need a new operating system now then get Windows 7.

Q)           With so much outcome based evidencing required by commissioners or funding bodies, what low cost options are there for third sector organisations that are often fragmented and remote teams?

A)           Unless you have someone on staff with database programming skills then there are no really good low cost options for outcome tracking distributed CRM systems.  One low cost option is to use Access databases for each remote team and one centralised system which compiles exports from the team databases.  The problem with a system like this is it needs to be designed by someone with excellent Access skills and knowledge of database design.  It is unlikely an organisation will have someone on staff with these skills.  Also Access is not designed to be used this way so the system will be difficult to modify and will not work as efficiently as a customised Open Source CRM system.