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Friday May 19, 2006
IT infrastructure
A new report by Paul Secular from do-it.org.uk (a YouthNet project) and Dr Simon Davey of preponderate.net on IT infrastructure in the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) has been published (PDF file).
The authors believe IT infrastructure to be one of the most important issues facing the sector and they hope that the report will contribute to a better understanding of where organisations currently stand, and where they are going in the next few years.
The report is based on the results of an online survey conducted between 11 October 2005 and 31 December 2005. This survey was aimed at staff working within, or on behalf of, a VCS organisation and respondents were sourced through email and a via a number of popular VCS mailing lists.
The picture painted by the survey will be familiar to anyone working in the sector, especially if they're with a small organisation.
While almost three quarters of organisations have a major IT investment planned (most commonly an investment in hardware although software is also mentioned ) IT support is most commonly available only on an ad hoc basis, and is most often received from a paid external source. Fewer than one in five organisations have access to a full-time internal IT support specialist.
Microsoft Windows dominates the desktop operating system platforms in use, with 98% using it for the majority of their everyday work. This, according to the survey, is not expected to change significantly in the next 2-3 years although Mac OS and Linux are both mentioned as possible alternatives by some organisations.
It's easy for those involved in IT to get carried away with what's new and exciting. This survey is a reminder of the realities for organisations in the voluntary sector – frequently short of money and expertise, and happiest to stick with what is familiar.
The results of the survey will be used to inform the development of YouthNet's volunteer management software product, V-Base.
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