News & Events > Lasa European Not For Profit Technology Conference 2011

Keynote 1 - Holly Ross

By Lasa Information Systems Team

Leading Change: Top Technology Trends and How to Lead Your Organization Through Them

Presenter:

Holly Ross is Executive Director of NTEN, a US membership organisation for non-profit technologists. Hear and watch Holly being interviewed at the Conference.

Presentation:

Notes:

Why move to cloud computing?

There are 1.5 million nonprofits in the US.

60% of an organisation’s IT budget is used for “keeping the lights on” – servers, backups, infrastructure and so on.

Security – isn’t an issue in the cloud. Holly’s advice – Get Over It! Quite possibly security on an organisations on-site IT is worse than a cloud providers.

The fact that the data is not locally stored creates its own efficiencies. As information is accessed over the internet it levels the playing field, everyone has access. Server space etc is on demand from responsive vendors and usually paid for monthly. Cloud is good for the environment.

Essentially cloud allows organisations to focus their energies on the top of the pyramid.

Motivate

Get social, tell your stories. There are 700 billion minutes spent on Facebook each month and the average user posts 90 times each month.

Social media is not brand management. SM encourages transparency in organisations – ask for feedback, be prepared to be authentic. Use social spaces in a human way – press release style is not real.

Collaborate

Use your data. Use Google Docs, Google Hangouts for meetings. Set your data free! Use dashboarding, which can be a simple spreadsheet, to compare your outputs.

Holly's final advice? Inspire and reinvent!

Biographical note:

Holly has spent more than seven years at NTEN, working with community members to identify the technology trends that will reshape the non-profit sector. From ubiquitous access to technology leadership to social media, Holly brings the wisdom of the NTEN crowd to the non-profit sector. Holly has been recognized as one of the Nonprofit Times Power and Influence Top 50 three times, in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Holly is also editor of "Managing Technology to Meet Your Mission: A Strategic Guide for Nonprofit Leaders" and has written a chapter in "Nonprofit Management 101: A Complete and Practical Guide for Leaders and Professionals," both available from Jossey-Bass

Holly came to non-profit technology after working for social change at CALPIRG and during her college days at UC Berkeley.