Submitted by: Jim Nichols, Sales Executive at Palmetto Technology Group, an Outsourced IT Support company headquartered in Greenville, SC.
Office 365 for Non-profits: Low-cost technology for a major impact
As a salesperson for Palmetto Technology Group (PTG), I have the opportunity to work with organizations of all types. My clients include manufacturing plants, law offices, financial firms, medical practices, governmental agencies, and non-profit organizations including churches. Most of these organizations have on-premise IT infrastructure in place as well as an IT staff, or a contracted third-party like PTG, to administer this IT environment. However, this is not always the case with non-profits and churches due to cost. As such, many of them struggle to manage their server(s), desktops, and associated devices in a proactive way.
At a recent SCANPO convention, I was surprised to see how many non-profit organizations are still not aware of the cloud-based Microsoft applications available to them for free or drastically reduced costs. As a Tier 1 Microsoft Partner we’ve helped hundreds of clients evaluate and migrate to Office 365. This suite offers Exchange, SharePoint, and Lync in the cloud as well as access to Office Pro Plus for desktop installation. Organizations classified as 501 (c)(3) charities can apply to Microsoft for non-profit pricing which usually includes Exchange, SharePoint, and Lync for free. For a few dollars more per month, each user can download Office Pro Plus on up to five (5) devices each. This access to world-class communication and collaboration tools in a cloud environment can decrease their dependency on in-house servers and their associated costs. As a result, their limited resources can then be spent in support of their missions.
Are there any non-profit organizations that you support? If so, reach out and let them know about Office 365 for Non-profits.