Cloud technology is key to making charities fit for the future

New research from Advanced has revealed that many charities in the UK are not fit enough for the digital era. According to the Advanced Trends Report 2017*, 65% of charities use Cloud-based technology, yet nearly one in four (26%) do not have access to real-time data and 40% do not have the right tools to do their job effectively.

The British software and services company believes charities will be held back if they don’t embrace the Cloud at the heart of their operations and use it to run core functions such as donor interactions and financial management.

“Charities are under immense pressure – they need to be communicating closely with donors, efficiently and effectively, to maintain and grow revenues. This is coupled with the challenges of having the right digital technology so that staff can streamline administrative tasks, to save costs and allow them to invest more time in the people that matter – supporters, members and stakeholders,” said Mark Dewell, Managing Director – Commercial and Third Sector, at Advanced. “But the reality is that charities need to have the confidence to embrace Cloud technology fully, to ensure they can transform into digital-first organisations. This will ensure they are fit for the future, ready for real and present challenges around GDPR and better prepared to address threats such as cyber security.”

Advanced is using the Cloud to help charities move forward in the digital era. It has accelerated its plans to deliver a new Cloud-first strategy. It has introduced CloudDonor, an intuitive donor relationship management system, to help charities process fundraising income, build marketing campaigns and manage merchandising and Gift Aid for example – this includes all the core elements of fundraising management. Its web-based portals provide information for both staff and donors which is accessible at all times, from one source.

This adds to Advanced’s portfolio of Software-as-a-Service solutions, such as Advanced Business Cloud Essentials, which incorporates financial management to ensure charities have a unified view of their financial affairs.

Allen Reid, Director of Client Projects at Hart Square – an independent not-for-profit consultancy – concludes: “It’s fair to say that charities know the time is ripe for transformation as the digital era impacts every aspect of life – for members, supporters and stake-holders, as well as staff. But not-for-profits want to be confident they are making the right technology choices. Getting on board with Cloud technology is without doubt the right choice for many charities wanting to harness the value of their data to drive engagement whilst ensuring the change process is successful – we’re definitely big advocates for moving to the Cloud.”

Advanced will be unveiling CloudDonor at TechSmart NFP 2017 on the 28th November.
*The Advanced Trends Survey was carried out online in September 2017. The full Advanced Trends Report 2017 can be found here: www.oneadvanced.com/trends.

-ENDS-

Note to editors
* *The national survey of over 1,000 professionals in UK organisations is the second to be commissioned by British software and services company Advanced. Like the first report, it reveals how organisations are grappling with a changing business and societal landscape that includes increased cyber security threats, Brexit and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

About Advanced

Through our enterprise and market focused solutions we positively impact millions of people’s lives through continually investing in our people, partnerships and own technologies to stay focused on our markets’, customers’ and their stakeholders’ needs.
We enable our customers to drive efficiencies, savings and growth opportunities through focused, right-first-time software solutions that evolve with the changing needs of their business and the markets they operate in.
True partnership is the defining thing that makes us different from the competition.
We pride ourselves on delivering focused software solutions for public sector, enterprise commercial and health & care organisations that simplify complex business challenges and deliver immediate value.

Advanced is a Sunday Times Top Track 250 Company 2016 and was ranked in the Deloitte UK Fast 50 which recognises the 50 fastest growing technology companies in the UK and a winner of the Tech Company of the Year in PwC’s UK Tech Awards in 2014.

www.oneadvanced.com

For further media information, please contact

Andrea Hounsham, Firework PR - email: andrea@fireworkpr.co.uk or call: 07783 535928
Clare Wall, Firework PR – email: clare@fireworkpr.co.uk or call: 07974 161127