The adoption of cloud technology for low cost business and office systems and infrastructure is not only inevitable but a must for the survival of many Not for Profit organisations in New Zealand.

Hamish Bowen, IT Advisory partner at accounting and business advisory firm Grant Thornton New Zealand, said that with the on-going pressures to deliver more for less, Not for Profit organisations need to consider cloud based solutions to reduce costs and increase the flexibility on on-going overheads.

“Financial challenges are a definite concern for many Not for Profit organisations with funding continuing to be the  most significant issue. A recent Grant Thornton survey of 416 Not for Profit organisations in Australia and New Zealand found that 45% of New Zealand and 16% of Australian Not for Profits could not plan more than 12 months ahead based on their current funding.

“With greater accountability and scrutiny by governance boards, members, funders and the ongoing fundraising pressures of many organisations, every cent counts and has to be accounted for. Increasingly the cloud is offering Not for Profits solutions to battle these pressures.”

Bowen said that if New Zealand Not for Profits were to start utilising new technology, like social media, to raise funds, they would need to adopt systems and platforms that provide those features as a standard offering and then keep up-to-date with future changes. 

“Package solutions will commit the organisations to upgrades but at a cost path that may make the options of keeping current too hard. This can be even more difficult for bespoke systems.

“The cloud is here and has a lot of compelling reasons for adoption by New Zealand Not for Profits. The challenge for many will be having the knowledge to make informed decisions on the way forward, knowing how to manage the risks, and having the resources focused to make it happen.”

Compelling potential benefits of cloud computing:
Scale	The ability to get the benefit and organisational scale and expertise  from cloud service providers
Flexibility	The ability to scale up and down as business computing needs change
Reduced capital	The reduced need to utilise capital in physical infrastructure
Greater access to functionality	Cloud solutions are developed for multiple organisations and, therefore, provide a lot more functionality than can be built by one organisation creating  their own solution
Focus on core business	ability to focus on the core activities of the organisation rather than  having management and resources spend time on support functions

Further enquiries, please contact:

Hamish Bowen        
Grant Thornton Partner, IT Advisory
T + 64 27 489 9997
E hamish.bowen@nz.gt.com