The first thing I would recommend to almost any organization is Google Apps.  It is an amazing set of tools that allow collaboration between people on everything from calendars, to documents, to web pages and even email with integrated chat.  To be completely accurate the first thing you need is your own domain name (definition) but if you don’t have one, Google Apps can even help you get one.

With all of the different technology available, why would I suggest a an email solution as my number one suggestion for an organization?  Three main reasons: Communication, Collaboration and Access.

Communication
It is pretty obvious that the world moves fast today.  For better or for worse, if you are not able to communicate with your team, your board, your members or clients, your funders, and everyone else, you are left behind.  While I believe email is overused and abused (more in a later post) it is the communication method of choice for many people.  The email in Google Apps is powered by Gmail, one of the simplest, yet most powerful email solutions I have found.  Pus, threaded messages is a huge benefit for a clean inbox.  But there is more than just email.

Google Apps also comes in with a built in Google Talk (GT) client.  Think instant messenger, only improved. When a full blown email message is too much, fire off a GT message.  Quick, simple and elegant.  Plus they can be saved, archived and found in a search to be referred to at a later date.  If typing is not the best choice, GT includes free computer-to-computer voice calls with video if you want.

Collaboration
Unless you are in a one person office (I would still recommended Google Apps) collaborating on projects is a necessity.  With Google Docs, you have word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations all connected together and all available to be viewed and edited by whoever you wish.  Plus, multiple people can edit the same document at the same time.  No more warnings that say this document is locked for editing by another user.  Google Docs tells you someone else is editing and gives you the opportunity to start a chat dialog right where you are working. 

Another big benefit of Google Apps is their calendar solution.  Of course everyone as a calendar system they like, but Google Calendar offers a huge benefit to organizations, the ability to share.  You can share your calendar at many levels, everything from people only being able to see when you are busy to allowing someone else to add appointments to your calendar.  It is even possible to create an organization calendar to share on a web page so all your stakeholders can stay up to date.
When you want to get even a little geekier, you can jump into Google Sites and start making web pages.  I know an organization that uses Google Sites as their entire web presence, and it looks great!  However, being able to have multiple people view, add content, edit or move pages, and make comments in one place is a great way to manage a project.  Add to this a revision history tracker and you don’t need to worry about someone “messing things up.”

Access
As is true with all things Google, accessibility is key and everywhere.  Everything in Google Apps is stored on the internet and accessible by any type of computer that has an internet connection.  This is the reason for my choosing the service for my organization.  Our Executive Director wanted to be able to read her email at the office and at home.  Gmail (or any webmail solution) made it possible for her to do that and keep everything the same.  Adding on all of the other services offered by Google Apps is an even bigger bonus.  Now before she leaves her house, she can check check her email, view all of our calendars, make a correction to a document and everything is exactly as she sees it at the office.  This is great for a person who wants technology to help, not get in the way.

Also, did you know all of this is FREE!

It is probably pretty apparent that I am a big fan of Google Apps.  I have used it since it first became available and use it for a number of different organizations.  My personal domain uses it, my work uses it, I am using it for Non-Profit Tech Coach and more.  (No, I am not affiliated with Google and don’t get a commission for referring people.)

However, I know it is not without it’s down sides.  The biggest area that Google Apps is lagging behind is in Google Docs.  It lacks many of the features of Microsoft Office or Open Office suites and cloud computing (definition) is not always the same as working on a local application.  While it is possible to work off-line, if you don’t prepare for it and lose your internet connection, you have absolutely no access to your email, calendar, or documents!  Plus there are times when  Google has a hiccup and you have no access.  But to be honest, this happens to any service and I would rather trust the minds at Google to find a solution over having to figure out why our server just crashed.  If you don’t have an IT department, why would you want that responsibility?

I have just scratched  the surface of all the ways Google Apps can help you spend more time on your mission and less time on technology.  Don’t worry, I will dive in deeper into individual solutions in the future.  If there is a topic you would like covered, leave a comment and I will get to it in a future post.

Now, head over to Google Apps and give it a try.

Why am I doing this?  A few reasons.  First, for a geek like me this is fun.  Playing around building a new website, learning new technologies is a relaxing hobby.  But more than that, I hope to help.  I believe there are a lot of non-profit organizations that could benefit from the technologies that I find and know about.  I am also wondering if this could be more than just a hobby for me.  Can I take my knowledge and interest in technology pair it with my experience in the non-profit sector and somehow build a career?  Who knows, but I plan on finding out.

Thanks for reading.  More information about me, Jeffrey Pomranka, is at Pomranka.Net.  Funny how that works.