There is a lot to keep track of in the technology world, so I won’t try to cover everything here. What I will do is share a bit about a tool that I believe can help many nonprofits: virtual desktops.

Benefits include: 1) saving money; 2) better security; and 3) allowing staff and volunteers to work from the office, home, or while travelling.

For quite a while now, many offices have had a version of remote access: the ability to log into your work computer, but from a different machine. This has worked well in a pinch but comes with challenges. Often the work computer needs to be physically turned on. And the remote screen can be slow and hard to read.

The other method is to allow staff to access their documents directly on their home devices. This can create significant security concerns and can often be slow.

Over the years, the internet has become faster and better connections are more easily available. With this development, virtual desktops have improved. Virtual desktops are like remote access apps, except you can log into your entire work computer, and access all your files and software. Rather than having one physical work computer, your computer lives on a private cloud, and you can log in from any device.

Here’s more on the benefits of virtual desktops for those in the nonprofit space:

Saving money

Virtual desktops can save your nonprofit money. You pay monthly for virtual desktops instead of multiple thousands in capital costs for in-house servers every few years. It also reduces capital costs for computers. Because your data is running on a private cloud in a data centre, and not using your computer’s processing power, computers last much longer. We have clients using computers that are more than 10 years old without issue!

Better security

Cyber attacks are increasing, and hackers no longer target just big companies or organizations. Anyone goes. When a hacker gains access to your systems, they can hold your data hostage for ransom, threatening to release it and expose confidential information. One benefit of virtual desktops is that they are easier to secure. Your IT support team can apply important security measures such as multi-factor authentication and data backups across the entire system at once. Keeping your data all in one place makes your organization more audit-friendly and flexible.

Remote-flexible

A virtual desktop system offers flexibility for those organizations that operate on a remote or hybrid workplace model. Because you log in to your virtual desktop every time you work, you can do so at the office, at home, or elsewhere. Your staff can even use their own computers to access their virtual desktops, without having to install anything or copy any of your organization’s data to their machine. The ability to do all of the above will save you valuable time so that you can keep focusing on your mission.

Colin Pearce is an office technology and operations expert from Hamilton, Ontario. In 2017 he launched his IT support company Inderly, a boutique firm local to Hamilton and Toronto, serving clients across Ontario. Colin enjoys figuring out how to make technology work best for each unique situation.