~Small independent charity improves collaboration with humyo cloud computing~
About da21
da21 is an independent charity that works cooperatively with local people, communities, businesses, educational bodies, local government and other organisations to encourage sustainable living in Dorset. It promotes sustainable development and the prudent use of natural resources while advancing education and research about sustainable development and the protection of the environment.
The business challenge
As is often the case in the charitable sector, da21 is under substantial cost pressures. While funds are regularly donated to the organisation, they are normally given on the expectation that they will be allocated towards particular sustainability projects. As a result, da21 has very limited funds to cover the ongoing operational costs of the organisation such as office space and computer equipment. Rather than operating as a traditional business with the majority of employees working from the same location, da21 instead maintains a small office with the majority of its voluntary workforce working from home and scattered across a wide geographical area.
Although remote working is often a realistic alternative due to the emergence of the internet and email communications, for a small charitable organisation with limited funds it still posed significant issues. Rather than implementing a costly and complex file sharing network, it was instead left to core staff based within the office to distribute required files to remote staff as and when needed as well as manage all the changes that were being made.
“During busy periods much of my day was being taken up purely by distributing the required files via email and keeping track of the different versions,” comments Paul McIntosh, Managing Trustee at da21. “This was clearly very poor use of my already precious time.”
Improving collaboration, reducing administration
Having developed a basic technical understanding of computing from a previous role, McIntosh considered deploying an online storage solution that everyone could access remotely but struggled to find anything simple or integrated enough for its volunteers to use.
“I’d seen more and more about cloud computing but never believed I could implement it effectively in our organisation, until I read about Humyo,” continued McIntosh. “I was particularly attracted by the web-based file manager – by providing access to a remote client via a web browser it appeared very similar to using a traditional PC drive.”
da21 was able to get up and running with Humyo within days. Once it was set up, da21’s employees and volunteers could simultaneously access and edit the required files independent of their location and without any training or guidance. For the first time, the entire workforce could collaborate without any central intervention or assistance as files were automatically synchronised across each employee’s laptop and office PC as well as each volunteer’s home computer.
In addition to improving collaboration across the workforce and increasing productivity of all the staff, Humyo has also reduced the need for USB sticks for accessing files when working from home or travelling on business as files can be accessed from anywhere provided there is an internet connection. It is also now protected from the risk of IT failure and data loss because its files are all stored remotely in Humyo’s secure vaults.
“Humyo has had an enormous impact on our organisation. As well as saving me a couple of hours a day that would previously have been wasted on file distribution and management, it has removed a major administrative headache and enabled the organisation to work more productively,” continues McIntosh. “The fact that it provides greater security is also a big bonus, eliminating risk from theft and fire.”
