Developing Custom Applications for Nonprofits
While Google Workspace, Zoom, and Microsoft Office are great starting points for building a team that can collaborate anywhere, nonprofit organizations may need more specialized applications to fulfill their goals. mission.
There are options that serve both high level and deeper. Low-code or no-code tools such as Microsoft PowerApps and ServiceNow App Engine can provide a way to test the waters. These tools can build applications that help solve specific problems or integrate with external databases quickly.
Some solutions will require more development than tools with low code and no code. Custom-built applications can keep an organization’s infrastructure moving. In the association space, for example, it is common for groups to develop custom applications to encourage their members to promote for a specific purpose on social media. This approach can help strengthen a cause; The National Restaurant Association’s use of social media advocacy in the early stages of the pandemic is a good example.
Making an app can be a lot of work to do in-house, especially with the amount of devices developers have to account for, but it can be an opportunity to work with an outside partner, such as CDW Amplified ™ service, to help strategize the right approach and develop for it.
MORE FOR NONPROFITS: Explore the tech trends shaping the industry in 2022.
Leaning on Ruggedized Gadgets in the Field
Whether your staff is on the front line serving your nonprofit’s mission or your volunteers are doing important advocacy work to drive donations or petition signatures, technology is now mandatory in the field. However, fieldwork on your mobile devices can be tiring, slowing down your team and potentially creating unexpected costs over time. After all, if 72 percent of people have accidentally broken a cellphone in the past, it’s likely that your organization could run into a cracked screen or two.
That’s where ruggedization comes in, casing devices in material that is harder to break, such as magnesium and polycarbonate, with a rubberized outer shell that can reduce the impact of spills.
There are two directions nonprofits can take to ruggedize their devices: getting gadgets made for rough use cases, such as Panasonic’s military-grade Toughbook line, or buying special cases for Apple iPads, Chromebooks and other devices built to handle drops and situations where damage is likely.
Ruggedization doesn’t just mean high-end or ultraspecialized products, either. HP’s recently announced Fortis line of Chromebooks, built for the classroom, may also be suitable for nonprofits looking to balance technical flexibility and rough fieldwork when it launches this year.
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