UK Non profit Salesforce users group

Not wanting to be seen to be selling the product...

Salesforce is a "software as a service" database solution which users can access through their browser.  Originally designed for sales people it has developed into a system that allows a high degree of modification, an "apps" store which can add a great deal of functionality to the basic implementation, plus a ribrant community where you can learn from others.

One of the best things about Salesforce for the non-profit organisation is that Salesforce has a foundation that donates licences (and more) to organisations like us.

More information:

The AppExchange: http://www.salesforce.com/uk/foundation/

Salesforce Foundation: http://www.salesforce.com/uk/foundation/

The UK Non profit Salesforce user group: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1823460

We at Bond have a highly modified version of Salesforce that allows us to track our membership and communications, events booking and invoice generation systems, HR and grants, plus it drives a lot of the functionality behind our website: http://www.bond.org.uk/

I wasn't involved in the decision making process in picking Salesforce but I can certainly outline the benefits and drawbacks of Software as a Service (note: this is not Salesforce specific).

Benefits and drawbacks of Software as a Service

Benefits

• Less infrasturcture required - no need for an on site server or high user machines requirements (just to be able to run a browser).
• Better security - (usually) all data is communicated between the server and the user using a secure connection and data backup is handled by the provider in state-of-the-art complexes.
• Out of the office access - as all you need is a browser you can have full access to the system anywhere in the world.
• Regular pain-free updates - regular software updates can be made without any work from you.
• All the benefits of your system in your database - e.g. spell check, auto-fill, Back/Forward, Tabs.

Draw backs

• Less control - what happens if the provider goes out of business?
• Data protection - if you hold very sensitive information you might have to check that the holding of data off site is complient to your data protection policy.
• You need a good internet connection - a contention rate of 20:1 might mean you have periods when your system goes slow.