Healthy and Secure Computing is a set of best practices and recommended technologies that, when taken together, will help small to medium-sized nonprofits build and maintain a stable and secure IT infrastructure. A healthy and secure computing environment will allow you to plan for and implement transformative technologies, integrate IT with programmatic functions, lower basic IT support costs, and improve reliability of IT systems. The key goals of HSC include:
Healthy and secure computing is a holistic approach to IT that focuses on hardware, software, networking, management, planning, maintenance, operations, and staff training. It is a one-size-fits-most approach, with guidelines and recommendations that are appropriate for most small to medium-sized organizations.
An important aspect of this approach is to understand what you should consider when undertaking an HSC program. The HSC guidelines may not be appropriate, in part or in whole, for organizations without paid staff, for virtual organizations, organizations with existing complex IT systems, and organizations with multiple, widely separated sites. In addition, you must determine what technology recommendations to implement, based on your own priorities, needs, and resources.
Successful implementation of healthy and secure computing cannot be accomplished without the buy-in and cooperation of your whole organization. You need to commit significant financial and human resources to the process; the exact amount depends on the status of existing IT systems. You will also have recurring maintenance costs to keep IT systems healthy and secure, so we include suggestions to help you raise funds for IT implementation and support.
The central part of the HSC process is the information-gathering and decision-making components. This is where most of the time is spent in the HSC process, because these are the components you can most effectively take on yourself.
Once you have gathered information and set priorities, you will be ready to decide which technology recommendations to implement. These technology recommendations or guidelines are contained in the appendices at the end of this workbook; they include detailed descriptions, justifications, and upgrade options, for the technologies that most nonprofits use daily. Technologies are included in the guidelines based on their
The HSC materials also include ways you can implement, support and maintain your technology