Allegheny B&B – April 2011 Meeting

This month we met at UCP/CLASS on Centre Avenue in Oakland.  Thank you to Michelle Hines and her crew for having us!

Here are notes and resources from the meeting:

Software for human resources-related tasks

• Sage:  http://www.sagenorthamerica.com/
• Epicor:  http://www.epicor.com/
• SAP:  http://www.sap.com/
• Kronos:  http://www.kronos.com/
• Optimum Solutions:  http://www.optimum-solutions.com/
• Ultimate Software:  http://www.ultimatesoftware.com/
• PerfectSoftware:  http://www.perfectsoftware.com/
• MS Dynamics (used to be Great Plains):  http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics/default.aspx
• Millenium:  http://www.hrtechpartners.com/millennium.html

We noted that there are many commercial packages out there, but many are not suitable for nonprofits.  Johna Lingelbach from the Allegheny Conference shared a report that she obtained from http://www.business-software.com/HRM.

Other Discussion Items & Resources

• Application Xtender (for archiving):  http://www.emc.com/products/detail/software2/applicationxtender.htm
• Cloud Computing:
• Capital vs. operational budgeting/funding?
• Cost factors – # of servers, bandwidth, space needed
• End of life cycle for Access (has anyone heard?)
• What would replace it?
• SQL Management Studio Express (comes in SQL Server 2008)
• Can take a class on SQL at CCAC for $100, in their Ed-to-go courses
• SQL reporting
• Use the built-in Microsoft report writer
• Use Crystal Reports

We will meet next month at UCP/CLASS, 4638 Centre Ave., Pittsburgh,
on Wednesday, May 4, 2011.  Please join us!

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Get 2011 B&B meeting info and location/directions here.

Allegheny B&B – December 2009 Meeting Notes

This was our last month meeting at ACHIEVA on the South Side.  There are no Bagels & Bytes meetings in January (except for the Westmoreland group).  For the 2010 schedule, visit The Bagels & Bytes Calendar (including directions).

Here are the various resources and topics discussed during this month’s meeting:

• Google Wave beta – several of us are playing around with this new social media/communications tool
• Keeping equipment inventory
  • Built-in software if available
  • Need to get accounting involved at some point
  • Simple Access database and assign tracking tags/numbers to pieces of equipment
  • Some attempting in SharePoint
  • Might use interns
  • Have to stay on top of it
  • Spiceworks.com – has inventory & help desk functionality – free version or pay if don’t like advertisements
• DonorPro fundraising software by TowerCare Technologies
  • Several B&B people moving to it soon
  • Reasonable cost (about half the monthly cost of Razor’s Edge)
  • DonorPro does data conversion too
• Talked about NPOs’ reluctance to do cloud computing
  • Cloud computing/collaboration tools
  • Google Apps
  • Smartphones – iPhone, Google Droid, etc.
  • Openoffice.org
  • Zoho
• Email archiving
  • Sony email archiving appliance will do automatic archiving, has browser interface
  • Gmail uses Postini for archiving
• Google software/products
  • Can now set up Gmail with organization’s own domain name
  • Lots of other Google collaboration tools besides email and calendar
  • Google now has shared folders – can set permissions user-by-user
• How to track time when employees start working from home
  • Some allow exempt employees to work remotely but not non-exempt
  • Time tracking is a mgmt. and HR issue, not a tech issue
• Have to prioritize tech projects and focus on the most important first – so don’t do all of them half-ways

Our next meeting will be held at Amani International Coffee House on the North Side, on February 3, 2010.  Please note that we are now holding our meeting from 8:30 – 10 am each month.