Reviews & Health Checks

Organisations in the not-for-profit sector have always struggled with ongoing investment in IT. For every charity or membership body, the services provided to beneficiaries, members and other stakeholders always come first and, consequently, senior managers have had to squeeze the most they can from IT investments made several years ago.

Today, organisations depend on IT and digital systems more than ever – but funding is, if anything, even harder to secure. That means organisations need a reliable answer to whether their current technology estate is fit for purpose – and whether it is compliant with statutory or legal requirements. Senior managers and trustees need to take stock and decide which parts can be left as they are; and which areas are going to need targeted improvement with whatever funding is available.

Our IT consultants are professionals in the industry with deep knowledge and experience in technologies our clients rely on. Our approach to health checks always begins with an understanding of your organisation’s priorities and the outcomes you are trying to achieve before we progress to an evaluation of the technology and associated arrangements you currently have in place, focusing on:

• the appropriateness and reliability of the current systems
• day-to-day systems management and support
• the arrangements for handling interruptions to business continuity
• the compliance of the technology and support arrangements with statutory and legal requirements for information security and data protection
• the contractual arrangements with relevant third-parties.

We always agree the format and level of detail of our deliverables in advance of starting work. Depending on the purpose of the health check – and the intended audience / readership – we will tailor our deliverables to suit. Typical formats range from a structured “internal audit” approach (e.g. a written report with sections in the final document for managers to comment on the findings) to an informal short report or workshop setting out the key observations and recommendations.

Our credentials include membership of a number of professional standard-setting bodies in the UK. More importantly, though, Adapta is an independent consultancy, which means that we only provide impartial advice, support and guidance. We do not sell or maintain equipment or software and so we have no vested interest in the outcome of our work with any individual client. If nothing needs to change, then we will say so. Equally, if we consider that your organisation is at risk – or could benefit from appropriate investment – then we will also be able to say that.