Technology solutions and partners: Data, insight and knowledge

Keith Collins
Principal Consultant

"Having worked with non-profit organisations of every conceivable type - and in a number of different countries - since I started in the sector in 1992, I always find something about a client that makes working with them rewarding. Naturally, working with clients to use my experience and knowledge to help them improve is always a good feeling. However, beyond that there is always something else with any organisation that is appealing, either on an intellectual or an emotional level. Sometimes that may of course be a personal connection to the field of work that they are operating in – but sometimes it may be more of an intellectual challenge, grappling with what makes them unique in terms of complexities and needs."

Keith specialises in helping organisations identify, select, adopt and use technology to improve their relationships with all stakeholders. With some clients, this may involve helping identify and select technology solutions to support a new organisational strategy - for others, incremental improvements and new options within the tools that they already have. With experience from every perspective – as a non-profit client, as a supplier of specific technology solutions, and as an independent consultant – Keith can help non-profits ensure that their technology decisions fit organisational strategy, and that the 'softer' side of these initiatives – cultural fit, change management, stakeholder needs – are also factored in. Since 1992, Keith has worked within a number of roles in the non-profit sector. At Christian Aid, Keith oversaw the implementation of a new CRM solution, before moving to Sue Ryder Care to undertake a similar project and to set up their first Supporter Services team, including new business processes to support Gift Aid, Direct Debits and an internal IT helpdesk. Keith then moved to the supplier side, working at Blackbaud Europe to help non-profits implement The Raiser's Edge, The Information Edge and NetSolutions. With a desire to move into independent consulting, Keith then established the technology consulting division within Purple Vision, developing and delivering consultancy offerings including CRM selection, strategic technology reviews, and business process improvement. Following Purple Vision's re-positioning as a Salesforce.org partner, Keith then worked to develop and deliver consultancy and implementation solutions within the Salesforce platform, including engagements with customers and projects across Europe – with a particular focus on German-speaking countries. In the summer of 2017, Keith decided to move back into a more independent consulting role as a Senior Consultant with Adapta, since when he has worked with clients including Shelterbox, Islamic Relief UK, the British Horse Society, the National Children's Bureau, Scope and The Pony Club, on projects as varied as holistic reviews of the IT function; training and advice on GDPR compliance, and the specification and selection of new CRM systems. Credentials and Qualifications Keith is a qualified PRINCE2 project manager, and in his spare time is a volunteer football coach and manager for St Albans City Youth FC.

Jo
Data Strategy Associate

Jo has worked with data in the not-for-profit sector for over 25 years and has been an independent consultant supporting organisations with data strategy, data governance and data quality since 2018. Jo is passionate about helping organisations of all sizes and causes overcome their frustrations with poor quality data so they can deliver their mission efficiently, with reliable information, and with confidence that they are GDPR compliant. Jo started off in supporter care and subsequently database fundraising for Christian Aid. She then ran the individual giving programme and managed the Raiser 's Edge database at Notting Hill Housing Trust. A long stint at the Advertising Standards Authority gave Jo extensive exposure to Microsoft Dynamics CRM through her work as a business analyst and project manager to deliver process, system and data improvements. Jo was also a school governor for 5 years, supporting the governing body and leadership team in particular with data literacy. Specialisms include: • Data governance frameworks and implementation • Root cause analysis of data quality issues and their resolution • Scoping and requirements for data migrations and integrations • Designing and implementing business process improvements • Landscape analysis including data lifecycles and conceptual data models • Creating business data glossaries • Data fluency Jo 's work is underpinned by her interest and enthusiasm for making improvements, helping people understand the reliance on data to deliver their vision, and then guiding them on that journey. Jo is comfortable working with people at all levels and in both technical and non-technical roles. Jo can advise on strategic aspects of data as well as getting involved in day-to-day detail. Jo is a Certified Data Management Professional (DAMA) and has formal qualifications from the BCS in Requirements Engineering, Business Process Modelling, Business Analysis Practice and Commercial Awareness. She also holds the Foundation certificate for PRINCE2 and the Open University's Certificate in Winning Resources and Support. Jo has also undertaken training in the Ten Steps™ process, an internationally-recognised framework for improving Data Quality in organisations.

Paul
Analytics and Technology Operations Associate

With an IT career spanning thirty years, including five years managing a network for the MoD, and more than twenty years as Technical Director of an award-winning Managed Service Provider (MSP), Paul has particular experience in Business Intelligence, process automation and supporting organisations through Managed Service Provider selection. Through his experience in the MSP sector, Paul has a deep understanding of how MSPs work and what excellent service looks like behind the scenes. As such, he is able to ‘cut through’ the sales pitch and ask challenging questions to ensure the right fit for our clients. Paul has spent the last five years developing business intelligence solutions with PowerBI, and automating business processes with Power Automate. His business intelligence projects have helped organisations automate manual reporting by bringing together data from disparate sources, reducing workload and errors, as well as uncovering new, transformational insights. His business process work has resulted in significant cost savings by automating time consuming manual processes, allowing teams to focus on more interesting work that delivers greater value to the business. Paul is a certified Microsoft Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate and a Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst Associate.

John
Enterprise Architecture Associate

Chartered IT Professional and TOGAF 9.1 Certified Enterprise Architect with an MBA in Technology Management, BSc (Hons) in Computer Science and over 20 years’ experience of providing the “glue” that combines people, process and technology to deliver business value. Extensive experience of technical, solution, enterprise and product architecture. John is used to operating in a global environment, where technology often plays a mission critical role. A key strength is his ability to rapidly assimilate, filter, digest and extract insight from large amounts of new information. This has enabled him to work successfully across a range of industries including telco, ISP, system integrator, media, oil and gas exploration, finance and payments industries – from start-ups to large corporates. Further John is Zachman trained and certified in COBIT 5, ITIL v3 and PRINCE2; a specialist in setting up and operating architecture and governance processes and deploying tools/repositories. He has a substantial track record of aligning business and IT strategy, architecting complex and innovative technology transformations and providing appropriate governance. He is used to leading projects using both in-house personnel and out-sourced consultancy teams with a track record of building positive and productive collaborative relationships with diverse stakeholders at all levels. John is also a graduate of the Cranfield IT Leadership Programme.

Nicole
Data Governance Associate

Nicole has worked in data governance for over 10 years and more recently she has been working independently as an associate. She has extensive experience of implementing data governance frameworks (defining policies, processes and roles/responsibilities) and also working with data owners to define requirements for master data management systems (namely SAP MDG and S4 HANA) to support data governance processes. Nicole also has experience and a keen interest in all aspects of data quality and helping organisations to identify their pain points and turn these around to achieve value from their data - so much so that she was a technical reviewer for a Data Quality book recently. Nicole started out her career as a Business Analyst in various industries (pharma, health and fitness and telecoms), helping to drive business process improvements and acting as an intermediary between business and IT teams. She subsequently transitioned into the field of data governance where she worked on a large business transformation programme and she played a key role in implementing data governance on a global level. This was a long-term programme of work where the data governance elements evolved over time, guided by business changes and technical advances. Nicole recognises the importance of developing a strong data culture in order for data governance initiatives to be successful and her business analysis background has helped provide the people skills needed to liaise with stakeholders at all levels and to be able to work with both business and technical resources. One of Nicole’s key strengths is being able to act as an advisor to people who may or may not be data focussed and helping to them to identify their data vision and guide them on how they can apply data governance to achieve value from their data.

Ruth
Microsoft 365 and Knowledge Management Associate

Ruth is an experienced Microsoft Certified Trainer and a Teamwork specialist who has been working on implementing collaboration technologies to help clients with adoption and roll out of new technologies. An Information Technology industry professional with 25 years of experience in both commercial and not-for-profit sectors. Ruth's areas of expertise include training and consulting on Microsoft 365 cloud products, business analysis, migration to cloud platforms and helping clients make the most of their IT investments. Having worked on a broad range of projects and with many different organisations, Ruth would like to bring her skills and experience from commercial sector to help not-for-profit organisations to achieve their mission and objectives. She is passionate about delivering value to organisations that have direct impact on people's lives and well-being. Ruth has worked with a number of charities and not-for-profit organisations including Housing associations, disabled and mental health organisations, as well councils over the past 10-15 years and has recently been working on an Office 365 based implementing for a local mental health charity. In her own time Ruth is a chair and trustee of a local charity and is very active in her local community.