# IT experts suggest top six not-for-profit technology predictions for 2009

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/01/23/it-experts-suggest-top-six-notforprofit-technology-predictions-2009/
- Published: 2009-01-23T16:39:43+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

Twenty eight guests at yesterday’s inaugural Technology Trends lunch managed to 
agree on six top technology predictions for the charity and not-for-profit sector
for 2009.

Guests at IRIS NFP Solutions’ event included leading IT consultants, clients, sector
bodies, media representatives and senior managers from IRIS.

## Advertisement

 [⌊Posthub advert. You create the campaign. We'll handle the postal journey. Get started at post-hub.co.uk.⌉](https://fundraising.co.uk/ads/posthub-20261007-300x250/)

![IRIS NFP Technology Trends lunch 2009](https://www.fundraising.co.uk/files/u11/
IMG_7978.jpg "IRIS NFP Technology Trends lunch 2009")

Over twenty ideas were brought to the table by attendees, followed by considerable
debate to group these into key themes. The guests then voted to determine the top
six themes.

These were:

 1.  Social networking/blogging will continue to increase and become more relevant 
    to the NFP community
 2.  More demand for data integration – "what we have already must work better together"
 3.  Software as a Service (SaaS) will become more prominent
 4.  Virtualisation and hardware will need to support 24/7 working
 5.  @ Home – more work and leisure time will be spent at home which will pose technological
    challenges and business opportunities
 6.  People will want ‘more for less’ from their software vendors

Much debate focused on how the sector and IT suppliers might respond in the tough
economic climate ahead. There was a wide consensus that organisations will continue
to invest in technology as a key way to help them through the recession.

Guests included sector technology experts Sue Fidler, Peter Flory, Ivan Wainwright,
and UK Fundraising’s Howard Lake. There were also representatives from the National
Council for Voluntary Organisations and the Institute of Fundraising.

Other clients included Cystic Fibrosis Trust, College of Optometrists, Marie Curie
Cancer Care, Royal College of Radiologists and Royal Society. Consultants from Brakeley,
Indigo Blue, Mayflower Services, Purple Vision, and Sayer Vincent were also key 
contributors.

IRIS has over 1000 not-for-profit clients. One of the main reasons it convened this
event was to help them ensure that their products and services continued to stay
in-tune with the sector.

IRIS have already said that they plan to hold the event again in early 2010.

www.iris.co.uk/nfp

 * **[IRIS NFP launches redeveloped website](https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/03/03/iris-nfp-launches-redeveloped-website/)**(
   3 March 2009)
 * **[Donor Strategy goes from strength to strength as part of IRIS](https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/06/04/donor-strategy-goes-strength-strength-part-iris/)**(
   4 June 2009)
 * **[Hackney Council for Voluntary Services chooses IRIS Exchequer to streamline its financial processes](https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/06/04/hackney-council-voluntary-services-chooses-iris-exchequer-streamline-its-financial-processes/)**(
   4 June 2009)