And the winner is: Microsoft!
Okay, so last week we gave a definition of exactly what digital transformation is or, at least, how that terms being used today. The big question then becomes how do we get started kind of on that road to use utilizing digital transformation in my church, or my missions organization, or my nonprofit? The first thing that I would say to start with would be decide on a platform. And a platform involves a whole ecosystem of interrelated parts you’ll then be able to automate and bring together because the more you’re able to bring together all the different software and parts into one, the more cohesive and capable you’re going to be able to automate and utilize those systems in that manner.
So the big question is going to be do I choose Google and their donations or do I choose Microsoft… and Microsoft 365 specifically… and those donations? Now, I like to remind everybody that you need to be as innocent as doves and as shrewd as serpents. So innocent as doves, you need to follow all the end user licensing agreement’s stipulations.
Both Microsoft and Google have a requirement that you need to have certain hiring policies needs to… need to… be able to hire both men and women into all positions. You need to be able to have any sexual orientation in any and all positions and any gender identity within any and all positions. However, Microsoft makes a stipulation that it’s allowable to not follow this particular rule if it’s a religious organization; Google does not have that same clause. So Google would still say, “not eligible,” Microsoft would say “eligible.” So for a lot of churches and missions organizations, in particular, what this means is Microsoft’s going to be the primary choice just because due to tradition… due to theological beliefs, they can’t agree to all of those stipulations that Google’s going to require them, but that Microsoft’s going to say, “it’s okay because your religious organization we understand.”
Now beyond that, the good news is, is Microsoft is actually a better platform, in terms of the broader ecosystem, and generosity of the donations. So there’s the 10 donations of Microsoft 365 business premium, there’s up to 2,000 donations of what they call office 365, E1*, and then there’s a 300 donations of Microsoft 365 Business Standard. So it’s very broad, and then there’s further donations, you know, 10 seats of Power Platform just got released, there’s now Dynamics donations which is going to come into play for bringing in donations, doing finance, and tracking membership. And they’ve also got $3,500 US dollars per year of Azure credits. So there’s a lot available there, there’s a lot you can use it for.
It’s a lot better in terms of creating very secure environments, and enabling your organization to enforce the PDPA: personal data protection act, within your organization. So all said and done, my recommendation is always go with Microsoft, use the Microsoft 365 donations, make that your platform and make that the ecosystem that you’re going to go all in on. I realize that some places, that’s going to be a bit tough because you’re used to using Google… now it’s called Workplace… but long term, you’re going to get a lot better bang for your donation through the Microsoft route and I would highly advise going there.
Alright, hope this has been useful. I hope that this has helped you guys out hope this is helping you make some decisions in your organization. If it’s been helpful, go ahead and click the like button click follow. If you have any questions, go ahead and leave a comment down below. Alright, have a great week.
* In the video I mistakenly said “E3” which is a slip from some other licenses I regularly mention. 😛
