Audits & Assessments

technology consultingConfluence performs strategic technology assessments as a core part of our business. For smaller organizations, we offer an affordable, fixed price project that can be completed within one or two weeks. For larger organizations, we will create a custom assessment project based on the number of staff and other variables.

Our approach has been validated in the hundreds of assessments we have done over the years. We conduct focused interviews with functionally-similar staff.

This input is combined with a comprehensive inventory of equipment, and inspection of many other "artifacts" — forms, spreadsheets, the website, and organizational background information. From all these sources of input, we create a unique consolidated report that contains, in one place, a description of how each organization is set up from a technical perspective, what services are in use, and how much they cost. With turnover in some organizations, this presents a common understanding that is very appreciated of what technology is in use and why.

For each area of technology, we provide a clear explanation of the options available, their pros and cons, and our recommendations when appropriate. All the recommendations are consolidated into an "action plan" — a clear summary of everything that should be done, with cost, priority, who is responsible and schedule detailed. The action plan is completed with the client. It is instrumental in ensuring that recommendations are clear, complete and actionable. Too often, a strategic technology assessment provides general guidance, but not specific enough for an organization with limited internal technical expertise to easily move forward. We seek to eliminate barriers to action — so that our work results in lasting, real and sustainable impact.

We usually find savings (sometimes significant) in services our clients are over-paying for, don't need, or should be replaced with more appropriate solutions. Our action plans for custom assessment projects often have 50-100 specific recommendations — some easy and low cost, others more substantial and long-term. The breadth is startling — from a complete assessment of the public website and social networking strategy, to appropriateness and use of fundraising software, replacement plan for computers, and long-distance calling plans — we leave no technology stone unturned.

We are very proud of the quality of our work in this area. It draws on breadth of experience, seeing what kinds of setups work well and what doesn't, what types of organizational issues can interfere with optimum technology usage, and our sensitivity to the internal capacity of each organization for change. Our pragmatic approach and excellent writing skills produce real value — returning the investment in the assessment process many times over.

Technology Consulting

Our technology consulting services incorporate support that doesn't fit into one of our other service offerings. Examples of technology consulting engagements include:

  • Providing advice on applications of social networking platforms
  • Help choosing a Voice over IP Solution
  • Testing of software applications
  • Training on Microsoft Office 2010 and Windows 7
  • Mapping of information system needs to one or more types of software products for a systems architecture
  • Creating job descriptions, reviewing resumes and interviewing potential candidates for technology positions