Cloud files organization is something that can seem like a low priority, particularly with the rise of strong search tools and now with the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) search. Carolyn spoke with guest Norwin Herrera, IT Business Manager, to answer questions about why it’s important to create a file organization system, both for increased cybersecurity in the world of AI, and for the productivity and efficiency of your staff. Cloud file organization tips include prioritizing the project, clearly labeling files, and creating strong governance policies and training staff on your expectations on labeling and saving files.
Having a method and a system is important for safeguarding file access when you use AI tools to search accessible files. It’s also important to create a file retention policy for your organization, and governance around file search.
How can you save money by routinely saving what is important and removing old or misleading files to an archive or deleting them? In addition to spending your nonprofit funds to backup files that are no longer relevant, your staff will spend more time evaluating if the AI search tool has surfaced a relevant or irrelevant file. That staff time is also money.
Norwin provides some reasons to accurately label your files and makes a case for being organized online. He also provides tips on getting your leadership engaged in setting your file organization policies and seeing the strategic advantages to prioritizing this project.
For more on creating or revising IT policies generally, review our webinar Making IT Governance Work for Your Nonprofit.
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Norwin joined Community IT Innovators in November 2019 as an IT Business Manager. Bringing over 25 years of experience working with technology to his role, Norwin knows how to help clients achieve their organizational missions by managing IT tools wisely.
Now promoted to Business IT Manager Team Lead, Norwin manages this team of senior technology specialists and ensures clients benefit from well-managed IT.
The Community IT ITBM service provides an outsourced IT manager to clients at a reduced cost to hiring and having an IT manager on staff. These managers are a resource dedicated to matching technology solutions to clients’ business needs. To do this well requires an ongoing conversation with the client to continually understand their business needs, and then effective communication with client staff and leadership about the ways specific technology solutions can meet those business needs and how to budget for technology.
The ITBM makes recommendations on IT investments, training programs, maintenance, and licenses. They help the client be forward-looking, and act as a vendor-agnostic, trusted advisor with deep knowledge of the nonprofit IT software and platforms available. Because Community IT works in partnership with clients to manage long-term IT needs, the ITBM relationship with the client makes them a true asset.
Norwin has a strong history of providing direct services in Spanish and English to nonprofit organizations in the Washington DC area. Prior to joining CIT, he worked at Casa de Maryland as a computer teacher and created a technology handbook with popular education techniques. At La Clinica del Pueblo he was Manager of Technology.
Carolyn Woodard is currently head of Marketing and Outreach at Community IT Innovators. She has served many roles at Community IT, from client to project manager to marketing. With over twenty years of experience in the nonprofit world, including as a nonprofit technology project manager and Director of IT at both large and small organizations, Carolyn knows the frustrations and delights of working with technology professionals, accidental techies, executives, and staff to deliver your organization’s mission and keep your IT infrastructure operating. She has a master’s degree in Nonprofit Management from Johns Hopkins University and received her undergraduate degree in English Literature from Williams College. She was happy to discuss cloud file organization tips with Norwin Herrera. And happy, at Norwin’s urging, to practice her Spanish, with a lot of translation help, to interview Norwin in his native language too in a first for Community IT.
Community IT has been serving nonprofits exclusively for over twenty years. We offer Managed IT support services for nonprofits that want to outsource all or part of their IT support and hosted services. For a fixed monthly fee, we provide unlimited remote and on-site help desk support, proactive network management, and ongoing IT planning from a dedicated team of experts in nonprofit-focused IT. And our clients benefit from our IT Business Managers team who will work with you to plan your IT investments and technology roadmap if you don’t have an in-house IT Director.
We constantly research and evaluate new technology to ensure that you get cutting-edge solutions that are tailored to your organization, using standard industry tech tools that don’t lock you into a single vendor or consultant. And we don’t treat any aspect of nonprofit IT as if it is too complicated for you to understand. When you are worried about your email safety and spam, you shouldn’t have to worry about understanding your provider.
We think your IT vendor should be able to explain everything without jargon or lingo. If you can’t understand your IT management strategy to your own satisfaction, keep asking your questions until you find an outsourced IT provider who will partner with you for well-managed IT.
If you’re ready to gain peace of mind about your IT support, let’s talk.
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash
CTO Matthew Eshleman, Director of IT Consulting Steve Longenecker, and IT Business Manager Team Lead Norwin Herrera hold a lively and specific discussion of all things nonprofit tech for 2025 and beyond. January 22 at 3pm Eastern, Noon Pacific.
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