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A Conversation with Ed Batista written by Jason Hutchins Tech News Staff Writer
Ed explained that this learning curve, driven by home computing experiences, has changed the cultural mindset of organizations over time. As individuals increasingly desired improved communication tools in the workplace, this has lead to a sector-wide commitment to networking. "Traditionally, computers were seen as a tool for accountants in finance….number crunching devices, not communication devices. The tremendous shift we have seen is being driven by the pervasiveness of the Internet and the openness of staff to embrace change in order to work more effectively." Batista reflected that the sector still has some access challenges but that almost everyone now has some basic form of access to the Internet. "Online work habits at home, experience and expectations, have been brought into the nonprofit workplace from staff who are increasingly sophisticated users." Constituent Relationship Management As N-TEN watched its membership grow over these last few years, Ed Batista had an ideal vantage point from which to observe the ever-changing marketplace between nonprofit organizations and the technical assistance providers who develop tools for them to use. While speaking with Ed Batista, one senses an ideal crossroads emerging in the sector where low cost solutions are readily available for staff members who have an increased understanding of how these tools can be deployed to further the mission of the organization. "Costs continue to come down while tools have become more user friendly. Powerful solutions are within the grasp of the average organization." Batista explained that, historically, tools required significant resources to develop and deploy, often leaving the advantages of such solutions to privileged organizations with the resources required to develop and maintain solutions. "Nonprofits are typically risk-averse but are risk-seeking when they have a clear path to a return on their investment". Citing the enormous size of risk capital available to private sector businesses relative to the modest resources available to even the largest nonprofits, the trend continues to favor robust solutions developed by firms that serve many organizations. Batista pointed to the development and sustainability of powerful solutions made possible through significant ongoing programming investments from large vendors like Convio, GetActive, and Kintera. There are also a number of smaller providers in the field, such as CitySoft, and Democracy In Action. As to sustainability: "There is no way I see the clock going backwards—costs will continue to come down, making it easier for nonprofits to pay for these services. The growth of ASPs (application service providers) is also an important factor here. By using an ASP, nonprofits are effectively outsourcing software development to an outside vendor, allowing them to dedicate more resources to mission critical functions, putting the focus back on social workers, for example, and not IT guys."
With a keen eye for marketplace trends, Batista's focus centers around knowing your customer and speaking in an authentic voice. He sees the corporate world making use of metadata to better understand user preferences so custom content can be delivered to different audiences. This type of technology is probably most familiar to users of sites like Amazon where book titles are suggested to the user based on an understanding of their interests. "The general value of self publishing as a two way conversation will be embraced - spreading ideas and communicating with people concerned with like issues." Batista cautioned that, as with other technologies, costs for solutions will continue to come down as they are developed, tested, and vetted by the corporate sector. "The ability to communicate directly with our stakeholders and integrate their voices into our work will allow organizations to speak more honestly and directly on the issues that matter to them." Four years after joining N-TEN, the organization had reached sustainability, and Ed was looking to pursue some new challenges. He stepped down as Executive Director in February and in March joined Beaconfire Consulting as Senior Consultant, where he is working directly with nonprofits on a range of technology-related projects. |
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