<Web2.0>

Web 2.0 - A New Way to Collaborate

Over the past couple of years a wide variety of very useful productivity software has popped up on the web, created by talented, community-minded programmers and designers.

These tools allow users to accomplish many of the tasks usually handled by desktop software, including project management, financial projections, word processing, presentations and interoffice communications.

Because these web applications are accessible from any computer that has access to the internet they can have many benefits for non-profit organizations, especially those that want to keep their IT budgets down.

Here are some of their best features:

They're Cost Effective: Many of these applications are free, and the remaining are often less expensive than traditional software.

They Facilitate Off-Site Teamwork: Staff can access and work on documents, spreadsheets, calendars, project plans, etc, from any location that has web access. Many of these programs offer great tools for collaboration.

They Automatically Back Up Data: Because the data exists on the servers of the web-based services, which are themselves backed up, your information is safer than if left on your work place desktop computer, especially if that computer is not backed up regularly.

When deciding if using web-based tools are right for your organization, keep these questions in mind:

1. If you’ll be working with confidential information on web-based tools, make sure you can control access to the information. Even though most tools have password protection, I wouldn't recommend keeping confidential client data on web-based applications.

2. If it is important to you that data be transferable between programs, make sure the web tool data is compatible with your office desktop software. Many of the web-based applications strive to use widely accepted standards, such as iCal for calendars, and Comma Separated Values (CSV) for data.

For a one-stop review of the best web-based tools for non-profits, visit netsquared.org.

Here's a short list of the most popular web-based applications for you to explore:

Documents and Presentations

www2.writely.com

www.writeboard.com

www.thumbstacks.com

Spreadsheets

www.google.com/googlespreadsheets/tour1

Calendars

www.30boxes.com

www.calendar.google.com

Project Management