Should a not-for-profit move off its server?

Usually yes, and the moment is when the server reaches its refresh rather than whenever the question arises. For not-for-profits the arithmetic is often better than for businesses, because nonprofit licensing and cloud credit programmes reduce the destination cost while the replacement hardware would have been full price.

The strongest arguments are the same as anywhere: a single server has a single motherboard, and when it fails the organisation stops until someone sources a part. Hosted systems reach staff and volunteers wherever they work, which matters in a sector with distributed teams and outreach work. And the refresh cycle disappears, which removes a recurring capital request that is genuinely difficult to fund from grants.

The sector-specific argument is the pricing. Nonprofit licensing from major vendors and cloud credit programmes for eligible organisations mean the destination frequently costs less than an organisation expects, and the comparison to make is against the cost of replacing the server rather than against a server already paid for. Framed that way, the move is often cheaper than the alternative rather than an additional expense.

Where a legacy client management or specialist system cannot move, a hosted desktop keeps it running without keeping hardware on site. That is what Australia's leading not-for-profit accounting firm does, having replaced ageing physical servers with AWS Remote Desktop alongside Microsoft 365 and Essential Eight Maturity Level 1. Plan it around your funding and reporting cycle rather than during one. If you want the numbers modelled with nonprofit pricing included, call 1800 456 567.