Why Non-Profit organizations choose Microsoft Dynamics over Blackbaud

Microsoft Dynamics vs blackbaud

Ask any non-profit if they’ve developed a written strategy for their fundraising and donor management strategies. Chances are they do not, notes a Forbes overview on this sector. Yet, this may be one of the reasons that “half of all nonprofits are setup to fail.”

At one level, stakeholders new to the nonprofit may bring their own “proven” methods of raising money and building the organization’s brand. On another level, others may want to infuse more technology to handle all of the business processes, monitoring of donors and fundraising activities.

In the latter instance, conversations about Dynamics ERP vs. Blackbaud may arise as to one’s suitability over the other as a high-level accounting package.

Investing in the right ERP software is a wise choice for your organization.

Blackbaud best serves nonprofit organizations as it’s only niche. On the other hand, ANY type of organization can use Microsoft Dynamics including nonprofit organizations. Dynamics GP offers features that improve customer’s everyday experience.

The hardest thing about moving to a new ERP business solution is user adoption and learning a new software. However, that is not the case with Dynamics GP. Your first-time experience on Dynamics GP is very much similar to Microsoft Office applications. This familiarity enables a smooth transition and a very short learning curve on how to use it. It looks & feels like Outlook, Word, and Excel, so it is fairly easy to train your employees on how to use this software and hence maximization of profits. It’s also much easier to find new hires for your company that have experience using the Dynamics product.

Microsoft Dynamics and Blackbaud

They have been around for some time, although the Redmond giant, formed in 1975, has significant traction in the cloud-hosting service arena through Azure. This is another area that Microsoft outvalues Blackbaud……the Cloud.

Furthermore, Blackbaud’s cloud-hosting service, Citrix, 2015 ranking in the Fortune 1000 was 725 versus 72 for Microsoft. Moreover, with the heft of Microsoft’s R&D behind it, Azure is more likely to meet compliance and security requirements for users. While Dynamics GP modules come with built-in security measures, Blackbaud does not, as noted on a flyer outlining their finance module:

“Blackbaud is not responsible for the installation, configuration, and testing of any web security measures. Blackbaud assumes no responsibility for the security of your web server and any adverse consequences resulting from security issues. Blackbaud software does not establish or modify security on the web server.”

What’s more, Blackbaud literature on their financial module suggests using legacy backup methods for storage. Of course, Dynamics GP’s Azure connection provides cloud backups and archiving:

“Blackbaud strongly recommends the purchase and scheduled use of a tape or archival backup solution. The Blackbaud Management Console includes a backup utility to make or schedule backups while the database engine is running. Blackbaud recommends regular testing of your backups to ensure reliability.”

Research has it that in a typical business organization, employees receive fifty to seventy percent of their information from outsiders and not from the business system. With Microsoft Dynamics you can access a lot of valuable information easily and get it to the hands of the people who urgently need the information. You can have a centralized web page with all of your key business metrics in one place that you can access from virtually anywhere. This ensures that you make time-sensitive decisions.

Contact us to learn more about the Dynamics Difference and Blackbaud for use in nonprofit organizations.

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Still not convinced?

The question between Dynamics GP vs. Blackbaud is a simple one for any small business looking to improve their resource management.

Learn how the flexible features provided by Dynamics GP can accommodate your ERP expectations.