March 26, 2001

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IT Assessments Are Key To Avoiding Hidden Costs

By Diane Rezendes Khirallah   (drezende@cmp.com)

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Reporter's Notebook: Musing From East Palo Alto

chools often don't have the IT expertise to know what's good and what isn't. They accept a collection of junk hardware, then spend more money trying to salvage what may be beyond the pale, losing patience and hard-earned funds in the process. Some nonprofit organizations have a few tips to help.

The IT Resource Center, a Chicago nonprofit that helps schools and community groups strengthen their IT efforts, recommends a technology assessment that sorts the donated equipment and makes the good stuff office-worthy. The center recently received notebook computers from BP Amoco--20 for its lab and 50 to pass along to those in need. Sarah Oaks, marketing coordinator for the IT Resource Center, hosted a pizza party, inviting IT volunteers to donate a Saturday and do a tech assessment to get the notebooks in shape. "It takes a long time," says Oaks, "but you need to invest in it."

Mouse.org, another nonprofit organization, links New York public schools to corporate grants and equipment and then to volunteers from the New York IT community who teach children how to use the PCs, software, and the Internet. Some of those volunteers come from Web developer iXL Inc., which has been involved since 1998, thanks to Diane Butler, VP of marketing.

While Butler is happy about what the youngsters receive, she says the benefit to iXL is equally impressive. "It absolutely helps with retention here," she says, adding that part of the corporate culture at iXL is to do good. "We're overwhelmed with people who want to volunteer and give back to their community."

--Diane Rezendes Khirallah and Elisabeth Goodridge

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