Microsoft to Offer Technology Programs to Georgian NGOs

The newly created organization Microsoft Philanthropies held an event called ‘Tech4Good’ in collaboration with PH (Project Harmony) International. The goal was to announce the technologies Microsoft will provide without charge to Georgian NGOs.

The event gathered representative of PH International, Berdia Natsvlishvili; of Microsoft, Nikoloz Doborjginidze; and Georgian NGOs such as the Association for Rural Development of Georgia, alongside local educational development and employment centers.

The attendees spoke about their experience with Microsoft programs and how they help them to boost efficiency and make more of an impact on the communities they serve. NGOs involved in the program will not only be given access to these technologies but will also be guided how to use and integrate these new technologies into their daily work to improve efficiency.

Technologies involved in the program are based on cloud-computing such as Microsoft Azure, which provides an opportunity for NGOs to have their own data centers, and Office 365, offering cloud-based versions of Outlook, Word, Excel and Power-Point. According to Microsoft, the goal of cloud is to provide NGOs with the right tools to operate productively, using dematerialized storage and applications.

Microsoft has donated about 288K of software so far this year, and over USD 600k since 2010 to over 50 NGOs in Georgia. The organization is now targeting more than 70,000 NGOs around the world in order to support them in their work serving their communities.

David Mongazon