(this is a copy of an email all members should have just received)

Overview - SBA IT System Update

During the course of the last year, we (the committee) have been discussing how we manage and maintain the IT systems that support the SBA and its members.

So this includes both the "visible systems" (i.e. SBA Web site, The Steamboat Register, Events, News, Forums, emails, Zoom, and social media), and the "hidden systems" (like email servers, hosting platforms, wild apricot etc. that make all this function).

The Next Steps Document

This has resulted in a document (and an accompanying slide presentation) describing our intentions in implementing some updates and changes to our IT systems that will help us all make the most of our memberships, and exploit the web and on-line systems that we already use to make it easier for members to participate in SBA events (both on-line and in the real world). I have included links to this "Next Steps" document, and the associated slides. PLEASE READ THEM NOW!

Read the SBA IT Next Steps Document

View the SBA IT Next Steps Slides  (click the slideshow link when the doc opens)

An SBA IT Team - are you ready to help?

The first step is to form a formal SBA IT Team of members who will take responsibility for managing and maintaining each of our systems. So, this message is a request for members who might be willing to join this IT team and take on the work involved in maintaining and managing one or more of these components.

Some notes before you say "yes":

• Read the Next Steps document and slides before you respond please.
• We need people with professional experience of managing and running IT systems, you will be surprised by the size and complexity of our systems.
• We are not intending to implement a "perfect" system, but a simple, reliable and manageable system, exploiting the functionality of our chosen platforms, that we can maintain without needing to spend members' subscription money on "experts" or "consultants".
• We are not undertaking a "rewrite" or "redesign" of our systems or web sites, we are just making sure we have the functionality the SBA needs, constructed in a reliable, maintainable form.
  
• You will need to be ready to spend some time (probably no more than an hour or so a week) on the task.
• You may be responsible for access to systems that contain personal data, so some appreciation of the requirements of practical on-line security are imperative.
  
• You will be a member of a team, and so will need to agree programs of work with other team members, and implement changes in concert with others.
• You are not required to be a committee member to join the IT Team.
• Your efforts will be much appreciated!

If all this sounds like your bag, then please drop me a line, telling me about your experience and interest and we will get back to you as we move forwards.

Click to email Malcolm, to register your interest

A thank you to Roger Heise

Roger Heise's has decided that this is the time to step away from the administration of the SBA IT systems after many years of dedicated effort. So, we all owe Roger a considerable "thank you".

Regards,

Malcolm Duckett