Democrats Abroad IT Team EMEA Regional Meeting January 2012

What Does IT Include Membership Database DA Website Donations Vote From Abroad System Infrastructure - Administration and Support User Support and Training Current IT Projects –VFA application –Database cleanup –Migration to Amazon Cloud –Completion of software upgrade for membership database and web site

IT Operation Team Name CountryStarted Roles Peter FischbachThailand2007 IT Chair, HR coordinator for team, interface to paid resources Shari TempleGermany2007 IT Vice-Chair, Membership Database coordinator, Admin coordinator Margo MillerUK2007VFA Coordinator Meredith Gowan LeGoffFrance2007Former IT Chair, Advisor to IT Committee Dennis GrayAustralia2007Test Coordinator, troubleshooting, IT configuration Gail FagenItaly2007User manuals, Training, Global s Jason SiegelFrance2008 Content management, Graphic design, website posting issues Rick GravesHong Kong2008Reporting, database cleanup Scott MortimerBelgium2010 System administration, infrastructure configuration and support, security Matt MunseyUS2010 System administration, infrastructure configuration and support, Jeffrey EdisonBelgium2011Donation system support

Membership Database Built on CiviCRM An “open source” software suite Can be extensively customized (as Democrats Abroad has done) to meet specific functional requirements Requires deployment in conjunction with a web-based content management system (DA uses Drupal) We benefit from add-on software modules developed by others Input of members to the database is from: –the “Join” page of DA website –VFA voter registrations (option to join DA at end of VFA process)

Membership Database Secure Has a high level of accuracy Versatile – users have granular access to important functionality, for example: –targeted group s (by chapter, by country, by region, by voting state, by interest group, etc.) –state–specific voter data –data exports for phone banking –timely and accurate per-country membership counts –ad-hoc reporting capability Access is specific to chapter, country, regional, and global permissions. General satisfaction with the database and its coordinated capabilities.

Membership Database Secure Has a high level of accuracy Versatile – users have granular access to important functionality, for example: –targeted group s (by chapter, by country, by region, by voting state, by interest group, etc.) –state–specific voter data –data exports for phone banking –timely and accurate per-country membership counts –ad-hoc reporting capability Access is specific to chapter, country, regional, and global permissions. General satisfaction with the database and its coordinated capabilities.

Website The DemocratsAbroad.org web site is built using Drupal (an open source Content Management System) Required as a “platform” for our use of CiviCRM Allows for standardized (“themed”) content display, and controlled (membership-specific) interaction with the web site. –Customizable web pages for every country –Optional topic group web pages –Content publishing options (publishing permissions, visible to whom, etc.) –Event management functionality (requires enhancement) General information about DA PR materials, “marketing toolkit” Voter resources, election details, etc. Fundraising –General –For specific events.

Vote from Abroad VoteFromAbroad built by Democrats Abroad in 2006 –Americans can respond to state-specific screen prompts for entering their voter registration details –Produces an FPCA (registration and ballot request form) as a pdf file together –Provides mailing instructions and additional voter materials –Includes an optional FWAB emergency ballot It utilizes a database of state-specific registration requirements (local election rules, mailing addresses, etc.) –DA maintains this data Provides option to join DA –Sends encrypted data to the membership database Updates current members contact information –Due to known problems this will be turned off with the VFA Upgrade until the Membership/Website Upgrade is complete

System Infrastructure - Administration and Support Hardware Software Security special addresses This item covers all the day-to-day nuts and bolts of keeping our IT systems running and secure. The “live”, production versions of our applications are currently hosted at the DNC’s data center. Our development and test systems are hosted by an external service provider. Nearly all the maintenance and support effort for our system infrastructure is provided by volunteers.

User Support and Training Technical Support –Configuration changes –Bug fixes Admin Support –Admin setups –Country transfers –Complex/corrupted membership records –Admin questions –DA setups –Cross country membership cleanup Training –Training manuals –Training sessions Help Desk –General questions

Projects: Database Cleanup Activities for addressing members not receiving s –Information provided to all country admins –Need to address members: No on hold Member opted-out of DA s –Initiated Opt-In Campaign in Nov - ~20% reduction in opt-outs Moved to US so removed or added to US Alumni Group Transferred to another country and opted-in Opted-in due to election year Annual database cleanup

Projects: Software Upgrade for Vote from Abroad Covered by Margo

Projects: Server Migration DA production applications will migrate from the DNC servers to Amazon cloud This will provide improved monitoring and support This will reduce unexpected outages In progress now Any downtime will be pre-announced

Projects: Software Upgrade for Membership DB and Web Site Project approved and started in 2010 Put on-hold in Feb 2011 due to funding issues – 80-90% complete Currently running on unsupported versions of software Several current problems would be resolved with the upgrade plus opportunities for new features Requested budget to complete project in 2012

Summary IT costs money It takes effort for us to effectively use our IT The IT team is committed to help get out the vote Our organization is dependent on IT Thanks for everyone that has helped make IT a success