Just look up. As temperatures drop, they’re everywhere — Canada geese, soaring high above the earth in a V formation, fleeing the cold and embracing the sun. Typically found in flocks, they work together toward their migratory goals.

In formation, each bird creates lift and reduces air resistance for the one following it, helping the flock travel much farther than if each bird were flying solo. They also take turns leading the flock and support one another along the journey.

This is an analogy Eric Claus, associate director for hosting and infrastructure, Information Technology Services at the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists (NAD) and lead engineer for the NADCloud, uses so frequently in presentations that he has earned the nickname “bird man.”

For Claus, the geese illustrate the power of collaboration, a value at the heart of the NADCloud, which provides shared information technology (IT) services — including hosting and storage — to Adventist organizations at no additional cost.

Thousands of NAD churches, schools, hospitals, ministries, and administrative organizations rely on technology every day to support worship, education, finance, communication, healthcare, and evangelism. However, IT capabilities and resources vary widely across the division.

Many Adventist organizations lack the resources, staffing, and expertise necessary to navigate increasingly complex technological demands. Of the NAD’s 68 union and conference offices, roughly one-third employ a full-time IT staff member, another third rely on partial support or union assistance, and the rest outsource IT services or operate without in-house IT staff.

Against this backdrop, and amid growing concerns about IT governance and operational costs, NAD administrators began envisioning a new approach in 2018. Through shared IT services and strategically consolidated systems, Adventist organizations could reduce costs associated with duplication, improve cybersecurity and reliability, and reallocate more resources toward mission.

In 2021, the division built the $3 million NADcloud data center to support a suite of IT services driven by a simple mission: “Amplifying the gospel mission through unified IT.” The NADcloud has since operated under the advisement of the NAD Technical Standards Committee, which includes union IT directors and representatives from Adventist educational institutions, to ensure that it meets the needs of the field.

As of 2026, the NADcloud serves approximately 80 clients across the division. All Adventist academies, universities, conferences, union conferences, media ministries, and NAD departments are eligible to participate.

The NADcloud is helping to ease the strain on Adventist organizations struggling to maintain complex IT infrastructure with limited resources. According to Claus, Adventist Media Ministries, for example, has been able to devote more attention to supporting media ministries such as Voice of Prophecy and Breath of Life as its backend IT responsibilities have decreased.

The financial benefits are also significant. Based on conservative calculations, the server and web hosting, data backup, storage, and other services currently provided through the NADcloud would cost Adventist organizations approximately $2.1 million if purchased from public cloud providers.

For Claus, the goal is clear: “My hope is that more church leaders and employees use the NADcloud for their technology infrastructure so they have time and money freed up to focus more directly on front-line ministry and innovation.”

Beyond collaboration and cost savings, NADcloud is designed to help the church become more resilient in the face of cybersecurity threats, infrastructure failures, and growing regulatory demands. Through Adventist-owned infrastructure, NADcloud helps organizations maintain greater control of their information while benefiting from shared security, backup, and disaster recovery services.

The NADcloud has already proven to be a lifesaver during a technological crisis. At the 2024 NAD Administrators’ Conference, Milton Sand, then-NAD Information Technology Services director, recalled how the platform helped Oakwood University recover after its IT infrastructure was compromised by a ransomware attack. The university received 26 virtual servers, with operations running on the shared infrastructure within two days.

More recently, La Sierra University has begun transitioning to the NADcloud after previously outsourcing its IT services. Claus noted that they are completely rebuilding their IT infrastructure and turning to the NADcloud “to save time, effort, and money.”

Claus also believes this technological preparedness is closely connected to the Adventist understanding of future events. “Another hope is that the NADcloud helps the church be more resilient as societal, financial, and political pressure ramps up as we get closer to the end times.”

The NADcloud is grounded in the division’s broader commitment to collaboration and the belief that organizations must look beyond their immediate needs and consider their responsibilities to one another. “We have to actually care about people before we assess their systems, structures, and operations,” Claus emphasized in a presentation on shared IT services.

Like Canada geese taking turns guiding the formation, Adventist organizations can share the burden rather than bear it alone. As those with greater resources and expertise support those with less, the entire church grows stronger.

Through the NADcloud, churches, schools, ministries, hospitals, and other organizations can be relieved from the pressures and risks of managing IT infrastructure alone, allowing them to focus on the work they were called to do and the people they were called to serve.

For more information about the NADcloud and its services, visit https://nad.cloud.