Who controls your technology budget? As organizations gain more influence over their systems, technology responsibilities are becoming more democratized. And because organizations purchase software to serve the needs of their staff and members, technology budgeting is becoming a cross-organizational decision, rather than a solely IT department decision.
Discover why non-IT leaders are gaining greater influence over technology used to enhance the member experience. Read on to set your team up for success with tech budgeting.
The purchasing priorities of member-based organizations
How are organizations choosing to spend their tech budgets? According to the Momentive Software Association Trends Study, 63% of pros say that their IT budget will increase next year. Of those already planning to spend more, 38% plan to prioritize AI investments, while 32% will prioritize investments in AMS or CRM technology.
While budgets may be tightening across the board, pros noted that event registration makes up a good portion of their non-dues revenue. Therefore, IT budgets could also be shifting to prioritize event marketing and event management.
How to make technology budgeting a cross-organizational decision
According to the MuleSoft Connectivity Benchmark Report, 45% of the reporting companies have over 1,000 different applications across various departments. Often, the systems are poorly integrated, resulting in data silos and redundant processes. Organizations note that data silos are a barrier to building a seamless staff and member experience.
As you begin to research and eventually select your next association management software (AMS), your individual departments need to collaborate to create a successful technology budget. Consider assembling a technology selection team comprising leaders from each of your departments to gain a deeper understanding of your organization’s software requirements, thereby ensuring an accurate budget is determined.
Work together as a team to prioritize your technology requirements for each department. Ask the following questions to begin thinking about how the right AMS can empower your entire organization:
- Membership. Does our current tech make renewal simple? How can we improve the efficiency of our current processes? Can we easily configure our software to represent different membership types?
- Education. Does our current software integrate with our LMS? Do our learning credits, certifications, and catalog automatically sync?
- Events. What does our event registration process look like? Can members easily review registrations and upcoming event details on their member profile?
- Finance. Do we experience a lack of integration between our general ledger and current software? How user-friendly is our invoice process?
- Marketing. Do we have data silos between our marketing tools and the current AMS? Do we experience challenges in tracking member behavior and location information?
When you have a knowledgeable team leader representing the interests of all departments, you’ll create an accurate technology budget and select the right AMS for your association. Doing so will decrease data silos and increase the staff and member experience.
