When you’re in the market for new association management software (AMS), it’s vital to do your research. Searching for a modern AMS is a team effort—that’s why Chicago AMS Fest 2023 is the perfect event for your organization.

AMS Fest 2023 is an in-person event based in Chicago, focused on AMS systems. With interactive boot camps and 7 CAE credits available, you’ll have multiple ways to learn about today’s AMS marketplace. At AMS Fest 2023, you can see 22 AMS product demos and ask questions directly to the product vendors.  

How to find the right AMS for your association at AMS Fest 2023 

To help you find the right AMS for your organization, here are three questions to ask vendors at AMS Fest 2023: 

1. What do product upgrades look like for this solution?
Software needs to be upgraded regularly to ensure you’re using the latest features and functionality. If you don’t routinely upgrade your software, your technology is at a higher risk of failure, potentially leaking member data. But with some AMS vendors, upgrades aren’t routine, easy, or cheap. Some vendor upgrades might cause customizations in your system to “break,” resulting in system downtime and requiring new, costly software customizations.  
 
To avoid these challenges, look for an AMS vendor that includes regular, seamless upgrades included within the price of the software. This approach ensures your organization is keeping up with the latest technological advances without budget-busting fees and broken customizations. 
 
What’s our answer? Nimble AMS by Community Brands is built on the Salesforce platform. The product mirrors the Salesforce approach to upgrades, which includes three product releases per year to ensure you can quickly take advantage of new functionality. Upgrades are automatic, at no additional charge. 

2. How many versions of the software is your company currently supporting?
At first, this might not seem like an important question to ask, but it is. Modern AMS systems are in the cloud, with every user on the latest version.

What’s our answer? Nimble AMS is a true cloud-based platform. With three seamless upgrades a year, all our customers have access to the latest version of technology. Nimble AMS offers instantaneous access to the latest product features helping your organization to enhance your staff and member experience and boost your technology ROI

Here’s why choosing an AMS where all customers are on the latest version is important:

• Innovation requires it. To continuously deliver the latest technological capabilities, a software company must focus on innovation versus supporting multiple software versions.
• Better support and quicker fixes. If a software company has only one version to support, it can focus on one system. It will be able to quickly diagnose any issues and deliver fixes.
• You won’t be left behind. Most associations looking for a new system are doing so because their old-school software has fallen behind. If your association is going to deliver a modern member experience, it needs to be running the latest and greatest software.

3. How can this solution prepare us for whatever the future brings?
According to the latest Community Brands Association Trends Research, 65% of association professionals and 63% of members agree that professional membership and trade organizations that don’t transform technologically within the next few years won’t survive.  
 
The takeaway: To prepare for the future, you’ll want to consider investing in modern software. Here’s what to look for in a new AMS: 

• Cloud-based and mobile responsive. Giving your staff the ability to access key systems and data when they’re in or out of the office is vital for work today. A cloud-based AMS with mobile access gives staff the ability to adapt to any work situation and increases collaboration across teams.
• Leading technology. A modern AMS should leverage innovative technology like AI, predictive analytics, and automation so staff can stay focused on day-to-day tasks without being distracted by cumbersome manual tasks. AI can offer crucial member insights into your data and help you meet your strategic goals.
• Online community platform. Boost member engagement with an online community, ensuring members can connect with each other and your organization virtually. One of the best ways to do this is to create a digital space for members to engage. Empower members to connect and gain access to relevant content with an AMS that offers online member community functionality.
• User-friendly and configurable. As your association evolves to meet members’ changing needs, your AMS should make it easy to configure many aspects of the product yourself. This makes it easy and cost-effective to ensure the software meets your needs without the added cost of custom coding.   

 What’s our answer? Nimble AMS is a configurable, cloud-based system that includes point-and-click process automation, AI, predictive analytics, and an online member community platform.

Learn more about the best AMS for your association

Seeing an AMS in action is one of the best ways to understand its capabilities, how user-friendly it is, and how the overall system works. Discover the best AMS for your association by attending the expert consultant keynote session sponsored by Community Brands. During the session learn tips to research and find the best AMS vendor and how to ask tough vendor questions.  

We’re excited to see you at Chicago AMS Fest 2023! Stop by our booth to learn more about why Nimble AMS is the most trusted AMS on Salesforce. Here’s when you can see us demo Nimble AMS:

• June 14 at 10:20-11:00 AM 
• June 15 at 9:45-10:25 AM
   

We hope you’ll meet with our amazing Nimble AMS team: Blake Menefee, Steve Werner, Jeff Bachelor, and Teri Perez.