Imagine what would happen to your organization if your outdated association management software suddenly imploded. Members couldn’t pay their dues, new members couldn’t join, and no one could participate in your online community.
Your association would see a decline in member engagement, retention, and recruitment. Ultimately, your organization would experience a sharp decline in ROI.
Everyone needs technology that provides consistent, hassle-free product upgrades year after year. Discover the many benefits of adopting a modern AMS with routine product updates.
Ready to learn more about the ROI benefits of continuous updates and Nimble AMS? Catch our on-demand to learn more!
What are continuous product updates?
Using older association management software (AMS) slows organizations down, making work harder, and introducing unnecessary challenges. When using a legacy AMS, an association may experience software breaks when it chooses to upgrade its system. Irregularly occurring updates can also be incredibly expensive.
However, an AMS with continuous product updates will offer the following:
1. Automatic software enhancements
An AMS with continuous product updates will deliver the latest software enhancements seamlessly and without interruption to your platform. Continuous product updates will deliver long-term value to your staff and members. To offer the most value to your organization, look for an AMS that updates its platform more than once a year.
2. Same product version
Choosing an AMS with continuous product updates guarantees that all customers are on the latest software version. With all customers on the same product version, your staff and members will have access to the latest features at the same time.
3. No additional charge
Some AMS platforms offer continuous upgrades with no additional fees. Other AMS vendors require customers to pay more to have an update completed. Look for an AMS that offers product updates at no additional cost to customers.
“One of our biggest challenges was system upgrades. Although necessary, upgrades also resulted in breaks in database structures, internal processes, and increased spending just to restore functionality,” said an association professional, on Salesforce AppExchange.
3 benefits of continuous product updates
There are many benefits to selecting an AMS with continuous product updates. Here are the top three benefits:
1. Financial value
The financial benefit of continuous product upgrades is high. When an organization routinely updates its technology, it can save anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000. The value for every association will increase with each software release.
2. The latest software features
With an AMS that offers continuous product updates, you are guaranteed access to the most innovative solutions. Look for an AMS that offers Artificial Intelligence and automation, while constantly investing in its solution.
3. Return on investment
If your team is leveraging the latest tools, you’ll boost efficiency and productivity, saving your organization time and money.
“We weren’t able to move forward on many initiatives because it would have been either cost prohibitive or taken years to implement with our old AMS,” said an association professional, on Salesforce AppExchange.
What happens if you don’t continuously update your AMS?
If your organization doesn’t routinely upgrade your software, your technology is at a greater risk of failing when you need it most. Consider the recent meltdown of the technological infrastructure of Southwest Airlines and the resulting PR nightmare. While your association might not face the same degree of backlash, if your software imploded, you would face member anger and could risk a decline in ROI.
By choosing an AMS with continuous product updates, you safeguard your organization against security risks. Routine updates also reduce the potential of your software breaking during an upgrade. Additionally, you ensure your staff and members have access to the most innovative and effective software features.
“As an Executive Director it is huge to not have to spend tens of thousands of dollars on outside consultants just to make sure things don’t break with every upgrade. I can now spend that money on value-added things. It’s liberating. That was impossible in our old system,” said Bruce Moe, Executive Director and CEO of Missouri State Teachers Association (MSTA).
How Nimble AMS continuous product updates outrank the competition
When it comes to continuous product updates, you can trust that Nimble AMS will deliver. With Nimble AMS, you’ll get three seamless product updates a year, one in the winter, one in the spring, and one in the summer. Because Nimble AMS is built on the Salesforce platform, you’ll also get three annual product upgrades from Salesforce.
With six annual product updates, you’ll always have access to the latest technology to help your association thrive. Additionally, all Nimble AMS customers stay on the same product version, at no additional charge.
Here are the top Nimble AMS product upgrades from 2024 and 2025:
1. Summer ‘24
- Nimble Intelligence—the powerful AI+BI tool built for associations helps you gain better insights into your data, monitor KPIs, and identify growth opportunities.
- Deepen member connections through streamlined marketing processes, convenience e-commerce, and enhanced committee organization.
- Simplify staff processes with Crowd Wisdom updates to streamline your staff’s workflow.
2. Winter ‘25
- An enhanced e-commerce experience in the new Nimble AMS Member Portal.
- Opportunities for members to build their professional networks with the new Member Directory.
- 30 impactful improvements inspired by the valuable feedback of Nimble AMS customers.
3. Spring ‘25
- Flexible payment options for members to streamline checkout, enhance convenience, and improve revenue predictability.
- Dynamic grid enhancements to simplify troubleshooting, reduce debugging time, and increase efficiency.
- Credit card nicknames for member stored payment methods, making checkout faster and more convenient, and enhancing e-commerce.
“Nimble AMS has adopted Salesforce’s software update methodology meaning the next update is right around the corner. The system is always up-to-date, and the updates are painless,” said an association professional, on Salesforce AppExchange.
What can you expect with Nimble AMS product updates?
With Nimble AMS, you’ll get three continuous product updates a year. During each product upgrade, here’s what you can expect:
- Full Salesforce Sandbox
With Nimble AMS, each customer has access to a full Salesforce Sandbox to test and train your staff—at no additional cost. Your sandbox is updated before each release with a preview version and all local Apex tests are run for all customers. - Version certification
When it’s time to update Nimble AMS, a new milestone version must pass through a gauntlet of certification tests to be made generally available. Some of these tests will include the following:- Collaborative Go/No-go to conclude each sprint and authorize the milestone.
- Tens of thousands of automated regression tests.
- Realistic mock customer upgrade.
- Exploratory milestone testing of new features.
- Pilot customer sandboxes, populated with sample data.
- Pilot features
New Nimble AMS features are introduced as pilots to selected customers to obtain early feedback. - Change log
A detailed log is kept for each version, itemizing each update to the product. - Group scheduling
When it’s time to update Nimble AMS, production upgrades are rolled out in groups. Releases are scheduled in push upgrades to ensure the updates are convenient for customers. - Salesforce Security Review
Nimble AMS proactively submits every seasonal update to Salesforce for a full security review. Although it’s not a requirement, we undergo this extra step because your security is of the utmost importance to us.
“Having Nimble AMS built on top of the power of Salesforce means it stays on pace with the newest technology advances. We manage memberships, events, registrations, committees, sponsorships, exhibitors, donations, and a large online community using Nimble AMS, and while we’re still learning the system, just 2 months post launch we’re already seeing great adoption of the new system from both internal staff and the community. It’s super powerful and configurable,” said an association professional on G2.
