Top Takeaways from the 2023 ASI iNNOVATIONS Conferences

My head is hurting following ASI’s annual 2-day iNNOVATIONS USA Conference in Reston, VA. I am not sure I have the bandwidth to take it all in. On top of the numerous educational sessions, thought-provoking discussions, and celebration of success that are always a staple of ASI's iNNOVATIONS Conferences, 2023 was special as it marked the 25th annual conference.

Luckily, prior to the event, I had asked various people in the ASI Community to take good notes and let me know what their top takeaways were from the 2023 iNNOVATIONS Conferences in London, Reston, and Toronto that brought together clients and partners of the iMIS Engagement Management System (EMS), TopClass LMS, and OpenWater.

Top Takeaways from the 2023 iNNOVATIONS Conferences:

The Growth of AI

Jeff Spring, ASI Senior Product Manager, told us,

“When ChatGPT hit the streets a few months ago, I (and many others) were amazed that a (mostly) capable, competent AI had seemingly come out of nowhere and was (mostly) ready for prime time. Of course, it wasn't perfect, but dang, it sure was impressive and we all know that it will get better with time. AI and machine learning will redefine the way that we interact with our technology and with each other, in ways that we can't even imagine today.

"These types of technologies are part of the iMIS product strategy and we're carefully watching how these technologies mature and looking for ways to take advantage of them so that our clients can focus on their mission and let us take care about their technology.”

Why does this matter? ChatGPT and similar Artificial Intelligence (AI) language models are important for several reasons: 

1. Bridge language barriers; real-time translation services
2. Customer support can enhance customer support by providing immediate responses
3. Can assist students with education and tutoring
4. Content generation, creative writing, and storytelling
5. Serve as personal assistants
6. Research and data analysis
7. Accessibility-assist individuals with disabilities
   

Want to take advantage of AI? Find ideas in our article, 6 Ways to Use ChatGPT Like a Pro for Increased Efficiency.

Getting Creative with Non-Dues Revenue

Raphael Badagliacca, ASI Company Ambassador, told us that,

“My greatest takeaway was observing the level of recognition by those present of the growing value of non-dues revenue as associations move into the future. This happened in several one-on-one discussions, and covered not only increased revenue but increased engagement as well. Particularly important was the understanding that increasing non-dues revenue reduces the pressure on membership fees and funds additional member services.

Why does this matter?  Advertising, along with sponsorships and exhibit sales, is the most significant source of non-dues revenue for associations. Being able to conveniently manage every kind of non-dues revenue source from sale to insertion order and invoice all within the iMIS Engagement Management System (EMS) is a gamechanger. Find our top 4 ways to increase non-dues revenue.

Generating New Ideas 

Finally, Lara Beck, ASI Director of Global Project Management Office, said, “It’s hard to choose just a couple takeaways, as I have 6 pages of notes and ideas from the conference!” She gave some examples:

• The iMIS App Challenge Contest: “The App Challenge is always a favorite to see the cool add-on apps that our clients can take advantage of to extend iMIS capabilities even further.” 
• Clean data: “I walked away from Troy Stenback’s data session with a new perspective on how to get and keep data clean and organized. I’m going to incorporate these concepts into our implementation methodologies to help new clients start fresh when they implement iMIS but then also keep that organization moving forward.” 
• iMIS dashboards: “Martin Parson’s session on dashboards gave me some creative examples of how we can revamp our dashboards internally using the innovative features he showed.” 
• Using ASI’s products to the fullest: “I also enjoyed learning more about the iMIS Data Management Suite (iDMS), TopClass LMS, OpenWater, and SpaceMaster – I had a good understanding of them going into the sessions, but I learned they do much more. I will be recommending these to even more clients who can benefit from their great features.”

The Exciting Growth of the iMIS Marketplace 

Edward Wendling, ASI Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, reminded us of the growing number of resources in the iMIS Marketplace.

“Check the ASI iMIS Marketplace first before buying something new. If iMIS does not have the functionality you need check the iMIS Marketplace as many of our product partners and solution provider partners have created iMIS cloud-friendly solutions for many of your needs.”

The iMIS Marketplace, an online directory of partner add-ons and integrations for iMIS. The Marketplace is powered by OpenWater.

Why does this matter? The iMIS Marketplace enables you to enhance iMIS confidently with best-of-breed apps purpose-built to solve unique business challenges faced by associations and non-profits.

Connecting with the Vibrant ASI Community 

Shortly after the closing session last week, I received a note from my colleague and ASI Product Manager, Mili Mewada:

“My greatest takeaway from iNNOVATIONS 2023 was the overwhelming positivity I heard about iMIS. Meeting partners and clients in person and hearing how helpful and foundational iMIS has been in their association really shed light on the level of impact we have and how far ASI has come as an organization. These conversations instilled confidence and encouragement that the work we do matters, is important, and doesn’t go unnoticed.” 

Why does this matter? The pandemic led many of us to think that in-person conferences were a thing of the past. Mili’s comments underscore the value of an in-person conference. We may not all go into an office these days but bringing a community together through a conference can reap big rewards for morale, product understanding and growing the community. 

The takeaways from iNNOVATIONS are too numerous to list in this post, but attending a conference like this is much more than the takeaways. Perhaps Lara Beck, ASI Director of Global Project Management Office, put it best when she said,

“Although networking is probably on everyone’s list as a top takeaway, this year seemed to be different."

“Yes, when it comes to networking you have to put in the effort to talk to people (which is not always easy). I can't pinpoint if it was the floorplan, or the scheduled breaks, or just me being more outgoing. This year was special. I was able to connect to colleagues and clients in a much more meaningful way. The conversations were about life and iMIS, successes and challenges. This human is meant to be social (from time to time) and spending 2 days with the iMIS community was definitely a win.”

Thank you to everyone who joined us and I can't wait to see you next year.