Preparing for 2023: It's Time to Review Your Tech Stack

Proactive Retrospective

As 2022 draws to a close, we should reflect on what and how we can improve in the coming year, as 2023 is expected to be another time of great change and volatility. Associations should take time to evaluate what it will take to thrive in the new year. 

The cloud has revolutionized computing. Gone are the days of isolated systems and customizations created in code. Today changing business processes are mixed with creating extensions in RiSE tools that are native within iMIS. Cloud environments are seamlessly integrated to partner-connected clouds. Organizations no longer need developers. If your organization hasn’t migrated to the iMIS Engagement Management System (EMS) yet, there's no better time to start. Start your new foundation with a proactive roadmap for 2023 and beyond.

Make EMS the launch of your continuous performance improvement journey. ASI expects 2023 to be the year of EMS migration. An EMS migration will be your last major upgrade as future upgrades in EMS will be automatic. Some organizations may find more benefit in a refresh over a migration. A refresh starts with a clean slate and your data crafted into native EMS solutions. A refresh can make change easier for staff to absorb and dedicate the organization’s time to the transition. We’ve found a refresh methodology is especially useful for organizations that:

• Have been using iMIS for years
• Have had the same staff for years
• Are new to the cloud-based change management process

A refresh can help the team separate EMS today from desktop. With today's economic pressures, it’s more key than ever to evolve.

Create a Single Source of Truth (SSoT)

In challenging times, business leaders need to be able to make quick data-driven decisions to respond to change rapidly and accurately. Without a Single Source of Truth (SSoT), organizations have difficulties responding to change. An SSoT requires cultural changes within your organization as much as having the right integrated systems. All staff need to be aware of the SSoT and what their roles are. Staff need to understand that if they have data that’s not integrated into the SSoT, they are making both their job and everyone else’s more difficult.

If your team or organization needs to look in multiple places for data, it’s time to simplify into an SSoT. With an SSoT, it’s easier to automate manual processes allowing staff to focus on higher-value goals. With iMIS EMS, you can use your data to identify trends and increase your targeted marking efforts on the fly. There is no reason for staff to be buried in data.

Becoming Nimble

Unfortunately, being buried in data is a common issue for associations and non-profits of all sizes. Staff are trying to get their “day jobs” done and finding time for systems training or process improvement tends to take a backseat. As such, staff use manual workarounds and compile data into spreadsheets. An indicator of this in your organization is burnout of those doing the data consolidation and the amount of time required to compile reports.

To be nimble requires automated and timely reporting. Eliminate the manual staff component in report creation and instead implement dashboards and reports that deliver the real-time data you need to make timely business decisions.

Consolidating Your Technology Stack

It’s best for an interdisciplinary steering committee to drive your technology stack and business requirements. It’s important that business unit leaders agree on processes and make technology decisions together that align with the organization’s strategy.

The technology stack will have a significant impact on your expenses and risk to the organization. Ask the following: 

• How many of your systems are redundant or duplicative? Count how many content management or email systems you use as an example.
• Are you still paying for hosted servers, software, and networks? Look at your infrastructure and consider the expense but also the associated risk of maintaining those.
• How often are staff using the tools? Individual staff or departments will often make impromptu software or solution decisions that are later abandoned.
• Does the organization benefit from the data in this system or is it limited to a team or individual? Data silos reduce the value of your data and prevent the organization from truly understanding their membership.

To become an agile learning organization that can proactively respond to change, it is key to simplify your technology stack.

Good Leaders Ask the Tough Questions

It’s important to provide bold leadership to help your organization simplify. Leadership needs to recognize what’s uncomfortable and unfamiliar while making necessary changes to establish a manageable set of infrastructure that will help the organization pivot, reduce risk, and adapt for growth. Client Success will be happy to help you with this process as we’re experts in change management.

We’ll help you ask the tough questions:

1. Who uses this?
2. How often is it used and what’s the frequency?
3. What’s the optimized solution?
4. We’ll help you identify software platforms that are performing and help you make the most of them

New Year’s Resolution

For 2023, make it a New Year’s resolution to review and consolidate your tech stack. It all starts with a complimentary Digital Maturity Self-Assessment. We want you to discover how to make your organization predictive and uncover what might be holding your organization back. Have ASI analyze your results and provide you with a complimentary workshop to create your digital transformation today.