In the News: Cloud Computing
Posted on : 02-04-2010 | By : Shannon Otto | In : in the news, technology
Tags: cloud computing, data management, MemberClicks, small-staff association
3
Is your data in the cloud?
“Cloud computing” refers to using Web-based technology to manage information, data and documents. There is no software to install or hardware to keep up with, and you can access your information from any computer. Although Web software can be daunting for associations, especially those with fewer than 10 people on staff, there are several benefits to cloud computing. Since your data is available “in the cloud,” you can authorize as many administrators as you like.
To be sure, Microsoft Excel and Access are valuable pieces of software, but when you’re managing several hundred or thousand members, plus other things such as dues payment and event registration, those tools can become a bit outdated and cumbersome.
Cloud computing is gaining even more momentum as we head into this decade. The Obama administration’s budget for fiscal year 2011 includes this provision:
Adoption of a cloud computing model is a major part of the strategy to achieve efficient and effective IT. After evaluation in 2010, agencies will deploy cloud computing solutions across the Government to improve the delivery of IT services.
Federal spending on Information Technology will account for $79.4 billion of the budget, which is a 1.2 percent increase from 2010. Federal CIO Vivek Kundra has been a longtime advocate for cloud computing and believes it can improve data sharing and promote collaboration among federal, state and local governments.
Of course, the federal government moving to cloud computing is a much bigger — and expensive — undertaking than it would be for your small-staff organization.
However, I think this situation speaks to the larger issue of the world moving to cloud-based systems. It’s no longer practical to keep unwieldy databases on your hard drive and nowhere else (although I do recommend having a back-up in case of the very rare catastrophe). No matter how small your organization is, cloud computing can save money long-term and promote the sharing of data and information.
(Image credit: Flickr)
This is exactly why we moved our database to MemberClicks. We used to have to print our entire database and ship it to our conference sites each year. We would then have to keep track of members who renewed or joined after we printed the file. Now we can access our database anywhere and have most up to date information we have ever had. We can retrieve payment receipts and even show our members when we sent out e-mail reminders all from their own profiles. Our old database was also created for us and so difficult to update.
We are also just starting to explore the possibilities of the new community feature on MemberClicks. I already have two committees up and running and have already shared tons of documents without having to clog up their inboxes with large files. This product already seems so much easier and more user friendly than Microsoft OfficeLive. No one has to create new accounts and accessing the documents is so much easier without having to set confusing view or edit permissions.
What type of Cloud Computing software/program/model do you reccomend for associations?
Anna: I’m so glad MemberClicks is helping your organization! I hope you find the Committee feature, as well as the other new additions, equally helpful! Thanks for choosing MemberClicks!
Kimberly: There are many different association management software companies and it truly depends on the needs of your organization, as well as the size. Feel free to contact us at sales@memberclicks.com or call us at 1-800-914-2441 if you have any questions – we’re happy to point you in the right direction, even if MemberClicks isn’t the right fit for your organization.