By The Protech Team
You may have heard that Microsoft recently introduced its first gaming console without a disc drive, signaling a shift in the world of console gaming. But the change isn’t just for the kids at home or your gamer pals who have their gaze set on a cloud-based future.
A recent press release from Gartner forecasts that the cloud-based enterprise software market will reach $427 billion in 2019, up 7.1 percent from 2018’s total. Considering the fact that many industries — including the world of association management software — have yet to fully embrace the true cloud, the projected $28 billion increase is nothing short of staggering.
While cloud computing is still just a fraction of the $3.79 trillion in IT spending worldwide, technology prognosticators have been predicting the shift to cloud-based systems for years. In 2017, Gartner predicted that, “more than half of global enterprises already using cloud today will adopt an all-in strategy,” by 2021. And even then, Gartner touted on its blog the benefits of the cloud.
“Today, most security analysis suggests that mainstream cloud computing is more secure than on-premises IT. Cloud services are more often functionally complete, and vendors now offer migration options.”
In 2019, Gartner is still sensing the trend toward the cloud, calling cloud computing “one of the most disruptive forces in IT markets since the early days of the digital age.” That same post suggests that organizations fully embracing the cloud are setting themselves up for cost optimization and increased competitiveness.
What Does This Mean for Your Association?
Simply put, pure cloud systems save your association time and money, while removing the tedious upgrade process that makes your power users cringe.
Instead of diving right into your next software upgrade project, ask yourself and fellow staff members the following questions:
- “How long will it be before our next upgrade?”
- “What are the terms, cost and scope of the upgrade?”
- “Will your staff focus more on the upgrade than serving members?”
- “Is it worth the risk of broken customizations and integrations?”
- “Can you afford to stay on outdated software while your association waits for a change?”
If your software upgrades aren’t convenient, frequent, beneficial and easy, it’s time to find another platform.
For more on the benefits of pure cloud enterprise software for associations, download, “Your Guide to Simple, Effortless Upgrades.”
