Technology Assessment

WHERE ARE YOU NOW?

Technology is the fiber that interconnects all of the functions and organizations within an association. So when a client is facing “technology issues”, we first seek to understand the current situation by assessing three tiers of the technology eco-system:

  • Information Technology Evaluation – do the current I.T. resources, both technological and human, function well enough to achieve the goals of the organization?
  • Enterprise Application Assessment – do the systems and functions of current technology align with and enable those of the underlying business organization?
  • Business Process Optimization – can individual procedures that make up the overall business operation work better individually and/or in tandem with technology?

Our team has assisted dozens of associations over many years with this process . We’re knowledgeable, objective experts skilled at guiding you to first define the challenges before pursuing solutions.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION

Ensuring your technology is functioning effectively in support of your strategy is essential to maintaining a healthy organization. As your operations and strategy evolve over time, so to should you periodically assess whether your technology can still deliver to meet your needs.

We take a holistic approach to assessing technology because your system doesn’t exist in a vacuum. We audit your network architecture and hardware as well as inventory and assess major systems and applications.

Additionally, we review your I.T. organizational structure, roles, and responsibilities. We consider how I.T. relates to and supports your entire organization. We’ve served as CIO and IT Directors so we have the experience to assess I.T. resources.

Our technology assessments result in practical, relevant observations and recommendations. Our goal is to give you the knowledge to confidently make informed decisions so you can achieve your goals.

ENTERPRISE APPLICATION ASSESSMENT

While we understand the major systems that keep associations running – Association Management, Customer Relationship Management, Content Management, Fundraising, and Financial Systems – we also seek to grasp the operational functions that are unique to your organization and whether your current system (or a potential new system) is appropriate for your needs.

These systems represent sizeable financial and operational investment , and once in place stay put for years – so it’s important to select systems that can grow with you.

Our team has a broad and deep knowledge of how associations operate. This enables us to effectively “map” your software functionality relative to your business functional needs and identify any “gaps” where your systems can be improved or replaced. We are adept at recognizing and explaining the underlying reasons for gaps.

We provide both tactical and strategic advice – our recommendations are tailored to your needs. If you need to fix a current situation we’ll create an immediate action plan. If you’re taking a longer term view we’ll provide a strategy to upgrade or perhaps even change your system. Frequently we do both.

Either way, our goal is to help you meet your goals.

PROCESS OPTIMIZATION

Simply put, business Technology exists to enable business processes – they are co-dependent and it’s virtually impossible to change one without affecting the other. Through years of experience, we’ve learned how to optimize the design of each.

Depending on your need, we approach process optimization from either a program or an individual process perspective. We help you define what you want to accomplish, then we look at all the processes involved to make it happen.

We can take an overarching view of a program and identify opportunities for improvement. Or we can work with you to identify individual critical processes. Frequently a program review leads to more detailed individual process review.

We conduct an end to end assessment of processes such as staff actions, handoffs between departments or systems, and all inputs and outputs. We create process diagrams to show you graphically what the process looks like and to identify opportunities to simplify, streamline, and optimize resources.

Benchmarking comparable organizations and best practice research are integral to our process work. When we evaluate your processes we consider what your peers and competitors are doing. Our recommendations incorporate a broad knowledge base.

Our goal is to maximize your productivity.