Doesn’t everybody rely on the cloud for their software requirements? The answer, surprisingly, is no.
Techjury reported how more than 50 per cent of businesses migrated their workloads to the cloud in 2020, which, of course, is significant. But what about the other half?
Despite the proliferation of cloud-based software – and, in this case, cloud-based membership CRM software – there is still a large number of organisations that have stuck with on-premise membership CRM solutions. The question, therefore, is why, when the benefits of cloud-based membership platforms outweigh on-premise counterparts?
Shining a light on the cloud
Here are not only our top three reasons for moving your membership management system to the cloud from an on-premise association management system but three reasons for moving to a Dynamics 365 membership software solution.
- Move forwards, not backwards
Things are continually changing. Attitudes change, trends change and technologies change. If you’re using an on-premise membership management solution, then its effectiveness is limited to the technological capability it had at the time of installation. This may also mean that the effectiveness of your membership management strategy is limited to this time period, too. Of course, you can get it upgraded – but with this comes huge capital investment. With cloud-based CRM for membership organisations, the platform is continually evolving. Silverbear 365’s evolutionary development, for instance, is tied to that of Microsoft Dynamics 365’s. This means that the significant (and it really is significant) investment Microsoft puts into continually improving its technology will, by default, always cascade down to your organisation.
- A ticking timebomb?
We’re all now familiar with the term range anxiety, but what about platform anxiety? No membership organisation wants to constantly be reminded that the membership CRM software that they’ve heavily invested in will, in effect, become obsolete one day. In the case of Microsoft, there is what’s known as a mainstream support period and an extended support period. If your on-premise membership software has entered the extended support period, then it means that Microsoft has stopped adding new features and no longer provides complimentary support. With Silverbear 365, there is never any extended support period as users are forever in the mainstream support period. By putting your membership software in the Microsoft cloud, you’re avoiding service interruptions, eliminating expensive upgrades, and benefitting from the very latest developments in CRM technology.
- Peace of mind
If we were to ask membership organisations that we work with ‘what is the most important thing when it comes to running their organisations?’, their first priority is likely to be retaining and growing their membership. The second is almost always security. By moving to the cloud via Silverbear 365, membership organisations inherit the security benefits attributable to Microsoft’s Security Development Lifecycle – a mandatory process that embeds security requirements into every stage of the development process. From role-based security and field-level security to record-based security and Dynamics 365 encryption, being in the cloud covers it all.
A Roadmap for the Future
When it comes to mapping out a membership strategy, long-termism always trumps short-termism. From our perspective, provides a way in which to increase your organisation’s potential in line with the technology corporation that underwrites your platform. By tracking your platform’s development with developments made by Microsoft, you’re futureproofing your organisation and the user experience of your members.
What's next?
Silverbear has developed a platform specifically to help membership organisations engage, grow and retain their members. For more information contact our team of membership specialists below. Or download our white paper Beyond CRM, on Can Microsoft Dataverse revolutionise the membership sector?
Contact the team
Beyond CRM