IT Cost and Pricing Guide - Budgeting for Member Growth

Introduction

Budgeting for member growth relies on your association’s ability to anticipate future performance. In the digital age, the only way to achieve this level of foresight is through strategic implementation of the right technology solutions. As a result, many modern organizations opt to outsource their IT in order to focus on growth initiatives.

A partnership with a reputable managed service provider (MSP) not only minimizes IT mishaps but also ensures any and all IT concerns are promptly addressed by trained professionals. The challenge, however, is finding a provider that aligns with your association’s mission and goals while staying within your budget. If one of your primary objectives is to increase association membership, the right MSP is paramount to your success.

The following guide offers expert advice on building an IT budget for your association or nonprofit, including tips for optimizing technology investments, strategies for reducing expenses, and essential information on scaling your IT infrastructure with the help of an MSP.

IT Budgeting for Associations

Determining your association’s IT needs is challenging, but predicting how those needs will change can prove even more of a challenge. That’s why you need a comprehensive understanding of your technology infrastructure and an IT partner with your goals in mind.

Ultimately, you want to be sure your technology partner provides all the services you need without making you pay for ones you don’t. The ability to strike this balance relies on two initiatives:

Aligning Your IT Budget with Strategic Goals

Perhaps your existing technology partner is capable of meeting your association’s current IT needs. But the right MSP helps associations align IT with strategic goals beyond just ongoing technical support. You must also evaluate your provider’s ability to forecast future IT needs based on trends in member behavior, as this enables you to foresee growth opportunities and potential challenges.

Evaluating Your Most Critical IT Needs

Once you’ve selected an IT provider, your next step is to finalize the contract. This involves determining what your association’s most critical IT needs are and ensuring the services included in your IT contract fit these requirements. Perform a thorough needs assessment by reviewing the overall vision for your association’s technology, using existing IT policies, protocols, and tools as a reference.

Your Association's IT Budget: Considerations

When reviewing your MSP contract and IT budget, you need to know what capabilities to look out for that will contribute to your mission, goals, and growth. Keep the following considerations in mind and assess how they may influence your contract terms:

Prioritize Cybersecurity

Without having to worry about IT responsibilities, internal teams can turn their attention to fulfilling organizational and personal goals. Managed IT services minimize downtime waiting on technical support and outsource the stress of managing technology so your staff can focus on advancing your mission. This is especially relevant as remote and hybrid work practices become more commonplace, as having the appropriate systems and IT processes in place enables reliable, accessible communication between users.

Leverage Cloud Solutions

Nowadays, many organizations that utilize vast amounts of data storage are making the switch to cloud computing to increase operational efficiency. Cloud-based infrastructure and support enables your association to easily access, manage, and monitor your systems in real time while providing the necessary security and performance. If your association isn’t already leveraging cloud solutions, you’ll have to consider the cost of cloud migration when developing your IT budget.

Maximize Impact with Limited Resources

Put simply, associations need affordable ways to leverage technology in order to overcome limited resources. Naturally, this is a huge consideration when creating an IT budget, as you want to ensure the ROI of every service you’re paying for. Although investing in business technology is essential for membership growth, the wrong investment decisions can lead to wasted resources and costly missteps. Ask the right questions to avoid common pitfalls and ensure all IT investments consistently deliver measurable value.

...investing in business technology is essential for membership growth, the wrong investment decisions can lead to wasted resources and costly missteps.

How Optimizing IT Investments Can Boost Membership

How does implementing the right technology solutions help boost membership rates? As it turns out, optimizing your IT investments enables your association to:

• Deliver personalization at scale through customized messaging and tailored communications created with the help of advanced data analytics tools.
• Streamline communication through digital channels that provide instant updates and more efficient ways to reach members.
• Host virtual events like webinars, conferences, and workshops by leveraging the latest technology solutions to access global audiences.
• Increase member satisfaction by adopting new technologies early to help members feel more connected to your association.

IT Budgeting Best Practices

The only “right” way to develop an IT budget is the affordable way—every association will have different requirements of their IT provider and technology challenges to address. However, there are some general best practices you can refer to when optimizing your IT budget:

1. Identify the causes of budget overruns. Conduct IT budget reviews and perform regular audits of your IT strategy to determine specific areas of need and opportunity. Use business cost-tracking tools to account for all expenses, as they offer a clear, real-time view of where your IT budget is going.
   
   
2. Minimize the skills gap. Your IT provider should provide some degree of training and continued education for your staff regarding new technologies. Ensure your employees have access to educational resources and informative sessions that can expand their skills and IT competencies. The benefits of this are twofold: you’re not only upskilling your workers (leading to more knowledgeable and productive staff) but also minimizing the skills gap to encourage employee retention through higher job satisfaction.
   
   
3. Renegotiate your MSP contract as necessary. As noted in our contract renegotiation Due-Diligence Guide, “With tight budgets and increasing IT demands, renegotiating MSP contracts can help your association or nonprofit maximize costs, address evolving technology needs, and secure support for mission-critical operations.” As your association grows, examine the scope of your existing contract to ensure ongoing alignment.
   
   
4. Prioritize collaboration in strategic planning. Strategic IT planning drives membership growth and retention, so close contact and a receptive relationship with your provider are a must. Collaborate with your MSP on IT initiatives to promote transparency and trust in your partnership.

Cost-Saving Strategies

Still looking to reduce your IT budget? Below you’ll find a few tips on leveraging managed IT services, automation, and scalable solutions to minimize expenses while maintaining quality.

1. Retire legacy systems and underutilized assets. Perhaps the most obvious piece of cost-saving advice is to cut out investments and assets you aren’t using (or aren’t using enough.) Conduct an audit of your tech stack to determine any platforms or capabilities that can be refined or replaced with more advanced tools.
   
   
2. Consolidate servers and utilize cloud computing. Cloud services are designed to reduce your IT costs by eliminating the need for large hardware and software investments and improving the scalability of your operations. Additionally, recruiting IT experts to consolidate your servers gives you better visibility into your IT operations, helping you develop and implement a cloud strategy that meets your unique needs as they evolve.
   
   
3. Revisit and review your vendor contracts regularly. At first glance, it may seem your vendor contracts are set in stone with no possibility of cutting out certain services or costs. Periodically reviewing the terms of your contract familiarizes you with the scope of services while promoting transparency in your relationship with your MSP. Do your part in establishing a collaborative, receptive partnership with your provider that prioritizes trust and open communication so everyone feels comfortable escalating issues or concerns on their end.

Budgeting for the Future: Scaling Your IT Infrastructure

A great technology infrastructure (and sufficient support for it) is the key to longevity. Associations can plan for future IT growth and scalability by choosing solutions that evolve with their needs, speaking to the essential role that your MSP plays in ensuring that your association can scale effectively.

With so much growth potential behind the strategic use of modern technology, leaders need to know their IT efforts are both sustainable and scalable. The cost to upkeep legacy systems is ultimately more costly, and being digitally mature is the key to “retaining employees, driving engagement, and boosting efficiency and fundraising.” Although proactive allocation of funds to accommodate future growth is a challenging aspect of creating your IT budget, strategic alignment with your IT provider and a comprehensive understanding of your association’s technology needs can add clarity to this objective.

Encouraging Growth Through Digital Transformation 

To succeed as an association in the age of widespread digital transformation requires a sustainable IT strategy paired with a skilled MSP. You don’t want to pay for IT services you don’t need, but you also want a reliable partner that’s capable of growing with your association.

Strategic implementation of the latest technology solutions is a proven way to grow membership rates while better engaging stakeholders, making an MSP crucial to achieving and maintaining this level of success. If you’re ready to power your association or nonprofit with the right technology support, browse our managed IT services pricing plans to start budgeting for growth.