Workhorse Technology: How One AMC Grew to 14 Associations on i4a

Where we started

Admittedly, I was not an association expert when I founded an AMC. Our first client, a global professional society, was a prior client of our B2B publishing company. They were nearly bankrupt from mismanagement and needed a fresh start. We stepped in to help.

I did know that a solid AMS was vital for their success. Unfortunately, I initially chose wrong. Association management software can be like the wild west, with some (many!) vendors overpromising and under-delivering. I was wowed by a fancy presentation, and after spending nearly $60K that the client didn’t have, we fired the AMS vendor without a Plan B. I was desperate.

Why i4a

I saw an ad about i4a and called for a demo. i4a was developed as an integrated platform at a reasonable price point. It didn't charge for upgrades, and it had all the features we needed – and more. It was clearly a well-thought-out system. We saw a demo and made the switch right away.

What won us over was that it just worked. Web pages with content management, membership administration, e-commerce, revenue reporting, calendars. Functionality the other platforms charged extra for or sold as add-ons were all there from day one. We were never fighting modules that didn't talk to each other. It was intuitive, and my staff learned it quickly.

The transition

From handshake to up and running took less than 30 days. i4a's support team did in a month what the other company couldn't do at all. An i4a team member, Laura, even came on-site to train our staff. All in, the transition and data migration cost us under $7,000, with an ongoing license of about $2,000 a year. That's the moment I became forever loyal.

What it meant as we grew

I insisted that every new AMC client use the i4a platform. With it, we were able to manage 14 association clients on one standardized, affordable platform. Each client had different needs, different membership types and programs. But with i4a’s flexibility, we could configure each installation to fit each client. My staff didn't have to learn a different system for every association. And it worked for all of them!

Most of all, it became something we never had to think about. You don't need technology to be one of your headaches, and i4a never was. Plus, the platform kept getting better. It grew on its own, with new capabilities and upgrades rolled out almost constantly. Best, I was never charged a penny more for upgrades or new versions. Not ever!

What I'd tell anyone comparing systems

When people look at i4a, it can sound “too good to be true.” I, and my team, will tell you that it is as good as it sounds. Better even!

Besides my 14 association clients, my team has transitioned at least another dozen associations onto the platform. After my AMC was acquired by a bigger AMC, I inherited dozens of other clients struggling with the AMS gorilla (you know who I mean). Each of them moved seamlessly into i4a.

When I left the AMC business, and became CEO of Society of Plastics Engineers, I found a technology stack costing over $200K a year – a behemoth of consultants and plug-ins. Within 3 months we transitioned into i4a, saving 90% of our annual tech costs. Plus, it was manageable in-house. Goodbye consultants! I even know how to navigate the admin interface.

After you hear the fancy sales pitch from one of the conglomerate AMS companies, take a look at i4a. It does exactly what it's supposed to do, and the team is always there. It's workhorse technology, managed by really smart, nice people. Including Laura, who is still our i4a contact, 24 years later!

Since finding i4a, I never needed an AMS Plan B again.