When I work with clients on the selection of a new AMS, I'll often hear the client say things like "We feel like we've failed because we need to find new technology." But this may be untrue. Very often, changes in consumer demand will require associations to have technology to support those demands. Consider these examples:

• Text messaging: Only a few short years ago, it was almost unthinkable to send texts to your members. Now many members are saying "I'd prefer if you text me before you email me."
• Webinar registration: Once again, just a few short years ago, the entire concept of webinars barely existed. But now we need to be able to accommodate webinar registration and we need to make it as easy as possible for members and customers to register (e.g., don't require a payment page for a free webinar).
• Online event cancellations: There was a time when my clients said "If someone wants to cancel, they need to call me, so I can charge them a cancellation fee or give them a credit or try to convince them to send someone else to the event." But customers these days want full self-service. And allowing the customer to cancel his or her registration online is one way to let the customer serve him or herself.

These are just three examples. There are many more.

Time changes, technology changes, consumer demands change. Ideally, your current vendor can make changes to their product to address these changes. But if not, changing your technology is not necessarily a sign of failure; it's often a sign of growth!