IT and your associations website

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Posted on 02/05/2008 at 09:35:52 PM by Fred Simmons

Ed. note: Here's a post I started and never finished...

The IT department shouldn't be in charge of your association's website. That is absolutely not IT's job. Let me explain.

IT (or Information Technology) is a fairly broad term but in general it covers software, data management systems, and network support. From server administration to network security to setting up email...that's IT.

Not long ago, member data was stored in a database or a client server application - systems which were implemented and hosted on-site; they lived on a computer in your server room. So it made sense for IT to "own" those systems and support them.

Those days are gone. Mature association management software (AMS) (or CRM, etc.) is hosted and supported by vendors and consultants. And that's a good thing. Between wifi, blackberries and supporting remote access, IT has enough to deal with.