Beacon Blog
The AMS Market Has Changed. Here’s What to Know Today.
If your AMS is five or more years old, the ground has shifted under your feet. And it’s time to make a move.
The old playbook of building out a giant feature spreadsheet, sitting through slick vendor theater, and customizing your way out of trouble just simply no longer works.
The good news: today’s AMS market has genuinely shifted for the better.
- More power out of the box.
- Lower total cost.
- API-first integrations.
- Buyers are smarter today.
But you only realize those benefits if you adjust how you buy.
This post is your field guide to what’s changed and what that means for your selection process.
Let’s move past “we hope this works” to “we can defend this decision.”
Four shifts you can’t ignore
1) More out-of-the-box power
Capabilities that used to require bolt-ons or custom code like email, communities, marketing automation, light CRM, payment workflows, and analytics now ship native or as well-supported modules.
AMS vendors have spent years hardening the most common association use cases. That means fewer one-off workarounds and faster time to value.
Implication: resist the urge to rebuild your legacy workarounds. Start by asking, “How does the platform solve this natively?” then configure, don’t code.
2) Lower total cost… if you avoid over-customizing
Licensing is more predictable. Upgrades are smoother. Implementation methodologies are better documented. Where costs still explode: bespoke customizations that lock you to a version, break at upgrade, and require staff to maintain.
Implication: prioritize configuration and governed extensions (e.g., low-code tools, supported plug-ins) over custom code. If someone says, “We’ll just customize that,” your next sentence should be, “Show me the upgrade plan.”
3) API-first ecosystems
Modern AMS platforms assume you’ll connect best-of-breed tools. Clean APIs, pre-built connectors, and integration hubs are the norm, not the exception. Your “AMS + events + LMS + finance + email” stack should cooperate without duct tape.
Implication: evaluate the ecosystem as seriously as the core. “Do you integrate?” is not enough. You want to know how it integrates, what’s supported today, and what happens when versions change.
4) Smarter buyer expectations
Boards want defensible decisions. Staff want workflows that mirror reality. Members expect frictionless experiences. A “features-first” selection can’t satisfy all three. You need scenario testing, change-management planning, and a clear view of trade-offs.
Implication: design your selection around real workflows, not demo theater. You’re not buying a deck; you’re buying day-to-day operations.
What that means for your selection process
Lead with outcomes, not features.
Start by writing 5–7 scenarios that reflect your world: join/renew, event registration with CE tracking, committee workflows, prospect → member pipeline, dues proration, chapter management, whatever matters most.
Give those scenarios to vendors and ask them to show, not tell. Count clicks. Identify handoffs. Note what’s configuration vs. code.
Score trade-offs transparently.
Features matter, but they aren’t the whole story. Weight ease of use, implementation approach, upgrade path, partner ecosystem, data migration, and true TCO (year one and year three). Put that rubric in writing so stakeholders can see why Vendor A edges out Vendor B.
Prefer configuration over customization.
Push vendors to solve edge cases with native tools first. If they insist on custom, require a short technical memo: why it’s needed, how it’s packaged, how it survives upgrades, and who owns it long-term.
Plan the rollout on day one.
Define owners, integrations, data migration, and staff training in the selection phase, not after the contract is signed. The most common implementation failures trace back to unclear accountability and late-breaking surprises.
Build buy-in as you go.
Your selection process is also your change-management process. Stakeholders don’t just need to see the winner; they need to see the reasoning. Document decisions. Capture risks and mitigations. Invite feedback at defined checkpoints.
Six questions every vendor should answer
- “Show us XYZ without custom code.”
How many clicks? Which roles are involved? What data gets created or updated? If it needs code, why? - “What’s on your 12–18 month roadmap and how do customers influence it?”
Look for a transparent process, not just a glossy slide. Ask for examples of customer-driven features that shipped. - “Which integrations are plug-and-play today?”
SSO, events, LMS, email, finance, marketing automation. Ask for docs and customer references using those integrations now. - “What are the top three reasons implementations slip and how do you prevent them?”
Mature vendors will answer this without flinching and show the guardrails they use to keep timelines real. - “How do upgrades work?”
What breaks? What’s automated? How often? Who does what? Ask to see an upgrade runbook and a customer who upgraded in the last six months. - “What does ‘good’ look like at 90 days post-launch?”
You want a picture of adoption, not just go-live confetti: usage baselines, training cadence, backlog burn-down, and the vendor’s role in each.
Does this sound like a lot?
Selecting a new AMS can definitely be a daunting process. But don’t bring your years-old preconceived ideas to today’s world. The process of vetting systems has come a long way and Beacon can light your way.
How Beacon helps
Beacon is new tech backed by decades of AMS selection experience. We built it to make the AMs selection process smarter, faster, and easier and to replace the frustrations and time-sucks of a DIY approach with a defensible, data-informed path to a decision your team can stand behind.
Here’s what that looks like:
Research-backed narrowing
We translate your strategy and workflows into clear criteria and then surface your best-fit vendors. No random “someone said they’re good” lists, no doom-scrolling directories. You see who clears the bar, who’s close, and why.
Color-coded fit heatmaps
Visual, straightforward scoring across your core needs and edge-case challenges. You won’t need a 30-column spreadsheet to understand the trade-offs.
Exclusion list (with reasons)
We document poor-fit platforms early and tell you why, so they don’t re-enter the conversation in month three because someone found a shiny feature on a landing page.
Guided, scenario-based demos
We help you script vendor demos around your scenarios, not generic slideware. Vendors know what matters. Your team sees how their day actually works in the product.
Pros/cons matrix for the top three
You’ll finish with a defensible shortlist and a clear, written point of view on trade-offs, risks, and differentiators. That’s what boards want to approve, and what staff need to trust the path forward.
Confidence, not guesswork
The outcome isn’t just a winner. It’s organizational buy-in and a cleaner path to a successful implementation.
So, if your AMS decision window is 2026, the smartest move you can make in 2025 is to start planning.
Step 1: Download our AMS selection checklist.
Step 2: Start your AMS selection process for free on the Beacon platform.
Step 3: Talk with our expert team to determine your very next steps.
Like we say: Start Smart. Choose Wisely.
Ready to get started?
(your association, society, or non-profit email). A Beacon team
member will contact you to answer any questions and provide
you with access to your initial intake questionnaire.
