Too many software programs, not enough integration

Over the last year or so the number of tools that we are using has multiplied, and I'm struggling to manage them all. We have used Exceed for donor tracking and QuickBooks for accounting for a number of years. Now we also have:

AuctionMaestroPro to help us with our annual fundraiser.

OutcomeTracker for track client activity

Groundspring/Donate Now for online donations
Groundspring/Email Now for email newsletters

EventBrite for online event registration and event-related emails plus Google Checkout for the actual payment processing

We also do an annual walk so my development director wants to start using Kintera.

I'm going crazy trying to keep everything in synch. Are there any tools that would provide more of the functions in an integrated package?

I'm not sure that there is a solution in the immediate term. Tools from Kintera and Blackbaud probably come closest at the moment and will cost a pretty penny.

Salesforce has started their process of building some reference applications that might solve some of these problems. Those solutions will likely be limited to CRM with other functions like payments, email and accounting relying on integration.

At NetSuite, we are in the process of tackling this problem head on. NetSuite has a platform that covers the gamut from CRM to accounting to ecommerce to web functionality allowing us to replace the basic functionality of the tools that you mention.

NetSuite is big software as a service (SAAS) company that offers a single web-based platform for running a business. The key functionality of NetSuite is encompassed by CRM, ERP, accounting and ecommerce. I run NetSuite Giving which is the philanthropic arm of the company mandated with donating our software and the dedicating company-sponsored volunteering time to creating a single platform for running an organization.

Today we have people doing email advocacy, email newsletters, accepting online donations, selling items online, running a donor database, doing charity accounting, doing accounting for grant funded programs, managing volunteer recruitment and more.

But each of these folks had to figure out for themselves how to do, for example, volunteer management in NetSuite. That means a fair amount of learning and work to get everything up and running. Like any modern SAAS platform, NetSuite gives you the customization tools and capabilities to build a wide variety of CRM and ERP based applications...as long as you know what you are doing.

Our roadmap includes building basic solutions for common charity tasks and distributing those (as a product donation). Those basic tasks include:
- Online donations
- Mass email (newsletters & targeted communications)
- Fundraising
- Accounting
- Events management
- Volunteer management
- Case management

Becuase each application is built on the NetSuite platform, the underlying constituent and transaction records are always up-to-date and in sync.

We're in the middle of our pilot and if anyone feels like they have the technical capacity to work on these problems we'd be happy to set you up with the product donation and hook you into the effort.

David Geilhufe
giving AT netsuite com

Hi Cainsworth,

I think you have just about summed-up the heartache of every systems architect, engineer and integration specialist the world over... too many disparate applications; not enough integration!!

My advice is to forget for a moment what your applications actually do, and to focus instead on what your business needs are... have a go at diagramming your data storage, manipulation and reporting requirements (without reference to any specific computer programs) to see what you actually require and what levels of integration are possible. This can then form part of a 'requirements specification' you can send to potential software providers or inhouse developers.

PS - Don't me put of by the mantra of some outside developers not to develop an "in-house" solution if this is what's best for you - What's best for consultants and software firms is that you buy their products, but sometimes what's best for you is to tailor a simple solution that meets YOUR needs. The place to start is to diagram a data model for your business.

Hi, Cainsworth,

The good news is that lots of people are aware of the need for more software integration. The bad news is that right now the problem is far from solved, as both Don and David have mentioned.

At NTC (National Technology Conference) recently, this was discussed as the top software priority. It will be interesting to see how various software companies, and other who are interested will solve the problem.

Best wishes,

I don't know if you are interested in web based apps,

The company that I work for is depending a lot more on Salesforce for integration and customization. Just recently, Salesforce is now available to integrate to google apps. Salesforce is a great CRM software.

I dont' work for either google or Salesforce, but I really think that Google apps integrated with Salesforce will offer a lot of small businesses and organization great integration without the need of lots of hardware, networking or software. This will lead ultimately a lot less in technical problems and headaches down the road.

Check the video for intro on google apps + sales force integration.

SalesForce and Google apps

tkim-

How do you see the SFDC/Google combination solving specific nonprofit business problems like auction management and outcome tracking based on a single system of record for constituent data? Can you outline an implementation approach for solving cainsworth's problem?

Wouldn't that require hiring consultants to do a lot of custom coding to create a point solution for a single organization?

I suppose it is a fairly big step up from the traditional Excel version of auction management + outcome tracking where the user creates their own auction management and outcome tracking excel spreadsheets. At least its in the same data store, through you'll still get the general problem of a bunch of unconnected point solutions (analogous to 10 unconnected spreadsheets).

"The place to start is to diagram a data model for your business. "

Don- You truly are royalty ;)

LOL - Thanks David - Although the only *royalty* I really have anything to do with is the occasional King Brown (snake) stirred to action by my dog. Not sure the designation really fits - :-)

There are a couple of initiatives in the pipeline that may be of interest, but each one is at least a year or two out. The first is the Spark Suite, which I recently found out about. The second is Floss4Good. Both are designed to provide integrated suites for nonprofits. I'm not sure about the cost for the Spark offerings, but Floss4Good relies on a business model that reduces its cost to zero.

(In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that Floss4Good is the initiative I'm currently working on.)

The Floss4Good site is interesting. Thanks for posting a link. Hope you will keep the TS site updated as you progress. The model is very interesting.

Best wishes with your work,

Sasha,

Thank you. I'd be happy to post updates on TS. I'll plan on starting a new topic so I don't derail this one. Is the software forum the best place to do that? I haven't spent much time on here, so I want to make sure I'd be posting in the appropriate place and remaining within any TS etiquette or rules.

Thanks,

Adam