iMIS

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Ugh. Someone can do it better.

Reviewed on Oct 8, 2014 - Archived Review

Customer Service

Ease of Use

Reliability

Customization

I've been an iMIS user for 10 years and have worked with versions from 10 - 20 and are using the RiSE platform for our website. You come to expect that ASI is just a software provider and for no one will their system work out of the box. You will be required to spend a small fortune on consultants or hire a small army of competent database and web developers to make this work as the demos show. ASI has is in a perpetual development mode and releases updates without resolving issues from prior releases. New releases introduce defects that were resolved in a previous release. If you use their CMS be prepared to re-customize everything after an incremental upgrade.

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AMS Version:—

Membership Size:—

Industry Type:—

Organization Type:—

Primary Job Function: Membership, Customer Service, Data Entry

Number of Years Used:—

Need a degree for iMIS10

Reviewed on Oct 3, 2014 - Archived Review

Customer Service

Ease of Use

Reliability

Customization

The functionality of iMIS 10 has fallen so much that you cannot even utilize it to update the web site it you have current software. You have to use IE that is way out of date. It also crashes during times of high registrations, such as when early bird rates expire for an event. To update a report or fix an issue is amazingly expensive.

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Number of Years Used:4-7 years

iMIS

Reviewed on Sep 24, 2014 - Archived Review

Customer Service

Ease of Use

Reliability

Customization

While iMIS is one of the most influential AMS systems out there, it is not for the weak at heart. It is touted as the CRM system that you don't need a IT person on staff to handle and that may be true if you use the program out of the box with no need for customization's or custom reports or anything outside of its core function, you may be OK but once you start looking at customization's, you reach a new level of the program that needs additional support staff and help. There are many limitations to the program. For one, it is not web based. They are working on that but the first real version that has been put out for this was put out in version 20 and that is not functional to replace the desktop model and most of your staff will still need to reside in the desktop model unless they are just going in to see records. The helpdesk for responses is up and down. Sometimes you'll get a quick response but most times that response will take more time than you have and many times you'll be asking for something that you'll be told iMIS out of the box cannot handle or support. The program is also not an easy one to train on and it takes time to get used to it. There are many quirks to getting it to work and function to what an association needs and this is not cheap. When I say this is not cheap, I am not just talking about the licensing. You also need to keep in mind the equipment that is needed in the office to maintain this and the cost associated with that and then there is the cost associated with hosting it through ASI if you decide to go that route. You also need to look at the cost of an outside iMIS vendor who can support the program and this isn't as simple as calling your IT firm. The knowledge needed to support this reminds me of the ACT database system where you have to find dedicated support firms that specialize in the program who can properly help. The program is good for what it is but seems like for what you pay for it, it should be much more. I am on version 20.1.1.4 which was just recently upgraded from 15.2.15. We started on version 10 and have been on it for about 3 years now. There is no plan to move away from it due to the many resources and the money that has been sunk into getting this to work and while we are working and the program is doing what we need it to do now, it is a constant work in progress and a constant need for attention.

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AMS Version:—

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Industry Type:—

Organization Type:—

Primary Job Function: Technology

Number of Years Used:1-3 years

AMS helps member analysis

Reviewed on Sep 24, 2014 - Archived Review

Customer Service

Ease of Use

Reliability

Customization

The system allow me to create reports to track renewal and member acquisition trends. It also makes our members happy because they can update most of their member information without having to mail us a letter or send us an email.

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AMS Version:—

Membership Size:—

Industry Type:—

Organization Type:—

Primary Job Function: Membership, Customer Service, Data Entry

Number of Years Used:1-3 years

IMIS 15

Reviewed on Sep 23, 2014 - Archived Review

Customer Service

Ease of Use

Reliability

Customization

Our experience with IMIS is that it is a highly capable system that requires a significant amount of resources - in personnel and budget, to make the most of it. As a small staff, without a dedicated IT person, IMIS requires us to be highly dependent upon our reseller for technical support, at a high cost.

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Old Build of iMIS proves difficult

Reviewed on Sep 16, 2014 - Archived Review

Customer Service

Ease of Use

Reliability

Customization

Our association recognizes that the iMIS 10 build of iMIS is outdated, however, the cost of renewing the license over the years has been unjustifiable given tough financial times. We now find ourselves with a significantly outdated system that does not integrate with newer technologies, does not provide a sophisticated (or pretty) web interface, and just barely allows for basic accounting and payment batch processing.

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AMS Version:—

Membership Size:—

Industry Type:—

Organization Type:—

Primary Job Function: Operations, Administration

Number of Years Used:4-7 years

Imis 15

Reviewed on Aug 14, 2014 - Archived Review

Customer Service

Ease of Use

Reliability

Customization

Our association has used Imis as an AMS for about 15 years now, and we have obviously been through a number of upgrades. We are currently looking to upgrade to Imis 20. Although not perfect, Imis has proved to be a solid AMS in all aspects of our business operations over the years. We are a 501(c)(6) nonprofit association currently operating the following modules: customers, events, ar, orders, service central and expo. The expo module is a bit weak but the other modules are very functional. We also use the Imis e-series modules for online member profile updates and event registration. The look is not exactly the best but the system works well. The Imis Communities component, in my opinion needs improvement, but Imis does integrate with other community software so it allows you options that might better fit your needs. Overall I believe Imis is a good choice for and AMS provider. The customer service has always been good for us.

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Primary Job Function: Other

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Untitled Review

Reviewed on Aug 14, 2014 - Archived Review

Customer Service

Ease of Use

Reliability

Customization

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Primary Job Function: Technology

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iMIS - good and bad

Reviewed on Jul 25, 2014 - Archived Review

Customer Service

Ease of Use

Reliability

Customization

We are currently on iMIS 15 but leaving for a SalesForce based AMS. We purchased iMIS 10 in 2006 and spent A LOT of money customizing it. It isn't a bad system but we feel like we need to make the change to a system that is more modern, more innovative, and has better customer service. Here are the pros and cons of iMIS (in our opinion!): PROS: Very easy to customize - any membership structure, any event requirements - if you get a good developer iMIS can do anything you need it to Good financial software that works well with other software platforms such as QuickBooks Good security features for large organizations - you can limit user permissions from view-only to full permissions for every module Long history and one of the first AMS out there CONS: Not very innovative Less than ideal end-user interface - event reg especially Very hard to get good customer service from ASI - your customer service is very dependent on who you use as a reseller Online access is not great - you need to remote in to do anything more than look people up Upgrading to iMIS 20 - depending on if you are up to date on your licenses and how customized your product is - can be very expensive IQA reporting is not intuitive and requires a lot of training to be able to master - so you are either dependent on your reseller to create new reports or you need a dedicated IT person on staff ONE CAVEAT: We had a string of less than ideal resellers and not the greatest initial implementation/customization. This has definitely clouded our view of iMIS. I still would not recommend it but if you are going to purchase iMIS be VERY choosy about your reseller. There are some great ones out there - not always the ones ASI recommends though!

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AMS Version:—

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Primary Job Function: Marketing

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Untitled Review

Reviewed on Jul 21, 2014 - Archived Review

Customer Service

Ease of Use

Reliability

Customization

About Reviewer

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Primary Job Function: Other

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iMIS 15 at SSA

Reviewed on Jul 21, 2014 - Archived Review

Customer Service

Ease of Use

Reliability

Customization

Its really outdated, clumsy and hard to work with. The web site sold to us as an iMIS-based template was written in cold fusion so, enough said. It was also really expensive.

About Reviewer

AMS Version:—

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Primary Job Function: Operations, Administration

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Untitled Review

Reviewed on Jul 17, 2014 - Archived Review

Customer Service

Ease of Use

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Customization

About Reviewer

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Primary Job Function: Executive Management, Strategic Planning, Governance

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Untitled Review

Reviewed on Jul 15, 2014 - Archived Review

Customer Service

Ease of Use

Reliability

Customization

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Primary Job Function: Component Relations

Number of Years Used:—

Powerful; great for large organizations

Reviewed on Jul 2, 2014 - Archived Review

Customer Service

Ease of Use

Reliability

Customization

With an in-house team of developers and IT managers, we've been able to customize Imis and make it do whatever we needed. Staff has become comfortable using it, and while they (Imis) sometimes seem to have been slow to incorporate new features into the platform, it has well served our needs. One downside to customization, however, is that we now have a huge legacy issue - were we to consider changing systems, with all the custom code and modules...changing would be even more of a nightmare than it might otherwise be.

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AMS Version:—

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The Ole Ball and Chain

Reviewed on Jun 20, 2014 - Archived Review

Customer Service

Ease of Use

Reliability

Customization

In 16 of my 18 years as an association membership professional, I've been using some version of iMIS as an AMS. I spent close to 11 years at one organization using it and my frustration level never really decreased. Over those 11 years I was lucky to have a team of customer service professionals and IT developers that were able to customize, patch, and bandage together a system that better serviced our members needs and our internal needs for data and reports. In fact, iMIS (Advanced Services) adopted much of the programming we developed and integrated it into their upgrade path where they could. By the time I was done there it was more of a new species of AMS than what we started with and since we didn't follow the upgrade path due to the many customized components it was hard to actually call it iMIS anymore. 2 years before I left the organization we began the conversion process of selecting a new AMS and working through our requirements that iMIS was not supporting. It was a daunting task and we ended up choosing a popular successor (Personify) to convert to. I was privvy to many demos of other AMS (many found on the list on this site) and found many of them lacking features and functions needed to meet the needs of most organizations. I left early on in the Personify conversion process (not because of the conversion but it was a factor in my decision.) Since then I've heard horror stories about what that organization ended up with after the conversion and how much data and history they had to leave behind in the process. In fact, many of the requirements I had insisted on were retracted after my departure just to hasten the conversion process which led to the loss of features and functions that would've helped that organization thrive. I guess I'll have to ask them to provide a review under that provider on this site. Since leaving that long time position I've leveraged my "iMIS" experience and knowledge to gain a couple other positions at organizations using iMIS. These are the later versions of the system and although there are many differences, the root problems still exist (i.e., poor data extraction, not intuitive, unreliability in functionality, and poor search capabilities.) I make do when using iMIS and with tedious effort and diligent focus I get what I need from the database despite it. I don't recommend this AMS, yet I haven't really heard of an AMS that would meet all of the needs of any of the organizations I've worked for. Good luck and practice good data hygiene.

About Reviewer

AMS Version:—

Membership Size:—

Industry Type:—

Organization Type:—

Primary Job Function: Membership, Customer Service, Data Entry

Number of Years Used:—

IMIS software

Reviewed on Jun 18, 2014 - Archived Review

Customer Service

Ease of Use

Reliability

Customization

We have run Imis software over the past 10 years. It is an amazing product but without support and lots of money for customization it might as well be a low end product. We had hoped to remain with them but because of software updates and requirements for our clients hardware systems we were unable to do that. Now looking for other systems that will be robust but not so difficult to use.

About Reviewer

AMS Version:—

Membership Size:—

Industry Type:—

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Primary Job Function: Operations, Administration

Number of Years Used:—

Untitled Review

Reviewed on Jun 4, 2014 - Archived Review

Customer Service

Ease of Use

Reliability

Customization

I come from a membership/membership marketing prospective when using iMIS. I also have the benefit of using iMIS with two different organizations. From my perspective each organization had pros and cons in their use of iMIS. Since a good portion of associations use iMIS there are many platforms that have been designed to integrate well with iMIS. One organization I worked for integrated with other platforms for marketing solutions. I used iMIS integrated with Infromz email marketing platform and cannot recall ever having an integration issue between the two. I also found pulling targeted email lists from iMIS to Informz easy and had few to no issues. Additionally I have used iMIS integrated with HigherLogic connected communities. Member levels and paid thru dates would carry over from iMIS to what eGroup/Communities level access they had in HigherLogic. Also if committee members had a term limit noted in iMIS that would carry over the eGroup/Community level access. The integration issues I had between iMIS and HigherLogic was mostly due to HigherLogic and less to do with iMIS. The other organisation I utilized iMIS with did a lot of their own custom builds-out from iMIS. Some of them were great like being able to create and pull customized reports. But in large there were constant issues with member and committee access to materials, and automatic updates that didn't occur. I believe most of the issues stemmed with the organization's IT department creation of the custom build-outs and less to do with the iMIS. I think this is true of all databases but the iMIS is really only as good as your database manager/IT department.

About Reviewer

AMS Version:—

Membership Size:—

Industry Type:—

Organization Type:—

Primary Job Function: Marketing

Number of Years Used:—

Untitled Review

Reviewed on May 19, 2014 - Archived Review

Customer Service

Ease of Use

Reliability

Customization

About Reviewer

AMS Version:—

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Industry Type:—

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Primary Job Function: Membership, Customer Service, Data Entry

Number of Years Used:—

IMIS through ATS

Reviewed on May 9, 2014 - Archived Review

Customer Service

Ease of Use

Reliability

Customization

Our experience moving from ISG to ATS as a provider has been a problem. We took the transition lightly because of ATS's stellar assurance when they were selling it to us. What was missed was that this was a total transition because iMIS need to be set up the way ATS needs it set up. Since the transition, we have not experienced any improvement and in fact have more issues than before. We now have an individual who is just about full time cleaning up all the spills and errors. They keep saying this problem goes away with the new upgrade. Now we're skeptical and simply afraid.

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AMS Version:—

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Industry Type:—

Organization Type:—

Primary Job Function: Finance

Number of Years Used:—

Lack of Functionality

Reviewed on Mar 8, 2014 - Archived Review

Customer Service

Ease of Use

Reliability

Customization

In the three years that I have been using IMIS as a shared database with our professional organization I have found the certification portion of this has not been as functional as our national certification program had hoped. The content tabs does not capture the information as needed and to extract the information for future marketing efforts. Utilizing IMIS for any certification module doesn't capture the information nor is it a good for this function. I would recommend looking into other certification specific AMS systems that don't require too much customization as times change and the cost will go up with that.

About Reviewer

AMS Version:—

Membership Size:—

Industry Type:—

Organization Type:—

Primary Job Function: Professional Development, Credentialing, Knowledge Management

Number of Years Used:—

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