Hi Nate,
You mention 3 different databases, i.e. admissions, student information and
alumni/advancement. As you can see, all these track the life of a
constituent at different stages throughout school and after. There are a
few ways to bind them together so as to ensure a smooth function: manual
import/export of data and setting up relative processes (as you might be
doing for the time being), setting up integrations between the disparate
systems, or bringing the data under one comprehensive data platform.
There are pros/cons to each of the approaches:
- Connecting via manual import/export is the traditional approach. This
requires the least amount of $$'s to set up (because the set up is via
processes, can be made a responsibility of a staff member, and needs
minimal additional tools and knowledge). This is also most labor intensive,
and as is obvious, data synchronization happens periodically, and therefore
for the time in-between, the systems are essentially out of sync.
- Specifically for RE and Blackbaud products, you have integrations such as
Omatic, and with those, you can connect to the outside world and
exchange/integrate data. Omatic is not exactly cheap, but it saves you a
considerable amount of labor costs to keep the databases in sync. The
potential con of this arrangement is that one has to keep integrations
updated each time the database systems undergo a change, and therefore
there's somewhat of an overhead. Also, when you have third-party
integrations set up, you are still largely at the mercy of what the
individual databases allow you to "see" through your integrations. I think
that Blackbaud systems intrinsically are not open by nature.
- A complete system migration to a data platform, such as Salesforce, or MS
Dynamics, and running all the "functions" such as admissions, SIS,
advancement, etc. as vertical services from it. Purely from the data
management perspective, this is the most elegant approach because your data
is literally sitting in one database, and the platform provides varying
degrees of access through roles and profiles (for data security and
confidentiality). At the same time, often, from end user's perspective,
their experience with the system is dictated by the service or the product
that they are using to connect to the platform. In essence, what this means
is that advancement person can be really happy with the features of the
advancement system, at the same time admissions staff could be totally
frustrated :-) Cost wise, I suspect that this could often fall between the
other two options (though YMMV). That said, this comes closest to the
"cradle to grave approach" you mentioned, of course with strings attached
(such as those mentioned above). Also, there's an added cost of migration,
in addition to the ongoing platform/application environment maintenance.
That said, in defense of these platforms, they certainly are the most
modern and advanced platforms/systems available in the market, and I
believe that they have a very long runway of innovation.
To decide which approach is most suitable, take stock of your long term
needs, budget, organizational capacity (eg. skill set and ability to adapt
for the staff), and how long your horizon is for working with the "new" set
up. That should help you determine which is the most suitable approach.
Hope this helps. Happy to answer more questions regarding the same.
*Medha Nanal*
*Strategic Data & CRM Consulting for Nonprofit Organizations*
(Fundraising, Programs, Operations, Communications)
650-600-9374
www.topcloudconsult.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Thu, Jun 27, 2019 at 6:54 AM Boone, Marijana R <
boonemr@cofc.edu> wrote:
> These are really great questions, Nate. Just last year, we made a case for
> a move from self hosted RE7 to NXT, and we're in a similar situation.
> Actually, over the past 7 years that I've been at the College of
> Charleston, we've had a trend toward more fragmenting in our solutions than
> coming together, as we've found that the "all-in-one" systems are often not
> very good at any one of those things they bundle together, and with
> pressures to meet higher goals on all sides, everyone favors a
> "best-in-breed" system for their particular needs (events management, email
> marketing, alumni engagement, giving day management, student recruitment,
> etc.). This has elevated the importance of systems integrations. Our campus
> integrations are currently both 1-way (admissions-RE, OrgSync-RE) and 2-way
> (Banner Student-RE) and based on regular imports and exports; campus IT
> here is interested in helping us build more direct integration via APIs, so
> we're hopeful. With other vendors we use in Advancement, we've been taking
> advantage of RE NXT's queue and Office 365's Flow to automate certain
> steps.
>
>
> If you rely heavily on the back-end RE7 database access, though, that's
> definitely going to be a pain point if you don't prepare for it. If I can
> be of any assistance, please don't hesitate to reach out.
>
>
>
> *Marijana Radi**ć** Boone ’01, MPA ’03 *
>
> Executive Director, Advancement Services
>
> College of Charleston | 66 George Street | Charleston, S.C. 29424
>
> 843.953.5647 (o) | 843.640.9135 (c) |
boonemr@cofc.edu
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Advancement Services Discussion List <
>
FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG> on behalf of Nathan.Laning <
>
Nathan.Laning@TRNTY.EDU>
> *Sent:* Thursday, June 27, 2019 9:03:47 AM
> *To:*
FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG
> *Subject:* [FUNDSVCS] Systems Integration -- Looking to Learn
>
> CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not
> click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know
> the content is safe.
>
> As I put together a proposal for administration, recommending a move from
> Blackbaud’s RE 7 to RE NXT, I’m doing my best to prepare for potential
> responses. One response that I am definitely expecting is the question of
> why we cannot implement a “cradle-to-grave” system at our college,
> replacing the 3 distinct databases we have for admissions, student
> information, and alumni/advancement, with a single system that does
> everything for everyone?
>
>
>
> Does that even exist, and if not (which is my assumption), what systems do
> your organizations use, and what have you done to strengthen the
> integrations among them? Is there any way to automate this integration? Is
> it 1-way or 2-way? I’m looking to learn more.
>
>
>
> For reference, our current set up is as follows:
>
>
>
> - Slate for admissions
>
> - CAMS for student information
>
> - RE7 for alumni/advancement
>
>
>
> Additionally, we use Moodle and Financial Edge for other purposes, playing
> into the integration question.
>
>
>
> Thank you for your assistance. I’m eager to hear your suggestions.
>
>
>
>
> <https://nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.trnty.edu%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cboonemr%40COFC.EDU%7Cabc8a33b04f14ed2f31408d6faffeb2b%7Ce285d438dbba4a4c941c593ba422deac%7C0%7C0%7C636972374400813425&sdata=QZ4sxZPtBDvdrkDAifiLMdTFeO%2Bjf2qjtPflSB4DYko%3D&reserved=0>
>
> *Nate Laning*
>
> Director of Advancement Services | Trinity Christian College
>
> 6601 West College Drive | Palos Heights, Illinois 60463
>
>
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> 708.239.4822 |
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>
>
>
>
>