Another corporate trend that associations have embraced is the rise of mobile technology. As members and staff have increasingly flocked to smartphones and tablets, associations have been challenged to support as many models as possible.

Sogueco, for one, solved that problem where staff is concerned by providing iPhones and iPads to key employees. Since everybody has the same device, service and support are simpler.

“In technical terms, mobile devices are a pain for CIOs,” says Thad Lurie, CAE, CIO for the American Wind Energy Association, which has 70 staffers and 2,000 corporate members. “But the generation that is coming into the workplace now has a mobile device attached to their face.”

Here again, security looms large. Byerly says associations that provide mobile devices to staff should be able to wipe them clean from afar, to keep confidential information from being at risk.

Members, on the other hand, are increasingly looking for apps to help them navigate conferences and other association events. But meeting that expectation often results in big commitments of association budgets and staff resources.