There’s nothing quite like ASAE Annual. It had been several years since we’ve had the opportunity to attend and exhibit, I’m so glad we went.
This year, more than 5,300 association professionals, industry partners, speakers and exhibitors descended on Indianapolis for the 2026 ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition — the largest ASAE Annual since 2019. The Expo itself was the largest in ASAE Annual history, with more than 400 participating companies.
ISG Solutions was excited to be part of it, exhibiting at Booth #448 and introducing more association professionals to eBridge, our solution for connecting third-party event platforms with an association’s AMS.
But some of the best parts of Annual happen outside of the scheduled demos and education sessions.
They happen in the conversations.
We had the opportunity to talk with association executives, technology leaders, partners and friends about what’s working, what’s frustrating their teams and where they see the association industry heading next.
And while every association is different, several themes kept coming up.
1. AI Is Everywhere — But the Conversation Is Changing
No surprise here: AI was a major topic in Indy.
What was interesting, though, was how much the conversation has evolved.
Associations aren’t simply asking, “How can we use AI?”
- They’re beginning to ask much better questions:
- Where can AI actually save our staff time?
- What processes could we automate?
- How can we use our own data more intelligently?
Where should AI assist our staff, and where do we still need a human involved?
That shift was visible throughout the event. One post-conference recap described AI as moving from experimentation toward productivity, with associations looking for practical applications that reclaim staff time and help organizations act on information more quickly. That’s exciting!
But it also leads directly to another conversation we heard repeatedly.
2. Associations Don’t Necessarily Need More Technology. They Need Their Technology to Work Together.
Most associations we talk with don’t have a shortage of technology.
They have an AMS.
And an event management system.
And an LMS.
And an email marketing platform.
And perhaps a community platform, mobile app, certification system, business intelligence solution, or several other specialized applications.
Each system may be very good at what it does.
The problem comes when those systems operate independently.
Staff end up exporting spreadsheets, manually entering information, reconciling transactions between platforms, or creating complicated processes just to move data from one place to another.
And members feel it too, even if they don’t know why.
One of the biggest technology trends we see isn’t necessarily replacing all of those specialized solutions. It’s creating a connected ecosystem where the best tools can work together.
That’s also why we were excited to talk about eBridge at Annual.
Many associations prefer the experience and functionality of dedicated event management platforms. But registration and financial activity still need to make their way back into the AMS.
eBridge helps bridge that gap by allowing associations to use the event technology that works best for them while bringing registration and financial transactions back into their AMS as though they originated there.
It’s a perfect example of a much larger philosophy:
Your technology shouldn’t create more work simply because you chose the best tool for the job.
3. Good Data Is Becoming More Important Than Ever
There was another theme closely connected to both AI and integration: data.
We’ve talked about clean data in the association industry for years, but AI has raised the stakes.
The value of AI, personalization, predictive analytics and sophisticated reporting depends heavily on the information underneath them.
If event participation lives in one system, education history in another, email engagement somewhere else and membership activity in the AMS – and none of those systems communicate effectively – we’re missing part of the member story.
When that information comes together, associations can start asking much more interesting questions.
- Who is highly engaged but hasn’t become a member?
- Which members are beginning to disengage?
- What programs are our most engaged members participating in?
- Which educational offerings lead to deeper involvement?
- Where are there opportunities for additional revenue or engagement?
Connected data doesn’t simply create better reports. It gives associations the opportunity to understand their members and make better decisions.
4. Staff Efficiency Is Becoming a Member Experience Issue
One thing we hear constantly from associations is that staff are being asked to do more, often without additional people or budget.
ASAE’s first State of Associations report reinforces that pressure. Associations are navigating financial headwinds, membership and retention challenges, evolving meeting strategies and rapid AI adoption, all while looking for new revenue opportunities and ways to demonstrate greater member value.
That makes staff efficiency much more than an internal operational issue.
When someone spends hours reconciling event transactions, manually moving data or maintaining a workaround between two systems, those are hours they aren’t spending on members.
Technology should remove those administrative burdens.
Automation should handle the repetitive work.
Integration should eliminate unnecessary duplicate entry.
And AI should increasingly help staff find information, identify opportunities and complete routine tasks faster.
The goal isn’t technology for technology’s sake.
It’s giving association professionals more time to do the work that requires their expertise, creativity and relationships.
5. The Human Connection Still Matters, Maybe More Than Ever
For all the conversations about AI and technology in Indianapolis, one of the strongest takeaways from Annual was actually very human.
Associations bring people together.
ASAE President and CEO Michelle Mason emphasized that idea during Annual: in a world increasingly shaped by AI, associations have an important role as conveners of authentic voices, trusted information and meaningful interpersonal exchange.
Walking through the halls in Indianapolis made that pretty easy to understand.
Technology can make an association more efficient.
AI can help us work faster.
Data can help us understand people better.
But none of those things replace the relationships, conversations and communities that make associations valuable in the first place.
In fact, the best technology should create more room for those things to happen.
So, What Comes Next?
Interestingly, ASAE used Annual to approve a new strategic framework for the next three to five years built around three priorities: Grow Influence & Impact, Enrich Talent & Organizational Readiness, and Optimize the Member Experience.
Those priorities closely reflect many of the conversations we heard in Indy.
Associations are thinking differently about technology, AI, data and member experience. They’re questioning processes that have existed for years and looking for smarter ways to connect the systems and information they already have.
And that’s a conversation we’re excited to continue.
Thank you to everyone who stopped by Booth #448, talked technology with us, learned about eBridge, shared a challenge, offered an idea, or simply stopped to say hello.
We came to Indy excited to talk about eBridge.
We left even more excited about where association technology is headed.