Client roadblocks?

Karen Diener

We are a small consulting firm and Blackbaud partner who has primarily assisted nonprofits better leverage their Blackbaud software. Our work generally involves training, database assessments, system selection and implementation, business process design, data cleanup and restructuring, etc.


We are trying to get started with developing in SKY. We had an app that was working in our own environment, but ran into obstacles when we talked to a client about testing it in theirs. They were fully onboard, and we developed it specifically for them, but there were a lot of stumbles when it came time to licensing and connecting the API. We just couldn't get their tech provider to follow through.


I was just in a DevCon session and reminded that the notification "an application wants to access your Blackbaud data" also appears when connecting an app. I can definitely imagine a lot of IT departments worrying about this, especially after the data breach.


Has anyone else had issues like this, and how have you worked with clients to bring them around? Maybe it is the size of clients we are working with - outsourced IT firms, and highly skeptical internal IT departments. I feel like this is one of our bigger obstacles right now and would appreciate feedback / advice / insight! Thanks!


Karen

David Zeidman

I can appreciate the sentiment that they express but ultimately it shows a lack of familiarity with any kind of online interaction. I would simply explain that this is exactly the same kind of question you would get when you log into a service with your Google Account or with Facebook, Twitter, etc. Those companies would also ask you if you agree to X seeing your data (more often your personal data). Clearly in those situations you think through do I trust the connection between the two services? When it is put in terms of services that they understand, it is easier for them to appreciate what is going on here.