<s>
Membership	B-Application
software	I-Application
(	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
an	O
association	B-Application
management	I-Application
system	I-Application
)	O
is	O
a	O
computer	B-Application
software	I-Application
which	O
provides	O
associations	O
,	O
clubs	O
and	O
other	O
membership	O
organizations	O
with	O
the	O
functionality	O
they	O
require	O
to	O
provide	O
their	O
services	O
to	O
their	O
members	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Membership	O
organizations	O
have	O
diverse	O
needs	O
and	O
structures	O
,	O
and	O
this	O
is	O
reflected	O
in	O
the	O
additional	O
features	O
membership	B-Application
software	I-Application
sometimes	O
includes	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
many	O
other	O
modern	O
software	O
,	O
membership	B-Application
software	I-Application
was	O
initially	O
delivered	O
as	O
desktop	O
software	O
,	O
evolved	O
into	O
website-based	O
software	O
delivered	O
from	O
a	O
web	O
server	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
now	O
increasingly	O
delivered	O
as	O
a	O
software	B-Architecture
as	I-Architecture
a	I-Architecture
service	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
initial	O
(	O
desktop	O
software	O
)	O
and	O
intermediate	O
(	O
website	O
based	O
software	O
)	O
stages	O
of	O
its	O
development	O
,	O
Membership	B-Application
software	I-Application
was	O
often	O
combined	O
with	O
a	O
separate	O
public-facing	O
website	O
,	O
which	O
members	O
would	O
use	O
to	O
interact	O
with	O
the	O
association	O
(	O
subscribing	O
,	O
booking	O
events	O
,	O
purchasing	O
content	O
and	O
advertising	O
,	O
posting	O
discussions	O
,	O
uploading	O
files	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
necessitated	O
complex	O
integrations	O
between	O
proprietary	O
membership	B-Application
software	I-Application
databases	O
and	O
content	B-Protocol
management	I-Protocol
systems	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Today	O
,	O
membership	B-Application
software	I-Application
often	O
integrates	O
the	O
core	O
features	O
of	O
a	O
content	B-Protocol
management	I-Protocol
system	I-Protocol
,	O
to	O
provide	O
a	O
single	O
coherent	O
interface	O
for	O
members	O
and	O
administrators	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
are	O
available	O
as	O
standalone	O
or	O
as	O
plugins	O
to	O
popular	O
open	O
source	O
content	B-Protocol
management	I-Protocol
systems	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
smallest	O
associations	O
and	O
clubs	O
often	O
create	O
their	O
own	O
ecosystem	O
of	O
services	O
to	O
offer	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
functionality	O
as	O
membership	B-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
membership	B-Application
software	I-Application
market	O
spans	O
the	O
rest	O
of	O
the	O
industry	O
,	O
from	O
small	O
and	O
medium-sized	O
organizations	O
with	O
limited	O
resources	O
,	O
to	O
very	O
large	O
and	O
complex	O
multi-chapter	O
organizations	O
of	O
national	O
and	O
international	O
renown	O
,	O
to	O
association	O
management	O
organizations	O
which	O
manage	O
multiple	O
associations	O
using	O
a	O
single	O
product	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
are	O
generic	O
,	O
but	O
many	O
are	O
also	O
targeted	O
at	O
very	O
particular	O
segments	O
(	O
e.g.	O
,	O
church	B-Application
software	I-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Multi-chapter	O
membership	B-Application
software	I-Application
tailors	O
to	O
organizations	O
that	O
are	O
made	O
up	O
of	O
chapters	O
,	O
clubs	O
,	O
regions	O
,	O
or	O
segments	O
that	O
are	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
larger	O
association	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
particular	O
type	O
of	O
membership	B-Application
software	I-Application
allows	O
the	O
apex	O
or	O
parent	O
level	O
of	O
the	O
organization	O
to	O
have	O
more	O
control	O
over	O
how	O
each	O
of	O
their	O
chapters	O
are	O
managed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Membership	B-Application
software	I-Application
covers	O
a	O
massive	O
range	O
of	O
uses	O
,	O
but	O
in	O
many	O
instances	O
it	O
requires	O
different	O
membership	O
levels	O
,	O
or	O
access	O
control	O
levels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Depending	O
on	O
the	B-Application
software	I-Application
,	O
it	O
can	O
even	O
allow	O
you	O
to	O
specify	O
time	O
limited	O
access	O
which	O
is	O
useful	O
for	O
time	O
sensitive	O
content	O
.	O
</s>
