Ask any economist, and you'll likely hear the same response:  as markets mature, consolidation tends to occur.  So, while it's big news, it's not necessarily surprising to hear today's announcement that Blackbaud is purchasing Convio.  These two publicly traded corporations have been in the non-profit technology space for a long time, and I congratulate their boards on coming to such an important agreement.

Now, let's get to the real business at hand:  what can be done now to ensure technology service prices go down, not up, in an era of mega consolidation?  Our answer:  a fresh approach with a dose of healthy competition.

It is startling what technology can do as we begin 2012. The rate at which data can move and systems can be connected is astonishing. The potential for harnessing this to create positive social change is compelling and inspiring.

And then you look at the price tags being charged to leverage all of this fancy, powerful stuff. It can be staggering. It isn't uncommon for us to attend conferences and sit in rooms with panel discussions showing off a nonprofit's custom-built solution to integrate their website, constituent relationship management system, email marketing platform, and other communication channels. The screenshots are slick. The crowd is wowed. The mind races with the possibilities for one's own organization.

Until the price tag is quoted. It's usually toward the end of the presentation. It's often mentioned almost as an afterthought.

"We paid $100,000 to a web development firm just for the front end web interface. The CRM setup was separate."

Or, "we raised $200,000 for this implementation."

Staggering. And everyone leaves the room feeling as if they live in a two-room shack and just watched an episode of Cribs that highlighted what they can never have. It's all great and impressive and inspiring - but the real question rolling around in everyone's head as they hit the hallway to go to the next session is:

"Damn! How in the world could they raise six figures for a web project?!?"