CRM hosting provider is responsible for all computing infrastructure, maintenance, availability, and upgrades. Because of the significant number of solutions on the market, it is sometimes difficult to decide who will support and administer the web-based applications. CiviCRM customers won’t have to search, as the system utilizes hosting on its own AWS servers. Read more about it below.
Why does CiviCRM use AWS?
Most SaaS-based applications use AWS solutions because they are the benchmark for quality at an affordable price.
By choosing Amazon as a provider, CiviCRM covered all basic needs, such as:
- Distribution of incoming application traffic to multiple targets;
- Running independently from the host operating system using containerization;
- Having a security tool that monitors network traffic and blocks it based on a defined set of rules;
- Ensuring smooth and fast application performance and scalability through cloud technologies;
- Using a comfortable file system interface and accessible storage for up to thousands of instances.
Amazon sets the global standard of excellence through centralized operations management. The solution allows you to manage and operate your applications on-premises, in hybrid environments, and at the edge. Let’s look at the CiviCRM example to understand why it is so essential to use AWS.
Amazon provides services such as ECS (Elastic Container Service) Cluster, EFS (Elastic File System), Relational Database Service (RDS), and ALB (Amazon Load Balancer), which are the foundation and allow you to deploy cloud storage for an application. Firewall and Route 53 are optional services convenient for running the system. This solution is reliable and easy to maintain for many service providers, as they get everything needed to install a working and self-service app in one package.
CiviCRM hosting structure, in simple words
Amazon supports advanced technologies such as virtual reality, machine learning, and quantum computing. By doing so, nonprofits gain virtual storage and the tools to build and run their software.
A flexible cloud allows you to get unlimited resources to maintain CiviCRM. So, as you scale, you’ll only pay for the services you use. AWS also provides load-balancing features to ensure availability and fast global processing. The optimal configuration of the service allows you to protect CiviCRM from external agents. The system can also be restored to its original state without additional staff recruiting in critical situations. Automation reduces risk and enables you to focus on core business functions.
CiviCRM hosting features
In terms of UI interaction with the application, at https://civi24host.com/ , the user fills out a registration form, which consists of 3 steps:
- Filling in personal data;
- Registration of the CiviCRM package, which involves entering the name of a subdomain (not prohibited by the system);
- Selection of a payment method.
Agiliway has created a unique application for CiviCRM to run the configuration of a new customer on AWS. It is an auxiliary element of the hosting system, making it even more flexible.
Such a system is flexible to third-party integrations and extends customers’ possibilities through various solutions. For example, you can connect CiviRules, which allows actions like automatically adding a contact to a group when they contribute more than “X, name any criteria.” Depending on their request, the instance-based hosting approach also provides an individual service for each CiviCRM client. If you need more database space, the dedicated team will allocate more memory and can also increase the frequency of backups.
Regarding economic sustainability and growth, supporting non-profit organizations has become even safer even during full-blown crises worldwide. The qualified staff of Agiliway Poland ensures CiviCRM’s excellent performance. Your system will be protected, and your needs will always be heard.
What makes CiviCRM on AWS better and out of the competition?
CiviCRM is an open-source tool backed by one of the most trusted vendors – the Agiliway company. It installs, upgrades, migrates, extends, and supports your app.
The system provides many features, including easy management of contacts, events, donations, mailings, templates, and more. Let’s break down each of these functional modules in more detail.
Contact Management
Contact management includes the ability to manage groups and is a crucial method of organizing data in CiviCRM. You can easily segment users, events, and actions by specific criteria. For example, by setting a member of an organization to the tag “Volunteer,” you can add them to a group called “Volunteer Committee.” This is especially important when sending emails to specific subscribers.
Smart groups are automatically populated based on specific characteristics or activities of the individuals added. For example, you might create a smart group called “Donations in Missouri 2024“. It will include all found contacts from Missouri state who contributed financial aid in 2024.
CiviEvents
CiviEvent is a tool that allows you to seamlessly organize an event, including self-registration for participants, sign-up tracking, promotion, set-up for similar activity, and participant check-in on-site at the event. Interestingly, visitors will also be able to measure the project’s success, and the organizer will be able to handle the reporting quickly. After all, estimating is usually one of the most challenging and time-consuming steps. This module allows you to calculate the number of participants, their contributions, upcoming payouts, and more.
CiviContribute
CiviContribute is a module that tracks financial and in-kind contributions. It handles user memberships, manages fees, creates themed campaigns, and allows you to measure results. By the way, you can customize contribution tracking – for example, you want to know which event attendees made the biggest donation and which campaigns you ran brought in the most assets. Or create donation types yourself (e.g., crowdfunding page, payment for membership, etc.) to understand which member has transferred money and where it will go. Using flexible reporting templates, your accountant won’t have to spend much time compiling them because they can construct the right one at any time.
Bonus:
The ability to connect most global payment providers makes CiviCRM a versatile tool.
CiviMail
This is another CiviCRM module that provides automated mailing list management. You can customize not only the sending of emails but also track their effectiveness, create reports, and use them as an addition to your contact management.
CiviMember
CiviMember manages membership not only automatically but also manually through the admin interface. You can create subscription types based on your organization’s needs and track pricing. The component supports self-registration, the establishment of new members of a non-profit organization, and the extension of the rights of some members.
The bottom line
CiviCRM on AWS is a robust solution for many nonprofit organizations. It allows the system to be flexibly maintained with minimal human intervention. At the same time, your reliable partner will always be Agiliway Poland, which will help you install, support, and scale your service.
