ASBDC 2026 · Presentation
The Crossroads
What should your SBDC's technology look like for the next decade? The full toolkit from our ASBDC session, drawn from two state networks that paid the cost of switching and what they learned from it.
Written primarily for SBDC state directors, center directors, and operations leaders. Advisors and state IT partners are secondary readers.
Core Proposition
Switching has a cost. Staying has a bigger one. The hard part of changing systems is the switching cost, not the software, so the real work is lowering the financial, emotional, and mental cost together. SBDCs deserve better, and better is a decision.
What's Inside
1
Where we came from. Why Mississippi decided the cost of staying was higher, and what it looked at before choosing to co-create.
2
Where we are today. Implementation roadmaps for Mississippi and Indiana, and what changed on the advisor's desk.
3
Where we are going. AI on a real data foundation, with the counselor in the loop. AI drafts, the counselor decides, and nothing is filed without approval.
4
What we learned. Six lessons from two networks, including making reporting the gate and letting policy set the pace.
5
Your first 90 days. Assess, define, pilot, decide, with the audit worksheet, vendor questions, and 90-day template to take home.