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WHAT IS 'ASP'? from RIPPLE IT
Providing our creative clients with the best Ad Agency software and the best Project Management software gives you only fifty percent of your total solution.
It is equally important to us that our creative clients become successful through
practical and proven business advice, yielding efficient business procedures, and financial competence.
The article below was written by Rich Tanksley, Director of Business Development for Ripple IT. It is reprinted here with the permission of Ripple IT. (Contact information for Ripple IT is at this end of the article.)
What is an 'ASP' and why should it like it?
ASP stands for application service provider. This is a relatively new method of using an application.
Traditionally, applications are run from your desktop. Microsoft Excel and Word are installed on your desktop computer, and when you want to use those applications, you simply double-click the applciation, and save the data to your hard drive.
If you wanted to run a more complex application at your company, for instance, an accounting system, you would purchase the software and install it on a server in your office. Then you would install a client side program on each workstation to access the software. This was and is still a viable way to use software.
The main drawback though is that since you are running the software in your office, on your server, you need support - hardware support, software support, and data backup support. If you combine these support costs with the cost of purchasing and maintaining the server, these costs can easily exceed the cost of the software.
Another drawback of hosting your own applications is that once you have paid for the server and the software, you are generally stuck with that historic cost. If you suddenly lose half of your employees, that expensive software package still costs you what you paid. You can't get any money back because you have fewer people using the software.
An ASP model is a modern alternative to hosting your own software. With an ASP model, the software is installed and hosted by the software manufacturer, usually in a secure data center. Most ASP software uses a standard web browser for access to the hosted software. Once you are ready to use the software, you simply point your browser to the proper site and you are up and running.
You don't have to worry about servers or client software on your workstations. And most importantly, you can access the software from anywhere. And since most ASPs charge by number of users, if you want to add or reduce your number of users, your cost goes up or down accordingly.
The main benefit of the ASP model is reduced support effort and cost. Backup for most ASP software is done nightly, and even hourly, freeing you from the hassle. Restoring from computer crashes is a relic of the past, since multiple servers offer redundancies that most purchasers of installed software would not want to invest in.
Upgrades are handled automatically. As new features are introduced, there's never a need to upgrade the software or the convert the database. All upgrades are handled by the software developers. Just point your browser to the site, and enjoy the new features.
The next benefit is security. Since your data is in a secure hosting facility, being backed up regularly, you don't have to worry about shady characters getting to your data. Don't be fooled into thinking that your data is safer in your office. In a hosting facility, their only job is to ensure the availability and security of your data.
Yet, there is still a drawback to the ASP model. Since the application works across the Internet, it may be slower than an application that is hosted locally. Most people find that the cost savings and reduced headaches of the ASP model more than make up for slighly slower performance though.
There remains still a third alternative. There are some ASP-based software solutions that are available as ASP software OR as an internally hosted installed application. The beauty of this approach is that you can pick either model. You can pay for the Application Service Provider to host your data in an ASP model, or you can host it yourself on your own servers. Even though we do IT support, we generally recommend an ASP model for most of our clients. We feel that the IT dollars you would spend to host the database yourself could be better spent elsewhere.
For more information on Ripple IT, click on this link.
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