ASP Timesheet Solutions Pacific Crest predicts that business via the Internet, such as an Application Service Provider (ASP) or Software as a Service (SaaS) will grow at 25 percent per year through 2010. AMR Research also shows that 78 percent of survey respondents are either currently using ASP/SaaS or plan to in the near future. ASPs are an affordable alternative to self-hosted and maintained software. Companies can now outsource their back-end applications and have the ASP vendor develop, build, distribute, and maintain custom applications and databases for client use. At a nominal price each month, ASPs are drawing thousands of potential buyers to their doorstep. Moreover, the ASP approach can greatly profit your bottom line. According to an IDC study cited by accounting firm Bennett Gold, ASP solutions can yield significant quantitative and qualitative benefits including an average ROI of over 400 percent over five years. If you need more whys and wherefores to adopt the ASP solution, consider these top 10 reasons: Everything You Need in One Central Location ASPs arm users with almost everything, including databases, e-mail, processing, shopping cart options, e-commerce services, search engines, calendars, FTP applications, and custom programs. ASPs also generally provide multiple servers, 4-way replication, and power backup.   24/7 Access and Support Anytime, Anywhere ASP solutions are web-based, centralized solutions that deliver your software online, anytime and anywhere around the world. Employees who travel or are on the field can easily login and submit data with this one-stop solution.   Low Up-front Costs and End-user Costs Supporting an in-house IT department to manage your software needs can cost you thousands of dollars up front and long term. Broken down, you have to consider paying for a server, IT experts, licenses, equipment and time. An ASP solution is your economical solution. With access to an existing network and operational applications, an ASP solution spares you the expense of creating, running and maintaining a complex infrastructure. The system is operated and managed by teams of skilled, experienced specialists, and your costs become controllable and predictable. An ASP model provides substantial cost advantages over other forms of application deployment, both initially and over time.   No IT Dependency The ASP provider will take care of all maintenance, security, upgrades, support, and performance for you at their data center. The ASP vendor supports its own internal IT team who manages maintenance, network services and upgrades for the client. By outsourcing back-end applications and data to an ASP vendor, clients experience greater bandwidth, performance, and security without the bane of IT hardware and software maintenance and support.   Reliability and Security With the most efficient database recovery systems in place, ASPs are preferred to the traditional infrequent backups. Damage or loss to equipment and data is eliminated. Theft, fire, loss of power, physical damage to servers and general liability are left in the hands of specialists. A better maintained and supported application will ultimately deliver better results to customers and will encourage further research and development of functionality.   Scalability and Performance Platform scalability equals long-term stability. To distinguish ASP from its competitor, its hosting platform has the capability to grow in capacity as customer needs grow. Diagramed representations of solutions are beginning to include elements such as load balancing and caching—and, in some cases, specific references to application servers with “proven scalability features” (such as IBM WebSphere or BEA Systems WebLogic or HP Bluestone Total E-Business Server)—to communicate both that the ASP’s solution will scale over time and, implicitly, that the ASP will remain a valued partner over the long haul. Performance enhancements include hardware- and software- based data caching and load balancing technologies. These speed the performance of the hosted application from the end user’s perspective.   No hassle interface with OS Server incompatibilities and application incompatibilities are eliminated through ASPs. There is no concern as to dependency of the application on another as there are no shared components. Hassle-free updates and support are made possible.   Quick, Tiered Deployment With in-house IT departments being relieved of maintaining and administrating new applications, organizations are better able to reduce costs and improve productivity. Lengthy approval cycles can be avoided and quick deployment can be ensured. The time and cost savings to your IT personnel will better align your organization’s technological needs with evolving market trends. The setup and support of the application will be easily and quickly dealt with by the application service provider.   Innovative and Advanced Technology Dedicated technicians offer the optimal blend of efficiency and technological experience to provide superior maintenance and services to ASP customers. Product advancements are timely; delivering superior quality to consumers. Guarantees of no down time and data integrity provide a business advantage to those using ASPs.   Time to focus on what is important Since you don’t have to worry about IT operations, maintenance or support, you can now invest more time in what matters most at your company – the bottom line. Conclusion The significance of this market is reflected by its sheer size. As early as 2003, estimates of the market ranged from $1.5 to $4 billion dollars. ASP solutions have evolved because of the increasing costs of specialized software—that have far exceeded the price range of small to medium sized businesses—and the growing complexities of software have led to huge costs in distributing the software to end-users. With ASP technology, you are paying for the peace of mind that comes with entrusting your back-end data in the hands of exceptional professionals.