The Benefits of Using an Application Service Provider, Continued

Last post I discussed some of the benefits of using Application Service Providers. Allow me to go right ahead and continue from where we left off:

4. Accessibility
Let’s take the example company we used in the last post. This company has locations around the world, and thousands of employees. These employees are located in different time zones, have different sleeping habits, different responsibilities… Using an ASP means that these employees can access their required programs any day, any time, from anywhere. It’s expected that the content will always be up-to-date and ready to use, meaning that employees will be able to access the latest software and data whenever they need. As I mentioned in the last post, having this software in one place, on servers hosted by the ASP, allows constant access for a company’s employees.

5. Simplification/Consolidation of Data
We have discussed the fact that using an ASP allows a company to access software easily, saving it time and money. These general benefits are certainly important, but I’d also like to address a benefit that may not be as obvious. A feature that many ASPs include as part of their programs is data tracking. This means that as users complete certain tasks, data is recorded for later viewing. As an example, if a company was using a training program, the software would likely track the courses completed by the company’s employees. An ASP can then take this data and simplify it for viewing, a feature associated with reporting. The result? Administrators and users are able to access simple, easy-to-read data located in one place, a major advantage for large businesses.

I hope I’ve given you some insight into the positive qualities of Application Service Providers. The industry is difficult to understand, but with these posts, hopefully you’ve been getting a clearer vision of what it is that we do!