"The ABCs of ASPs": A Report on the May 2001 Technology Forum

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"The ABCs of ASPs": A Report on the May 2001 Technology Forum
By Lisa Radcliffe and Maxine L. Rockoff

A summary of United Way's forum discussion on Application Service Providers (ASPs).

The advent of the publicly accessible Internet presents a huge potential for use by nonprofit organizations. Many nonprofits have already investigated and invested in Web sites, e-mail and the Internet's vast information resources.

On May 18, 2001, United Way of New York City and IBM co-sponsored the second annual technology forum for nonprofits, this one focusing on the exploding phenomenon of Application Services Providers (ASPs). Nearly 80 participants packed United Way's conference room to listen to a presentation by Marc Osten of Summit Consulting Collaborative, followed by a panel discussion featuring Marlowe Greenberg of Foothold Technology, Inc., Joyce Klemperer of Fund for the City of New York and Amit Motwani of Community TechKnowledge.

In the wrap-up Q&A session, members of the seminar audience asked insightful questions on a wide range of topics that included disaster recovery, reliability, privacy, total cost of ownership and data ownership.

Most ASPs' resources are easily scaled, allowing nonprofits to match the capability they pay for to their own needs, which may increase or decrease over time.

Mr. Osten deftly facilitated answers from the three panelists.

What's an ASP?
An Application Service Provider is an organization that develops specialized software applications for operation on centralized, Web-accessible servers. A nonprofit "rents" the ASP's computer software, data storage facilities and associated technical expertise for fees that are subscription or usage-based. This saves the nonprofit from the high initial expense of developing or purchasing complex application software and the ongoing costs of upgrades, security, backups and disaster recovery.

Multiple users from the nonprofit can simultaneously access the applications and the nonprofit's own data, all of which reside on the ASP's servers. Each user needs only a standard Internet browser; the nonprofit does not have to invest in or manage software that runs on its own premises. The wide range of ASP-hosted applications already available to nonprofits includes fundraising, accounting and advocacy tools.

What technology problems do ASPs address?
Wasn't technology supposed to save us money? Yet every time we turn around, there is something new to buy and learn...and someone new to hire in support of this "cost-saving" hardware and software! Worse yet, the moment we are up and running we need to upgrade our hardware/software, retrain our workforce and rehire tech support people, many of who have left to work for more than double what we could afford to pay them.

The Internet in general – and ASPs in particular – are tools to be employed in the pursuit of a goal, not goals in and of themselves.

The audience responded sympathetically to Mr. Osten's notion of "accidental techies" – staff who already have full-time jobs but, due to their aptitude for technology (or sometimes just out of sheer desperation), have been additionally tasked with providing technology support for their organization. Not only are these staff members often negatively compensated for their proficiency with more work, their primary jobs suffer. ASPs offer hope for combating the excessive workloads – and corresponding burnout – that burden the accidental techie.

Where do we begin?
As Mr. Osten explained, an agency must start with a strong strategic vision. Putting a Web site on the Internet to collect donations for relief aid to India will not produce a solid return on an agency's investment. However, as part of a larger multi-media campaign to raise awareness of global relief needs, such a Web site can be key in the event of a catastrophe that drives traffic to the site. The site can be even more valuable if it not only accepts online donations but also provides other services such as informational updates on the disaster and on affected family and friends.

Identifying a strategic vision also enables an agency to prioritize resources and perform necessary capacity planning. How much work is lost through overburdening non-technical staff with systems support? How much interest do potential donors lose when a Web site can't handle the Internet inquiries they generate?

Mr. Osten emphasized that a significant amount of due diligence and perhaps even outside consulting support are required to choose an ASP. The most thorough investigation would examine a candidate ASP's business model, references and audited financial statements.

Marc Osten's slides can be found at www.summitcollaborative.com. Watch for an upcoming dialog regarding ASPs at www.techsoup.org.

You can contact Lisa Radcliffe at lradcliffe@petermartin.com and Maxine L. Rockoff at MLR@ClarkRockoff.com.

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