Everybody does best when they stick to what they're good at. If the office windows need cleaning, you don't get out the ladder and bucket but rather you call the window cleaner. It's the same with the coffee machine. All that you want is the drink of your choosing, not the task of making it or of storing all of the ingredients for every possible choice of beverage that staff or visitors might select.

It's about your precious time (you'll have better things to do with yours), its about consistent quality (both the window cleaner and the coffee machine are organised to do their jobs well enough for you to want to continue using their services), and its about choice (you don't need to keep window cleaning material for every possible substance that might stain a window, or stocks of beverage making materials; that is someone else's job within the service offered).

So why, if we are happy to let others provide these simple support services, do we insist on providing the more complex support services ourselves? Take software, for instance.

Get the support right

Software is not the business, it is simply one of the support services that the business needs. So why do we have to ensure that every user in the organisation has every conceivable piece of software on their computers all of the time? Why, when somebody requests a piece of software for a one-off task, should we have to go out and purchase that whole software suite, install it, make sure that it doesn't conflict with and can operate with other associated software carrying the information it needs to use it - and then wait for it to come up on the disk cleaning routine as "unused files"?

Did you know that these days, software can be purchased only when needed, just as easily as calling in the window cleaners or using the coffee-making machine. We're talking about using an Application Service Provider (ASP).

ASP users do not carry large software program files on their PCs. All they need is the software to link to the ASP's system where all of the programs they require are available when they need them. Want to write a letter? ASP users can either download a "one use" copy of the word processor or, easier still, create the letter on the ASP's system. Even for a task that only needs to be done once a year, the accountant won't be trying to remove it from the schedule or suggest a compromise solution in order to avoid the cost of the software it uses.

In fact, users can do everything on the ASP's system, even store their data and records. It's all achieved using a network connection - usually a closed Wide Area Network (WAN) rather than the public Internet - to access the ASP's system from the user's desktop.

Keeping control

But don't confuse ASPs with Outsourcing. Using an ASP, you retain management of your system, only handing over the mechanics. However, some advantages associated with outsourcing are available to ASP users. You'll always have access to the latest generations of software and you should check that any ASP seeking your business has strong security and real time back up or mirror systems in separate locations. This not only means that, should there be a fire or flood in your office, your data and records will be safe but also that, even should the ASP suffer a disaster, your data and records will still be safe.

And, as is always the case these days, we cannot overlook the cost implications of running your business on somebody else's system. Against the cost of the ASP service, the expense of running an IT department will be saved and you'll have access to the ASP's IT department which will almost certainly be better than your own organisation could afford because its costs will be spread across all users of that ASP.

And a good ASP, whose livelihood depends on providing a service better than you could imagine providing for yourself, will be very happy to discuss your specific and changing needs, and how the system can best support them. ASPs also gather statistics on usage as part of their pricing / charging process and to monitor levels of use for each function on offer. These statistics can be packaged for users to determine how different parts of the organisation are using (or, even, abusing) IT in their work.

ASPs offer better costs, less work and more control over the IT that supports every aspect of a modern organisation, leaving the organisation free to get on with delivering on its real objectives. Set to become a boon especially for smaller and medium sized enterprises, using an ASP instead of owning their own systems and software means access to global corporate-quality IT skills and experience for less cost than buying, regularly updating and operating their own system.