Eyes for your biz only
Software costs are just part of the overall expense of conducting business with computers. Training costs -- and re-training costs, when software upgrades comes down the pike -- can easily outpace the price you pay for the software.
That's important to remember when considering an ASP. The upside to using an ASP is that you don't worry about updating, since the ASP does that for you. The downside? The decision whether to upgrade may be taken out of your hands.
If you're concerned about being forced into upgrades your company doesn't want or need, one option may be to contract with the ASP for a dedicated server rather than one that's shared. Using a shared server, which multiple companies access for the same application, means that updates are done at the whim of the ASP.
By going with a dedicated server which only your firm uses, you can have some say about when -- or if -- the app is bumped up to the next edition.
Finally, even after all your due diligence, an ASP may still goes to its final reward. Is there anything you can do to prepare for the eventuality? You bet, and it's next in the order.
