For those who don’t know, the landscape is changing in regard to the manner in which software is distributed.

The revolution is altering the way your vendors and service providers procure, distribute, deploy, manage and bill for software applications.  I’m speaking of Application Service Providers, or ASPs.

ASPs are comprehensive software and support services which deliver world-class computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) right to your door via the Internet.

ASP companies allow you to access maintenance applications stored on centrally managed and maintained servers.  The ASP maintains your entire system, giving you access through a Web browser.  Anything you do with a client/server application can be done through the Net in exchange for a monthly service charge.

A look at the facts and figures
So, what does this mean to you, the maintenance professional trying to keep pace with technology?  One word: relief.  
Here’s how.

Think of this all-too-familiar scenario:

Your maintenance department again is the target for management improvements.  You’ve been asked to improve productivity; increase preventive maintenance completion; reduce inventory levels; get software, hardware and associated support costs under control; and, oh yeah, don’t burden the information technology (IT) department while you’re at it.

Since the IT department doesn’t possess the resources and/or technical expertise to support your effort, you’re left with the same old questions.  Do you have the necessary know-how, budget, labor or software systems to implement the solutions?

So, here you are again.  To get all the functionality you need, you purchase one-time software product licenses (based on the number of users and/or size of your company) and high annual service contracts.  You buy new hardware and also hire outside service professionals to help implement the application, configure the hardware, migrate the data and finally train your people.  All the while, you’re trying to figure out how to pay for these up-front costs out of current operating budgets.  On top of that, I’m sure you’re tired of writing large checks to consulting firms for projects that never seem finished, or end in disillusionment.

Well, the ASP industry is changing that.  It allows a business to have access to specialized, high-quality and complex software applications, such as CMMS, computer-aided facilities management (CAFM) and document management.  The ASP companies manage updates and changes to the application, database, security and hardware.  They offer training, setup, 24x7 help, data management and analytical support as part of standard packages.  You get this for a known, fixed monthly fee.  So, let’s run the numbers.

It takes about $170,000 a year (total cost of ownership) for a database server and $10,000 per year for a workstation in a client/ server network.  Both figures are constantly going up. (You can figure your real cost from those numbers).  Additionally, the total cost of installation of applications and services for a $30,000 CMMS package is between $150,000 and $450,000.

In contrast, the annual cost for a Java-enabled terminal (browser) is $500.  Current service charges for a fully functional CMMS-packaged ASP range from $75 to $1,500 per station per month.

When all the numbers are run, the ASP approach eliminates about 70 percent of the total cost of ownership of the application.  In addition, weigh the fact that your workers have access to maintenance information at any time, from anywhere.  All that’s required is a browser.

This isn’t saying all is rosy with ASPs.  They utilize standardized software setup packages and templates.  This reduces customization and cuts out some of the bells and whistles you’ve come to expect (but which most companies don’t utilize anyway).

Second, while improved, Internet data transfers are not yet reliable enough everywhere to support mission-critical data exchanges.