THE COST : 40% less expensive on average than an off-line IT (from IDC)

Pooling of hardware, software and human resources allows costs reductions compared to an off-line IT. Technological progress requires more and more knowledge and managing time, the updates, assistance to users, server supervision, backups, are all problems for any SME to be solved. The ASP model regroups all those issues on shared servers, managed by a team of specialists The SME is focusing back on its very own business, the IT becomes a tool whose cost can be included in the budget, without any surprises, and while being expandable depending on the company's growth. Moreover, all IT costs of the company become services charges; no more investments, with all the accounting advantages that it implies : better cash requirement management , diminution of business tax, ...

SECURITY : physical and logical, the ASP increases security level.

The servers are located in a closed hot site, access to interlock for personnel is badge controlled, monitoring of the building is ensured round the clock and everyday by security agents located on-site. The continuity of service is also secured by the redundancy of telecom and electrical infrastructures. At IT level, the System Administrators manage firewalls, the antivirus and the anti-spam software, they monitor also the daily backups. No SME can reach such levels of security without spending money out of proportion with the number of workstation.

MOBILITY : from anywhere, the use works "like at the office".

The architecture of the ASP concept allows to access company's data with any workstation connected to the Internet. Whereas the user is at home, at the hotel, or in holiday, he is accessing his job environment in a transparent way, just like if he was sitting as his desk. The geographic localization of employees is not a problem anymore, the notion of distance disappears.

CENTRALISATION : data is protected from hardware malfunctions and computer abuse.

Data is stored on servers, outside of the company. The workstations don’t have storage room. This gives the company the insurance that its data won't get out from the place where they are supposed to be : when an employee leaves the company, he cannot take with him the customer file or sensible data, his access to the network can be disabled within less than one hour. Furthermore, you cannot loose data because of a malfunction or theft.

SIMPLICITY : Easy setup and ease of use, no local roll-out.

Administration and assistance tasks are entirely outsourced, adding an user is an almost immediate operation and doesn't require any investment, nor installation. The workstation becomes impersonalized, any user can work from any workstation. This avoid on-site interventions of a specialist to handle the leavings and the arrivals of an employee, and in the same way, the removals of workstations become irrelevant.

PROFITABILITY : each user is accessing his applications and none others.

Time-losses caused by installations and using of personal software are eliminated, internet browsing is traced and filtered if needed. Profitability of each user is therefore noticeably increased.