First there was DOS, then came Windows. Now you will be hearing terms such as 3rd generation and Application Service Provider (ASP). The real question is what does it mean for the Estate Agent ?

Aspasia is the UK's first Estate Agency software solution that is browser based, combines Residential Sales with Residential Lettings and is available to rent over the Internet. There is no requirement for any software whatsoever on a PC which is connected to Aspasia other than Microsoft Word if the "mail merging" functionality is required.

This means it is simple to install, simple to maintain and simple to pay for. It leaves you free to concentrate on your main business - property - with IT experts working on your behalf behind the scenes.

So why should I adopt this technology?

ASP solutions remove all the fears associated with technology and can deliver increased profits to your business. Perhaps more importantly, your customers are now embracing this new technology and will be expecting you to also! Technology and the Internet are giving customers choice, access to suppliers on their own terms, and power - the power to make informed decisions about who they place their business with.

It is the 3rd generation ASP solutions that can allow you to exceed their expectations...Technology is changing the property market. The time has come to embrace it.

ASP - A more detailed overview

IT managers from all sectors of business are embracing the ASP approach to ensure that business-critical applications can be deployed in a cost-effective, scalable, secure and risk-reducing manner.

Application Service Providers are companies which host and manage applications as a service, delivering them to end user organisations from remote data centres via the Internet or private networks on a rental basis. Application Service Provision saves time, effort and money by simplifying ongoing system reliability and support, whilst adding value to the end-user organisation in the form of enhanced operational flexibility, improved and guaranteed system performance and access to top-end, integrated enterprise applications.

ASPs give customers a viable alternative to procuring and implementing complex systems themselves. In some cases, ASPs even provide customers with a comprehensive alternative to building and managing internal information technology operations. ASP customers are also able to control more precisely the total cost of technology ownership through scheduled payment schemes, and with data processing performed off-site by a third party, organisations can focus on their areas of core expertise.

The goal for the ASP industry is to make the management of information technology as transparent and reliable as the management of sophisticated public telecommunications and data communications systems. Customers who turn to ASPs often find better application reliability and availability than they experienced from their internal IT organisations, because the ASP has the staff, expertise and state-of-the-art equipment to maintain and sustain the most reliable and up-to-date service.

ASP helps to level the competitive playing field by extending the reach of organisations with limited IT staff, budgets and infrastructure to a large range of top tier enterprise applications such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, professional services automation (PSA) software, or even vertical industry applications for estate agency, healthcare or sports management.

Because these applications are deployed and managed from a centralised data centre, users are able to access their desktops from anywhere in the world, with same look and feel as if their applications were running locally. In addition, ASPs such as SPA Microsystems always have a minimum of 30% extra capacity available on their servers, enabling end-user organisations to respond to new business initiatives very rapidly, 'switching on' new users and applications as and when the need arises.

In summary, benefits of using an ASP include:

• Speed to market: the ASP already has the equipment, applications and expertise ready to provide rapid market access.
• Operational freedom: by outsourcing application management, the customer can focus critical resources on their core business function.
• Improved performance: ASPs can apply their vast experience to implement best IT practices for superior levels of availability, security, backup, disaster recovery, and help desk (shadowing).
• Financial flexibility: this model reduces fixed costs and lowers overall expenditures for hardware, applications and management.
• Reduced risk: with no capital expenditure on software, hardware, and IT personnel, organisations can "test" a new technology with minimal impact to their existing environment and bottom line.