ASPs Hit the Shop

If you follow the computer software business, you’ve heard of ASPs-Application Service Providers. An ASP lets you access software over the Internet as if it were your own, but without buying or installing it. The advantages? An ASP requires no initial cash vestment or costs for software updates. Instead, you pay-per-use, using a credit card..

The ASP concept is coming to your shop computer. Arsenault Associates of Atco, N.J.-developer of Dossier32-is among the first developers of maintenance management software to market its program direct to customers over the Internet. You’ll find an online demo of Dossier32 (and get the feel of using it online) at Arsenault’s Web site (www.truckfleet.com). A handsome, easy-to-navigate program, Dossier32 worked well enough on the Web through an old 36.6 kbps modem.

Arsenault points out that customers can access Dossier on virtually any computer that can run a standard Web brower and access the Internet-an old 486, for example. After entering necessary data, you can request anything from a quick answer to a detailed report, which can be printed or saved on your local hard disk. The application software, of course, stays on the Web.