The Nonprofit FAQ

What is an ASP and why should nonprofits care?
Note: There is a discussion of online resources for fundraising, which include ASPs along with other sorts of providers, in the NONPROFIT FAQ at http://www.idealist.org/if/i/en/faq/491-72.




Allison Schwein ([email protected]) wrote to CYBERGIFTS (a service of CharityChannel.com) on June 9, 2000:

With all the talk of ASPs, I thought I would add some information and try and summarize the points/ideas/concerns expressed so far.

The ASP industry is growing fast everywhere and the nonprofit sector is definitely part of this trend. Simply stated ASPs (Application Service Providers) are third-party entities that manage and distribute software-based services and solutions to customers across a wide area network from a central data center.

It means that instead of buying software, you subscribe to a service. The software and your data is kept onsite with the vendor. It has already been pointed out that this model has been around for quite a while, what makes it a hot item now is the internet. With the widespread use of the internet, there is now an easily accessible way of providing these services.

What does that mean for nonprofits? I think it has the possibility of being a great solution for nonprofits. The most obvious first target is contact/donor management and this is where this discussion started. So, with that in mind...

Pros, Cons, things to think about? A few have been talked about already. Such as:

  1. If your donor database is housed at a third party vendor - will it be secure?

    This is something we should all be concerned about. Donor privacy is a big issue, and with nonprofits getting sued because someone went through their trash, found donor contact info, and then hassled the donor... well, 'nuf said.

    In my opinion, most nonprofits are currently holding their data in a very unsecure environment. We all know about the struggle to obtain and afford good technology staffing - and without it your computer network is very likely an open book waiting to be read by any interested hacker.

    It is likely that your organization already works with your donor data in a VERY unsecure manner. For instance... how many of you send data files to your mail house via email? Something to stop doing if you are.

    In defense of the security of data at ASPs I talked about the increased expertise at the host provider and the absolute need for them to maintain the privacy and security of the data in order to stay in business.

    Chris Hanson from The Data Bank seconded my comments with his... "We have been hosting organizations databases for over 15 years and provide a much safer, secure environment than they could afford or would know how to implement. Data mirroring, daily tape backups, triple power and Internet connection redundancies, etc..."

    The feelings expressed thus far have been mostly positive.... Does anyone have more information to add on the security/privacy issue?

  2. What are the issues around accessibility?

    Henry Lewis asked us to think about this issue... "Also, if it's off-site, and your electricity and/or phone lines go down, you'll have no access to it. And how many people in your office will want access at the same time??"

    Counter: If an organization's electricity goes down.. their not going to be doing ANY computing, onsite or off. Phone lines go down very rarely.

    What if the ASPs server is down? - In reality, the occurrences of downtime with a reputable ASP should be very minimal, perhaps Chris could let us in on how often this has been an issue at his company. I think it's safe to say that your organizations' computers and/or network is going to be down far
    more often than your ASPs will be.

    One thing to definitely keep in mind is that accessibility will be an issue if a nonprofit has limited internet access. If an organization has networked internet access or several modems, this shouldn't be an issue. If anything this can be a real plus. If the computers at the office are down, you can go home and work.. in addition there is the ability to get access to
    your information from any location with internet access - such as when you are traveling.

    Of course, this is also true if an organization has a wide area network and remote access capability. But this isn't a reality for many npos quite yet.

  3. Obvious Pros

    Several people have chimed in on this -

    • The latest technology at all times, secure encryption, constant database management (clean-ups, patches, fixes), reduced need for technology staff onsite, increased accessibility....

    • (the possibility of) lower costs overall, and the advantage of not having to make a capital investment in the required technology.

    • The thing I find most appealing about this model is the burden it can help relieve in regards to technology staffing.


So.... what else are people thinking about? Do you think this model would work for your organization? Why or why not. Do you have additional concerns? Are there more pros that haven't been mentioned?

Find out more:

You can find a good definition, that is easy to understand, of ASPs at About.com:
http://compnetworking.about.com/compute/compnetworking/library/weekly/aa050900a.htm?rnk=r5&terms=ASP

Some thoughts on who will make it and who will not in the ASP industry can be found here:

Why most ASPs will fail...
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/0,5859,2572993,00.html

ASPs I know of in the email/contact/donor management area:

thedatabank.com:
http://www.thedatabank.com

DenariOnline:
http://www.denarionline.com/

and of course the one that started this whole conversation,

eTapestry:
http://www.etapestry.com

Allison Schwein,
Cybergifts Co-Moderator, artist/graphic designer
and nonprofit internet provocateur,
Sunnyvale, CA

On June 27, 2001, Lisa Smith sounded this cautionary note:

This is an older article but the subject is in the spotlight right now. I'm not sure I'd agree with the statement about ASPs providing the latest technology all the time. I would expect a higher level than many nonprofits could afford, but I don't know that every ASP jumps for every new technology nor that you would want them to. I also am concerned with all the outsourcing of technology who deals with in house issues? It may save money in terms of the cost of a staff position but I wonder how much time is lost to crashed computers, Word and Window's Annoyances etc. Just something to consider when deciding to use an ASP.




Posted 6/9/00; revised and updated 6/27/01, 9/30/02 -- PB