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real estate software / uk database design | property management software
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Property Databases
Outsourcing / Application Service Providers (ASPs)
Outsourcing - the option not to hold your database
on your equipment but to outsource it to a specialist company -
is having a new lease of life.
Larger outsourcers will offer even more services,
from banking to bulk email through to full data entry and reporting.
Technically speaking, this means your database
will be held on a computer away from your offices and you will access
it remotely from your own office through communications lines (usually
a leased line, ADSL, ISDN, the internet).
ASPs are a specialist and newer area of outsourcing
where you access your database over the internet.
This is how the ASP's work.
- They are Specialists. For example, you will
get dedicated teams of data entry staff which is their only job.
- It won't be your technical problem! (Communications
apart).
- Up-to-date technology. The outsourcer will
be investing in its equipment and software.
Benefits of a outsourcing could be:
- Hardware savings:
You won't have to pay for expensive hardware, its maintenance
and the upgrading & changing. This is done by the outsourcer.
Many studies show that the "Total Cost of Ownership"
(TCO) of a computer is not just the actual purchase price; but
if you factor in all the associated costs from support to repairs
and hardware to upgrades, then it can be significantly higher.
- Other cost benefits:
You won't have to pay for specialist software in-house, specialist
IT support staff or system development.
- Cost benefits for
high levels of transactions: If you are dealing with a
large amount of properties, then it may well be worth investigating
the costs of an outsourcer who can automate areas of your business
for you. cheaper than what it would cost you in-house in terms
of computers, salaries, people and time.
- Internet/Intranet
use: Some companies offer the facility so you can link
to the outsourcer through the internet via your ISP (Internet
Service Provider).
Downsides of outsourcing might include:
- Speed: With
the latest technology, speed is becoming less of an issue but
you need to be clear about how good performance will be. And this
can mean high costs.
- Actual cost:
Some outsourcers are quite expensive; often far more than a top
level property software package. And there is also the cost of
setting up the communications links between your offices and the
outsourcer, and the on-going phone/leased line charges.
- Not having data
in-house: This is probably a conceptual issue rather than
a true disadvantage but it might be important to some organisations.
In many instances, to all intents and purposes, you can use your
data in the same way as if it was in-house. It does mean you are
reliant on the outsourcer ensuring their hardware is always available
and you should discuss how they manage possible hardware failures
(and fault tolerance). You might also need to consider if this
will affect you under the new Data Protection Act.
- Communication breakdowns:
It is possible, although getting more unlikely these days, that
you could find you are unable to connect to your outsourcer if
there is a problem with your communication links.
- Security:
Both in terms of having your data held away from your offices
and as far as stopping security violations of your communications
links. Again, far less of a concern as internet and communications
security improves.
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