We have done our evaluation and selection and have decided on an application. The pricing on the ASP(application service provider) approach results in major savings for our organization. Has anyone had experience with using project management, resource management and timesheet applications via the ASP model? Also does anyone have suggestions with regards to items to include in the ASP contract (security, backup, performance, warrenties, terminations, data transfer?) Saving Changes...
Quick suggestions: 1. make sure you have acceptance criterias identified and included in the contract (performance, security etc). 2. decide on service level agreement (SLA, acceptable downtime during maintenance 3. negotiate on how much of the application code, database you have control over (incase you have integration needs in the future) 4. find out what happens in the event the ASP goes under, merged or bought
just a few things to think about Saving Changes...
Your idea of negotiating control of the DB and application code is one I had missed. It makes sense to do that up front.
With regards to acceptance criteria and SLA, it is tough to define other than on a "downtime" basis. If you have ideas for other criteria or SLA please share, if you can. Appreciate the other good pointer: to specify the max down time for schedule maintenance.
Security over the internet is a concern but how do you specify performance, other than "meets industry standard for encryption or other means of data protection"?
Your right, that we should spell out the "what ifs" around buy-out/mergers/belly up. It would be great to see what others consider standard language. Does any one know where a "good" ASP provider agreement could be viewed? Saving Changes...
I have been researching this from the other side of the table. I haven't finalized my standard agreement yet, but you'll probably find "best practices" info at the ASP industry consortium: http://www.aspindustry.org/
I'm the owner/developer of ProProject (www.proproject.com). Our ASP tracks time, expenses, and billing for project-driven organizations.
If you have time, I wonder things like what ASP did you select, what is the cost, what others did you compare with, why did you pick this one?
I didn't realize so much when I started, but the ASP model really is a cost saver for everyone.
Thanks, Roger. I appreciate your giving me the address to the ASP Industry consortium. It has a section for end users with buyer's guides to application service provisioning, service level agreements, and security overview.
With regards to the application we have selected, price and other related details, we are still in negotiation so I rather not share that right now. Once we have a signed contract, I hope that I can share more. Saving Changes...
Here is the update, I promised. We decided against the ASP model and purchased the license to eLabor's Enterprise Project.
Microsoft has purchased Enterprise Project from eLabor and will be including Enterprise Project's functionality into the next release of MSProject sometime in 2002. Current Enterprise Users will be provided a method for migration onto the "New" version of MSProject by Microsoft. Per Microsoft: “Enterprise Project is the only enterprise application that Microsoft knows for sure will be compatible with the ‘next generation’ of the Microsoft Project family of products.”
With regards to the ASP, bottom line was that it would have saved us money but we decided against it. Our major concerns were: accessing our data; ability to have multiple databases (production, training, testing); termination language (since Microsoft owns the software); length of the agreement (three years; and the viability of the ASP approach (we were not provided references for companies using the ASP).
The proposed contract for the ASP was thick. We had several lengthy meetings where the attorneys discussed the language. I would suggest that any company considering the ASP model study the contract because the ASP Provider is not going to be looking out for your interest in this transaction. Read it carefully and ask how changes, imports, backups, exports, report writing or other type of actions are going to be priced.
One of the things I did learn was about the different pricing models: By User or By Use. The "By User" model is like the Licensing approach where you purchase a number of user licenses. The "By Use" is similar to your phone service. You pay a small fee each month but the rest of the fee is based on your use of the system. We were looking at the "By User" pricing but the "By Use" sounded more appealing.
I still like the ASP concept but not this time around.
Hard to believe that it has been almost three years since we started this thread. We are still using eLabor's Enterprise Project but eLabor will be dropping it's support this year as part of Microsoft's effort to transition Enterprise Project users over to MS Project 2003 Server.
We are in the process to "upgrading" to MS Project 2003 Server. Microsoft customer support has been substandard. I have been working over a year to get them to work with us to upgrade and it sure seems like that unless your a major corporation they are too busy to be interested in your business.
So far it looks like the MS timesheet doesn't fit the needs of our organization. We are looking at some alternatives. Any suggestions?
We are also looking at trying to integrate MS Project Server with our Solomon Financial System. Even though they are both owned by MS their integration capability reminds me of how Lotus 123 and Wordperfect (dating myself) use to integrate: you could try but it was going to take a lot of work. Seems like MS has work to do before they really can say that offer a “enterprise system”. Any suggestions/comments on integrating Solomon and MS Project 2003 Server? Do you think it will be worth the effort? Should we even try?
I will try to keep you posted on how we are doing with our "upgrade".
P.S. We have never regretted the decision to host the system in-house rather than selecting the ASP option.
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Well, we are live with MS Project 2003 Server and EPK Timesheet. The "upgrade" went pretty smoothly with the help of our contractor, SoftwareMatters. We only moved our active projects into the new database. We will keep our old database and reports so that data can be accessed.
The users really like the EPK timesheet. It addresses a lot of the problems that the eLabor timesheet had. It is missing a simple email notification for reminding employee to submit their timesheets and follow up reminder when they miss the deadline. Like the ability to charge to project level rather than the task level. The application integrates well with the Web Access.
The conversion of the Crystal Reports to the new database was more effort than we anticipated. We had hoped to change report writers but the development cost were too high (we thought.) We may have been better off switching rather than converting.
The support Microsoft offers is between nil and nothing. Never hear from the sales representative. You really have to dig to find a source for support to the application. My past experience with other applications (elabor, Artemis, Primavera, Welcom) has spoiled me. Just signed up for MS Technet so we will see if they can provide the support. Please let me know if you know of any good sources for help (discussion groups, knowledge centers.)
The application is complex and rich with features. We really limited the features we implemented to the bare basics (time sheet, project center, Project Professional.) Still trying to work out the security levels (groups, categories and global permissions.) System administration is spread out between MS Project and Web Access. The application doesn't remember the formats or last point of access, so you end up having to reformat and scroll a lot, especially during set up. The system is a major step for Microsoft but they need to consolidate, streamline, simplify some of the features and offer more support.
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