What is an Application Service Provider (ASP)?

An Application Service Provider (ASP) is a company that delivers software applications over the internet for a fee. The user accesses the application through a web browser, without installing it locally, and pays a subscription for access.

How the ASP model works

The software and computing power sit on the provider's servers, not on the customer's machines. The business does not have to buy licences, run servers or update the system itself. The provider handles hosting, security and maintenance, which lowers in-house effort and risk.

ASP and modern cloud software

The ASP model was the forerunner of today's cloud software (SaaS). The difference lies in how the software is built. A classic ASP often hosted a conventional program, written to be installed on a company's own computers, and ran a separate copy of it for each customer in its data centre. SaaS is built for the web from the start: one application serves many customers, each customer sees only its own data, and an update reaches every user at the same time. For the user, both models look alike: a login, a browser and a monthly bill instead of a server room.

IMPARGO works on the same principle: the Planner Module and the rest of the transport management system (TMS) run in the browser, with no installation, and the paid plans are billed as a subscription rather than sold as a licence.

What a transport company should check with a hosted provider

Handing the software to a provider moves some work out of the office, but not every responsibility. Before a carrier or freight forwarder signs, a few points are worth settling:

• Access: which functions work on a phone or tablet, and what drivers use on the road, since a dispatcher's browser and a driver's app are different tools.
• Data: where the provider stores orders, addresses and customer data, and how you get a complete export if you leave.
• Connections: whether the system talks to the ERP, telematics and accounting software already in use, through ready integrations or an interface (API).
• Updates: how changes are announced, so that a new screen does not surprise the dispatch office in the middle of the morning rush.
• Support: who answers when the system is down, in which language and at what times.

The internet connection also becomes part of the infrastructure. In the office this is rarely an issue, but drivers cross areas with poor mobile coverage, so it matters how the driver's app behaves when the signal drops and how status updates reach the office once it returns. More questions to put to a provider are collected in the guide on how to choose the right TMS for trucking.