Five Steps to Selecting an Application Service Provider

By Michael Stein and John Kenyon

Application Service Providers, or ASPs, come in all shapes and sizes.  Some are quick and easy while others take longer to select and implement.  The process of selecting an ASP varies with agency size, needs and resources.  Following are the five steps for success that we've identified while interviewing nonprofit staff that have worked with ASPs in the past year.

Step One

• Designate someone in your nonprofit agency who will spearhead the effort to work with an ASP (for example, the membership director or fundraiser).
• Identify who will input and maintain data.  Decide who will define the outputs of the system the end product you want. Include both technical and non-technical staff on your team as well as the staff who will actually use the ASP tool.

Step Two

• Define your needs as simply as possible.  An example of a general needs statement might be: "We need to install an online donation tool that allows people to donate money with their credit cards," or "we need a listserv to communicate with our network of advisers across the country." 
• Then add other requirements you might have (for example, inexpensive or easy to use) that relate to your operations.
  
  Step Three
  
• Search for ASPs that match your needs.  You can review the Directory that is a section in The eNonprofit: A Guide to ASPs, Internet Services and Online Software at http://www.compasspoint.org/enonprofit/.  Other resources are http://www.nonprofitmatrix.com/, http://www.techsoup.org/  and http://www.actknowledgeworks.net/ephil. 
• To get a good idea of how a service is used and how it really works, speak with other nonprofit customers of the service.  To find those other customers, ask ASPs themselves, ask on listservs, and talk to other nonprofits and board members you know.  Try to find organizations that use the service in the same way you plan to use it.
• Ask these three key questions to other organizations: How do you use this ASP?  What was your setup experience?  Is the service's technical support helpful?  This is a great way to learn about real world experiences with an ASP, but can't take the place of listing your needs and expectations as benchmarks for selection.
  
  Step Four
  
• Selection criteria should include your needs for the features and functionality offered by each ASP, pricing plans, frequency that the ASPs update their software, commitment to customer service, testimonials from existing customers of ASPs under consideration, and the business stability of each company.  (For a more detailed description of this process, see Part 5 of The eNonprofit: A Guide to ASPs, Internet Services and Online Software).
  
  Step Five
  
• Sign a contract and then implement the technology that the ASP will be providing. 

Take Your Time

Researching and selecting an ASP may seem like  a daunting task.  Do your homework and take your time to make a decision about which you're confident.  Not all ASP selections happen in the same manner.  Adding a search button to your Web site (such as Atomz.com) may take only a review of a few ASPs and a few discussions with your Web person to review your needs before moving forward with implementation.  You can be up and running in a few days.  On the other hand, working with an ASP to change your entire donor database management system could take several months of planning and implementation.  It could involve putting together a team of staff and consultants, having several planning meetings to assess your needs, researching your options, getting quotes from several ASPs, meeting with finalists, making a selection, and then moving forward with implementation.