AppServ has first project running

By ADAM GIFFORD

New Application Service Provider AppServ has completed its first project, hosting Cellphone City's core business and desktop applications.

AppServ is a joint ASP venture between Computerland New Zealand and business consultant Graham Clarke.

It has built a data centre in Computerland's Auckland headquarters to host applications for small and medium sized companies, which would have previously been considered too small to use services like IT outsourcing or remote hosting.

Mr Clarke said a significant number of businesses of that size face the same e-commerce complexity and security issues of internet access and email that larger ones do.

"If they have a distributed business, it is difficult for them to manage the data round those sites.

"We put the simple stuff at the customer end, and do the hard stuff centrally."

AppServ will use Microsoft Windows Terminal Server and Citrix MetaFrame, to deliver its application services.

"It's using Telecom's digital data service, which gives it committed bandwidth for wide area networks, but will also use wireless links and other suitable technologies.

Cellphone City has 90 users in 20 sites around the country. Its core line of business application is the British-made Global Systems 3000 accounting and inventory system.

The managing director of Cellphone City, Calum Haslop, said the deal "means we can concentrate on our business without the distraction of technology management.

"AppServ allows us to focus on what we can gain strategically from technology.

"We can maintain a healthy appetite for new IT tools without running into an internal resource bottleneck."