Trading November 2008
Two new sets of documents have been added to the Trading folder this month: Maintenance Agreements and Application Service Provider (ASP) Agreements.
Maintenance Agreements
Effectively maintaining hardware, software and equipment is an essential part of the running of most businesses today. In many cases, this can be a costly exercise. Consequently, many businesses choose to outsource their maintenance obligations to service providers specialising in maintenance services.
The new Maintenance Agreements have been designed for use by the providers of maintenance services and cover hardware; software; a combination of hardware and software; and plant.
All set out the various maintenance services that will be supplied as well as those that will not. Users are able to tailor such details to suit their own services and the specifications of each individual agreement. Thus clarity and simplicity are promoted for all parties concerned.
ASP Agreements
Many businesses make use of specialised software. The costs of such software can be extremely high - too high for many small and medium businesses. This is where ASPs (Application Service Providers) step in. ASPs provide access to software to their customers over a network. This significantly reduces both the cost and complexity burden on businesses, enabling those with limited resources to access specialised software which would otherwise be out of their reach.
The ASP owns both the software and the equipment on which the software is hosted. This reduces the burden on the end users of the software in that maintenance obligations and the costs associated therewith are borne by the ASP. As a result, the customer does not have to be concerned with fluctuating and unpredictable costs; rather their IT costs will amount to little more than a simple, known monthly fee. Moreover, software and supporting infrastructure will be regularly updated.
New ASP Agreements from Simply-docs have been written with such services in mind and are designed for use by ASPs to govern the provision of their services to a wide variety of customers. Multiple variants have been drafted, allowing for separate transactions to proffer bias toward either the customer or the ASP. Versions both including and excluding the provision of end-user training by the ASP are also provided.
The contents of this Newsletter are for reference purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Independent legal advice should be sought in relation to any specific legal matter.