ASP CRM Service for ISPs

AutoProf.com's InterMaker automatically configures your subscribers' email and browser software using ActiveX technology and Plug-In components. ISPs pay for the software on a per-use basis.

by Jim Wagner [June 29, 2000]

Stop customer calls before they occur. That's the promise of auto-configure software packages like AutoProf.com's InterMaker.

Customer Security
Customer information is kept at the InterMaker server site and is available for ISP support staff to review at any time through a secure, web-based database. Staff need only the URL to the secured web site and a password that will direct them to their customer's settings. Settings are immediately visible to the appropriate support staff.

Windows-Only Compatibility
Currently, the software is compatible only with the Windows 9x, NT or 2000 operating systems with no plans to incorporate Linux or MacIntosh. When the market is saturated with enough iMacs and Penguinistas, then you can expect a product friendly to those operating systems. Customers are also required to have at least Internet Explorer 3.0 or Netscape 3.0.

The email software and standard protocols currently supported are:

• Outlook Express 4/5
• Outlook 97/98/2000
• Exchange/Inbox
• Internet Mail
• Eudora
• Pegasus
• Windows 9x Dial-Up Networking
• POP3
• IMAP
• LDAP
• NNTP

If customers do not use any of the above software, the program will redirect the customer to a web page of the ISP's choosing for further instructions.

If you want to sign up for InterMaker, you're going to be with them for a while. After a 30-day evaluation, ISPs are required to sign a contract for at least one year, although they do offer several pricing models. InterMaker claims that one year is normal for ASP services.

Transparent Configuration
InterMaker automatically configures the end-user's email and browser using ActiveX technology and Plug-In components over the Internet. When the customer clicks on the setup logo at the ISPs site, they are transferred to InterMaker's secure server, which analyses the PC's applications. Then the program asks the customer to confirm which email/browser software they want to use. After a choice is made, the program changes the computer settings.

Pricing and Availability
InterMaker is available now directly from the company's sales division. The software is priced on the ASP model, with prices varying according to volume levels — although there are discounts for large ISPs that make a monthly volume commitment, there is no minimum ISP size.

A free 30-day trial is also available.

—End