The Best Of Both Worlds
JOHN BENDEL
TECHNOLOGY EDITOR
Is it possible to combine the advantages of licensed software and ASP (Application Service Provider) solutions in a single trucking package? At least one software provider thinks so.
Transportation technology provider TransCore Commercial Services has released Keypoint for Carriers, a package of hardware and software the company claims has all the computing power needed to run a small truckload operation. TransCore Commercial Services is based in Beaverton, Ore.
Keypoint for Carriers follows the release earlier this year of a slightly different version of the same solution, Keypoint for Brokers.
"This solution gives you the best of both worlds," said Dan Murrill, director of business development for TransCore Keypoint.
How TransCore brought those worlds together in this small-business package was creative to say the least. According to TransCore, the new Keypoint technology — a solution in a box, as it were — is unique in any industry.
"It's a self-contained system. It's hardware, software, everything they need in a single package," said Murrill.
The Not-So-Remote Server
Keypoint for Carriers is very much like an ASP. Users pay only for use of the software. They don't pay up front for a license or for installation and they don't worry about maintenance, patches or upgrades.
Like using a traditional ASP, they access the software on a local computer by opening web browser software and logging on to a remote server over a dedicated line. But this is where Keypoint for Carriers takes a very original turn.
The dedicated line is nothing more than a standard network patch cable that runs from the user's computer (or network hub) to the server. And that remote server isn't very remote at all. In fact, it sits in the user's office where it takes hardly any room at that.
The device is a Cobalt Qube 3 made by Sun Microsystems, a small blue computer that measures 7.5 inches by 7.63 inches by 7.75 inches. Sun calls it a server appliance.
The Cobalt Qube 3 was really designed to host relatively small web sites. It includes 512mb of random access memory, at least one fast hard drive and built-in web-based applications and tools. So nothing needs to be installed on a user's computer or network. Plug the Qube 3 into a computer's network card or into an office network hub, open the web browser software and it's ready to work.
According to Murrill, Keypoint for Carriers comes in a single package that includes everything required, including a generic Zip drive for automated data backup. Of course, there are some equipment requirements.
For example, the package does not include local computers nor does it provide an Internet connection. Murrill explained that users are expected to have a dial-up modem or other Internet access, which is required occasionally when the system goes out to check for updates. Those updates install automatically for totally automatic system maintenance.
Still, the system does not rely on the Internet or any other outside connection for basic functionality. If the Internet is down users can still dispatch, bill and pay drivers.
Integrated Cross-Marketing
Yet according to Murrill, users pay as though they were using a standard Internet ASP. Customers pay $299 per month with a 24-month commitment. Additional carrier services are available but they cost extra.
Those services actually do require an Internet connection. For example, users can access other TransCore services such as TransCore Exchange and TransCore's DAT Services, the first and still the largest load-matching database in North America.
TransCore bought Keypoint Software of Springfield, Mo., last year. The idea of the acquisition was to offer operations software subtly linked to TransCore's other carrier offerings. For example, Murrill said that DAT Services integration is built into Keypoint for Carriers (and for Brokers).
The expectation, of course, is that Keypoint for Carriers users will subscribe to DAT, post available equipment and search for loads. Similarly Keypoint for Brokers users might post loads and search for equipment.
TransCore sees DAT Services customers as a market for Keypoint systems.To encourage cross-over, the company is offering introductory service packages.
For example, TransCore said that existing DAT Services customers can try Keypoint for Carriers (or Brokers) free for 90 days. Likewise, Keypoint users can try TransCore's DAT Partners web-based load-matching free for five days.
According to Murrill, the Keypoint Cobalt Cube 3-based packages are ideal for offices with one to five users.
Of course, TransCore hopes that small carriers and brokers who use the new, all-in-one Keypoint solutions will prosper, grow and eventually move into more traditional Keypoint transportation software packages.
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