Self Hosted Solution vs Hosted Solution

This is the most common question newspapers ask. The answer really depends on your requirements and project goals. They both have their benefits. If you want someone else to have the IT headaches or you want to test your market before you buy then a hosted solution is the best choice. If you are looking to reduce costs with a better ROI or integrate this technology to pre or post production systems then Self Hosted is the best option.

Self Hosted Benefits

Control – The biggest benefit to self hosted is control. Customer data and assets are a premium. Your sale team works hard to attract advertisers why allow any of their data or assets sit on a third party server?
Flexibility - Advertising Customers are demanding the ability to create any type of display ad from real estate to the local restaurant, insertions, seasonal advertising all from a single system. The key is system flexibility. How fast can the current system change and at what cost? AdLizard enables newspapers to meet the challenge of the changing market. Through simple and easy Administrative Tools your in-house IT personnel can make system changes or reinvent the entire workflow to capture additional revenue streams.

Customization - Customization is another key to system flexibility. Many systems offer limited customization; anything more requires custom programming by the system developer. AdLizard provides all the tools required to “Completely” customize AdLizard. This is done through our “SDK” or Software Developers Kit. Anyone familiar with ASP or VB scripting can extend to power of AdLizard to meet their needs.

Automation & Integration - AdLizard provides a tool set to automate processes and integrate with pre and post production systems. This is done through our “SDK" or Software Developers Kit.

Template Creation – A self hosted solution allows your design team can create customer or market specific templates or custom ad packages. These can be treated as up sale opportunities and create additional revenue streams.

True ROI- Since 1997 AdLizard has proven it’s value to our customers. We provide a complete tool set that allows them to change to the needs of the market and experience a true return on their investment. At AdLizard we let customers speak for themselves.

Fairfax Newspaper Group - “In our 2006 fiscal year we saw a $156,000 savings in our productions costs by using AdLizard and have budgeted a $236,000 savings for 2007.”

AdRover – “Within the first year of implementing AdLizard we saw a half million in additional revenue and at the same time was able to reduce our design staff by 8 people. Currently AdRover produces 46,000 column inches of advertising each week using AdLizard.

Hosted Benefits

Low Buy In – A hosted solution is a simple monthly hosting fee combined with a small per ad transaction fee. There is no hardware or IT costs associated with a hosted solution. With a hosted solution you have a branded site to the ASP provider. Your customer works from the providers’ template library and you receive a completed EPS or PDF for production.

Hosted Pitfalls

Production Costs – A hosted solution does provide production cost savings. But this can be a two edge sword. As your usage increases your fee will increase as well.
Flexibility – In a hosted solution you dance to the ASP provider’s music. You do not have the flexibility to make changes on the fly to capture additional opportunities.