However, creating a community-enable web site "in-house" often requires a large investment in capital, technology, and hard to find software development talent. To create a complete online community typically requires leasing Internet bandwidth or co-locating at an ISP, finding and purchasing various software packages from different vendors (i.e. a shopping cart, an auction, chat room software, etc.), and acquiring hard-to-find software development talent to build the complete system and weave it all together. Typical costs for a site can range from $500,000-$1,000,000 and take 8 months to a year to complete. In today's fast-paced Internet economy, he who hesitates is lost.

NetVillage provides a one-stop-shop end-to-end whole product outsourced solution, freeing you to concentrate on your business and not the site infrastructure or technical details. By using our facilities, hardware, and manpower you can quickly get your business on the information superhighway.

NetVillage is an e-community Application Service Provider (ASP). ASPs enable customers to use mission critical enterprise applications in a better, faster, and more cost-effective manner. They do this by giving their customers access to the latest applications in a way that offers financial benefits, and which eliminates the customer's need to add staffing and resources that would otherwise be irrelevant to them.

• Faster time-to-market
• Access to expert technology people without having them in-house (cost of geeks)
• In-depth application and community expertise
• Better cost control

Faster time-to-market
One of the primary motivations for companies to outsource is the rapid time-to-market for going live with your service. In an age where being late to the Internet game may spell doom for your company, it's crucial to be able to deploy rapidly and cost-efficiently. Many of the small and medium-sized companies that do not have the infrastructure in place nor the manpower to staff their IT initiatives turn to netVillage for their solutions.

Access to expert IT people
It is increasingly hard to find and keep top technology talent in today's booming high-tech job market. Software developers, engineers, and consultants are in short supply and expensive to retain. Using netVillage keeps that expertise at your fingertips when you need it.

In-depth application and community expertise
Companies with little or no tech staff find that the experience and expertise offered by ASPs is crucial to opting for the outsourcing model. NetVillage's expertise and community tools pre-dates even the web - we when built online communities for dial-up services. We know what works, and what doesn't, in the community space.

Better cost control
Software and hardware require constant maintenance and upgrades that could ultimately prove cost prohibitive for many small and mid-market companies. The netVillage ASP model makes economic sense for companies with limited resources but rapid-growth aspirations, because it allows them to pay for advanced applications and their support infrastructures as they use them, rather than making large up-front investments. For large and small companies alike, paying one flat monthly fee over the term of a contract allows the customer a predictable cost model as well as a faster return on investment.

Is outsourcing for you?
If your company meets any of these criteria, outsourcing may be appropriate:

• A need to deploy rapidly
• Technology is not your core competency
• Attracting and retaining tech staff is difficult
• Start-up with little cash to make significant investment in technology
• Need to dedicate personnel, cash, and focus to core business

If outsourcing is for you, click here to see what makes netVillage the best choice for hosting your online community!