Once a year, the world's largest and best known software company recognizes industry players that are known for their innovation and excellence in bringing new technologies to the marketplace. When that company is as well known and highly regarded as Microsoft is, then those awards take on a special significance. ASAP Software has joined the ranks of a select few Microsoft partners that have received this honor twice.

ASAP, a leading software services and hardware provider, was named the 2005 Software Asset Management Advocate of the Year in the annual Microsoft Partner Award program last weekend. The award recognizes Microsoft partners that have developed new approaches to simplifying software license acquisition, management and planning to make the process seamless, positive and effective for their customers. ASAP won the top honor for ASAP eSMART™, its Internet-based asset management solution. ASAP is the only Microsoft Large Account Reseller and Enterprise Software Advisor to receive this award.

“Practically from the day we launched it, eSMART has been recognized by Microsoft and others in the industry as the way asset and software compliance management should be. These awards are not given out based on the opinion of one person. Recipients are selected by panels of industry experts who look at the solution’s innovation, functionality, and ability to enhance the customer’s efforts in achieving IT and business goals. That has been the primary motivation behind the ongoing development of eSMART,” said Paul Jarvie, president of ASAP Software.

ASAP eSMART is a part of the ASAP Technology Management Ecosystem that consists of online purchasing (through ASAP E-Way®), asset management, volume license management and software usage monitoring. eSMART is a hosted asset management solution that allows companies to track software and hardware assets and monitor license compliance through reports that they can view online or download. When ASAP Software launched eSMART four years ago, it was the only reseller in the industry to offer its own asset management solution tied directly to a software license tracking database. It’s that database, TRACKER™, which provides the license purchase information in the software compliance reports.

Among the criteria the judges used to select winners were:

• Excellent customer service and support in helping customers realize the benefits of software asset management
• Marketing and deployment of software asset management solutions and providing related services based on customer needs and requirements
• Promoting the practice of software asset management through ongoing marketing activities, including advertising and events
• Providing complete software asset management services, such as inventory, policies and procedures and servicing ongoing software management plans
• Demonstrating customer loyalty and satisfaction resulting from successful delivery of software asset management services
• Developing superior tools or demonstrating outstanding technical innovations for software asset management

This is the second time since it was launched four years ago that ASAP eSMART has won the Microsoft Partner Award. It has also won the SIIA Codie Award and the Microsoft Canada Impact Award, all for software management and compliance.